PUP.Optional.WinNetSvc

Short bio

PUP.Optional.WinNetSvc is Malwarebytes’ detection name for a potentially unwanted program (PUP) that displays advertisements on affected Windows systems.

Symptoms

Affected systems will run this service:

Windows Net Proxy Auto Service

with these properties:

service properties

Type and source of infection

PUP.Optional.WinNetSvc is usually installed silently by bundlers. The installer for PUP.Optional.WinNetSvc is downloaded from the domain gamegogle.com.

Protection

Malwarebytes protects users from PUP.Optional.WinNetSvc by using real-time protection.

Malwarebytes blocks PUP.Optional.WinNetSvc

and by blocking the domain that provides the installer:

Malwarebytes blocks the domain gamegogle.com

Remediation

Malwarebytes can detect and remove PUP.Optional.WinNetSvc without further user interaction.

Please download Malwarebytes to your desktop.
Double-click MBSetup.exe and follow the prompts to install the program.
When your Malwarebytes for Windows installation completes, the program opens to the Welcome to Malwarebytes screen.
Click on the Get started button.
Click Scan to start a Threat Scan.
Click Quarantine to remove the found threats.
Reboot the system if prompted to complete the removal process.

Malwarebytes removal log

A Malwarebytes log of removal will look similar to this:

Malwarebytes
www.malwarebytes.com

-Log Details-
Scan Date: 5/29/18
Scan Time: 8:45 AM
Log File: ea972a15-630b-11e8-b7bb-080027235d76.json
Administrator: Yes

-Software Information-
Version: 3.3.1.2183
Components Version: 1.0.262
Update Package Version: 1.0.5286
License: Premium

-System Information-
OS: Windows 7 Service Pack 1
CPU: x64
File System: NTFS
User: {computername}\{username}

-Scan Summary-
Scan Type: Threat Scan
Result: Completed
Objects Scanned: 240509
Threats Detected: 4
Threats Quarantined: 4
Time Elapsed: 2 min, 48 sec

-Scan Options-
Memory: Enabled
Startup: Enabled
Filesystem: Enabled
Archives: Enabled
Rootkits: Enabled
Heuristics: Enabled
PUP: Detect
PUM: Detect

-Scan Details-
Process: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Module: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Key: 1
PUP.Optional.WinNetSvc, HKLM\SYSTEM\CURRENTCONTROLSET\SERVICES\WINNETSVC, Quarantined, [717], [185516],1.0.5286

Registry Value: 1
PUP.Optional.WinNetSvc, HKLM\SYSTEM\CURRENTCONTROLSET\SERVICES\WINNETSVC|IMAGEPATH, Quarantined, [717], [185516],1.0.5286

Registry Data: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Data Stream: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Folder: 0
(No malicious items detected)

File: 2
PUP.Optional.WinNetSvc, C:\USERS\{username}\DESKTOP\WNSINS.EXE, Quarantined, [717], [104935],1.0.5286
PUP.Optional.WinNetSvc, C:\DOWNLOADS\WNSINS.EXE, Quarantined, [717], [104935],1.0.5286

Physical Sector: 0
(No malicious items detected)


(end)

Add an exclusion

Should users wish to keep this program and exclude it from being detected in future scans, they can add the program to the exclusions list. Here’s how to do it.

Open Malwarebytes for Windows.
Click the Detection History
Click the Allow List
To add an item to the Allow List, click Add.
Select the exclusion type Allow a file or folder and use the Select a folder button to select the main folder for the software that you wish to keep.
Repeat this for any secondary files or folder(s) that belong to the software.

If you want to allow the program to connect to the Internet, for example to fetch updates, also add an exclusion of the type Allow an application to connect to the internet and use the Browse button to select the file you wish to grant access.

Traces/IOCs

You may see these entries in FRST logs:

S2 WinNetSvc; "C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\WinNetSvc\WinNetSvc.exe" [X]
C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\WinNetSvc