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Removal instructions for High Stairs


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What is High Stairs?

The Malwarebytes research team has determined that High Stairs is a browser hijacker. These so-called "hijackers" manipulate your browser(s), for example to change your startpage or searchscopes, so that the affected browser visits their site or one of their choice. This one also displays advertisements.

How do I know if my computer is effected by High Stairs?

This is how the first screen of the installer looks:

main.png

And you may see these browser extensions/add-ons:

warning1.png

warning2.png

or this entry in your list of installed programs:

warning4.png

How did High Stairs get on my computer?

Browser hijackers use different methods for distributing themselves. This particular one was bundled with other software.

How do I remove High Stairs?

Our program Malwarebytes Anti-Malware can detect and remove this potentially unwanted application.

  • Please download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to your desktop.
  • Double-click mbam-setup-version.exe and follow the prompts to install the program.
  • At the end, be sure a check-mark is placed next to the following:
    • Enable free trial of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Premium
    • Launch Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
  • Then click Finish.
  • If an update is found, you will be prompted to download and install the latest version.
  • Once the program has loaded, select Scan Now. Or select the Threat Scan from the Scan menu.
  • When the scan is complete, make sure that all Threats are selected, and click Remove Selected.
  • Restart your computer when prompted to do so.
Is there anything else I need to do to get rid of High Stairs?
  • No, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware removes High Stairs completely.
How would the full version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware help protect me?

We hope our application and this guide have helped you eradicate this hijacker.

As you can see below the full version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware would have protected you against the High Stairs hijacker. It would have warned you before the application could install itself, giving you a chance to stop it before it became too late.

protection1.png

Some extra information about this browser hijacker (and its family) can be found on our blog.

Technical details for experts

Signs in a HijackThis log:

O2 - BHO: High Stairs - {3a97c99d-1ff1-41e0-b552-bdd69f915caa} - C:\Program Files (x86)\High Stairs\Extensions\3a97c99d-1ff1-41e0-b552-bdd69f915caa.dll
Possible signs in FRST logs:

 BHO-x32: High Stairs -> {3a97c99d-1ff1-41e0-b552-bdd69f915caa} -> C:\Program Files (x86)\High Stairs\Extensions\3a97c99d-1ff1-41e0-b552-bdd69f915caa.dll [2015-08-21] () FF Extension: High Stairs - C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{profile}.default\Extensions\firefox@www.highstairs.com.xpi [2015-08-22] C:\Program Files (x86)\High StairsHigh Stairs (HKLM-x32\...\High Stairs) (Version: 2.0.5710.4784 - High Stairs) <==== ATTENTION
Alterations made by the installer:

File system details [View: All details] (Selection)---------------------------------------------------    Adds the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\High Stairs       Adds the file 7za.exe"="8/18/2015 9:17 PM, 536064 bytes, A       Adds the file Uninstaller.exe"="8/20/2015 11:39 AM, 313440 bytes, A    Adds the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\High Stairs\Extensions       Adds the file 3a97c99d-1ff1-41e0-b552-bdd69f915caa.dll"="8/21/2015 8:57 AM, 145608 bytes, A       Adds the file firefox@www.highstairs.com.xpi"="8/21/2015 9:50 AM, 7979 bytes, ARegistry details [View: All details] (Selection)------------------------------------------------    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{E104B9E4-01BA-4AAF-9957-6A525CC5451A}]       "(Default)"="REG_SZ", "56BEA3EF-17D9-40EA-BF8F-DE14435E558A"    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{673D2A34-13B9-45D0-83F1-445524AB83F8}]       "(Default)"="REG_SZ", "IHighStairsBHO"    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{673D2A34-13B9-45D0-83F1-445524AB83F8}\ProxyStubClsid32]       "(Default)"="REG_SZ", "{00020424-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}"    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{673D2A34-13B9-45D0-83F1-445524AB83F8}\TypeLib]       "(Default)"="REG_SZ", "{A41F5724-655B-40AA-A8EC-133B37B5FC4F}"       "Version"="REG_SZ", "1.0"    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\TypeLib\{A41F5724-655B-40AA-A8EC-133B37B5FC4F}\1.0]       "(Default)"="REG_SZ", "HighStairsIEClientLib"    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\TypeLib\{A41F5724-655B-40AA-A8EC-133B37B5FC4F}\1.0\0\win32]       "(Default)"="REG_SZ", "C:\Program Files (x86)\High Stairs\Extensions\3a97c99d-1ff1-41e0-b552-bdd69f915caa.dll"    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\TypeLib\{A41F5724-655B-40AA-A8EC-133B37B5FC4F}\1.0\FLAGS]       "(Default)"="REG_SZ", "0"    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\TypeLib\{A41F5724-655B-40AA-A8EC-133B37B5FC4F}\1.0\HELPDIR]       "(Default)"="REG_SZ", "C:\Program Files (x86)\High Stairs\Extensions"    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{3a97c99d-1ff1-41e0-b552-bdd69f915caa}]       "(Default)"="REG_SZ", "High Stairs"    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{3a97c99d-1ff1-41e0-b552-bdd69f915caa}\InprocServer32]       "(Default)"="REG_SZ", "C:\Program Files (x86)\High Stairs\Extensions\3a97c99d-1ff1-41e0-b552-bdd69f915caa.dll"       "ThreadingModel"="REG_SZ", "Apartment"    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{3a97c99d-1ff1-41e0-b552-bdd69f915caa}\Programmable]    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{3a97c99d-1ff1-41e0-b552-bdd69f915caa}\TypeLib]       "(Default)"="REG_SZ", "{a41f5724-655b-40aa-a8ec-133b37b5fc4f}"    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{3a97c99d-1ff1-41e0-b552-bdd69f915caa}\Version]       "(Default)"="REG_SZ", "1.0"    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{B853E835-9F24-4F4B-B55C-E554D15CCCD2}]       "(Default)"="REG_SZ", "1"       "{B853E835-9F24-4F4B-B55C-E554D15CCCD2}"="REG_SZ", "{B853E835-9F24-4F4B-B55C-E554D15CCCD2}"    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{E104B9E4-01BA-4AAF-9957-6A525CC5451A}]       "(Default)"="REG_SZ", "56BEA3EF-17D9-40EA-BF8F-DE14435E558A"    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{F83D1872-D9FF-47F8-B5A0-49CC51E24EE8}]       "(Default)"="REG_SZ", "cf98718c-c830-4b64-b13e-096c4d75b379"    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Wow6432Node\Interface\{673D2A34-13B9-45D0-83F1-445524AB83F8}]       "(Default)"="REG_SZ", "IHighStairsBHO"    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Wow6432Node\Interface\{673D2A34-13B9-45D0-83F1-445524AB83F8}\ProxyStubClsid32]       "(Default)"="REG_SZ", "{00020424-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}"    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Wow6432Node\Interface\{673D2A34-13B9-45D0-83F1-445524AB83F8}\TypeLib]       "(Default)"="REG_SZ", "{A41F5724-655B-40AA-A8EC-133B37B5FC4F}"       "Version"="REG_SZ", "1.0"    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\HighStairs]       "cg"="REG_SZ", "cf98718c-c830-4b64-b13e-096c4d75b379"    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{3a97c99d-1ff1-41e0-b552-bdd69f915caa}]       "(Default)"="REG_SZ", "High Stairs"       "NoExplorer"="REG_DWORD", 1    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\High Stairs]       "DisplayIcon"="REG_SZ", ""C:\Program Files (x86)\High Stairs\uninstaller.exe""       "DisplayName"="REG_SZ", "High Stairs"       "DisplayVersion"="REG_SZ", "2.0.5710.4784"       "EstimatedSize"="REG_DWORD", 979       "HelpLink"="REG_SZ", "mailto:support@highstairs.com"       "InstallDate"="REG_SZ", "20150822"       "InstallLocation"="REG_SZ", "C:\Program Files (x86)\High Stairs"       "NoModify"="REG_DWORD", 1       "NoRepair"="REG_DWORD", 1       "Publisher"="REG_SZ", "High Stairs"       "QuietUninstallString"="REG_SZ", ""C:\Program Files (x86)\High Stairs\uninstaller.exe""       "UninstallString"="REG_SZ", ""C:\Program Files (x86)\High Stairs\uninstaller.exe""       "URLInfoAbout"="REG_SZ", "http://www.highstairs.com/support"       "URLUpdateInfo"="REG_SZ", "http://www.highstairs.com"
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware log:

Malwarebytes Anti-Malwarewww.malwarebytes.orgScan Date: 8/22/2015Scan Time: 1:50 PMLogfile: mbamHighStairs.txtAdministrator: YesVersion: 2.1.8.1057Malware Database: v2015.08.22.02Rootkit Database: v2015.08.16.01License: PremiumMalware Protection: DisabledMalicious Website Protection: EnabledSelf-protection: DisabledOS: Windows 8.1CPU: x64File System: NTFSUser: {username}Scan Type: Threat ScanResult: CompletedObjects Scanned: 346145Time Elapsed: 24 min, 6 secMemory: EnabledStartup: EnabledFilesystem: EnabledArchives: EnabledRootkits: EnabledHeuristics: EnabledPUP: EnabledPUM: EnabledProcesses: 0(No malicious items detected)Modules: 1PUP.Optional.HighStairs.A, C:\Program Files (x86)\High Stairs\Extensions\3a97c99d-1ff1-41e0-b552-bdd69f915caa.dll, Delete-on-Reboot, [a2380a01197261d572aae4a9e421956b], Registry Keys: 13PUP.Optional.HighStairs.A, HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432NODE\CLASSES\CLSID\{3a97c99d-1ff1-41e0-b552-bdd69f915caa}, Quarantined, [a2380a01197261d572aae4a9e421956b], PUP.Optional.HighStairs.A, HKLM\SOFTWARE\CLASSES\TYPELIB\{a41f5724-655b-40aa-a8ec-133b37b5fc4f}, Quarantined, [a2380a01197261d572aae4a9e421956b], PUP.Optional.HighStairs.A, HKLM\SOFTWARE\CLASSES\INTERFACE\{673D2A34-13B9-45D0-83F1-445524AB83F8}, Quarantined, [a2380a01197261d572aae4a9e421956b], PUP.Optional.HighStairs.A, HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432NODE\CLASSES\INTERFACE\{673D2A34-13B9-45D0-83F1-445524AB83F8}, Quarantined, [a2380a01197261d572aae4a9e421956b], PUP.Optional.HighStairs.A, HKLM\SOFTWARE\CLASSES\WOW6432NODE\INTERFACE\{673D2A34-13B9-45D0-83F1-445524AB83F8}, Quarantined, [a2380a01197261d572aae4a9e421956b], PUP.Optional.HighStairs.A, HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432NODE\CLASSES\TYPELIB\{a41f5724-655b-40aa-a8ec-133b37b5fc4f}, Quarantined, [a2380a01197261d572aae4a9e421956b], PUP.Optional.HighStairs.A, HKLM\SOFTWARE\CLASSES\WOW6432NODE\TYPELIB\{a41f5724-655b-40aa-a8ec-133b37b5fc4f}, Quarantined, [a2380a01197261d572aae4a9e421956b], PUP.Optional.HighStairs.A, HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432NODE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRENTVERSION\EXPLORER\BROWSER HELPER OBJECTS\{3A97C99D-1FF1-41E0-B552-BDD69F915CAA}, Quarantined, [a2380a01197261d572aae4a9e421956b], PUP.Optional.HighStairs.A, HKLM\SOFTWARE\CLASSES\WOW6432NODE\CLSID\{3A97C99D-1FF1-41E0-B552-BDD69F915CAA}, Quarantined, [a2380a01197261d572aae4a9e421956b], PUP.Optional.HighStairs.A, HKCU\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRENTVERSION\EXT\SETTINGS\{3A97C99D-1FF1-41E0-B552-BDD69F915CAA}, Quarantined, [a2380a01197261d572aae4a9e421956b], PUP.Optional.HighStairs.A, HKCU\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRENTVERSION\EXT\STATS\{3A97C99D-1FF1-41E0-B552-BDD69F915CAA}, Quarantined, [a2380a01197261d572aae4a9e421956b], PUP.Optional.HighStairs.A, HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432NODE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRENTVERSION\UNINSTALL\High Stairs, Quarantined, [6377c6452a6194a2f02c5d30b74e619f], PUP.Optional.HighStairs.A, HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432NODE\HighStairs, Quarantined, [726804073d4ef640a8760cac54b040c0], Registry Values: 0(No malicious items detected)Registry Data: 0(No malicious items detected)Folders: 2PUP.Optional.HighStairs.A, C:\Program Files (x86)\High Stairs, Delete-on-Reboot, [53878784addeab8b5f493fdbcf34e31d], PUP.Optional.HighStairs.A, C:\Program Files (x86)\High Stairs\Extensions, Delete-on-Reboot, [53878784addeab8b5f493fdbcf34e31d], Files: 7PUP.Optional.HighStairs.A, C:\Program Files (x86)\High Stairs\Extensions\3a97c99d-1ff1-41e0-b552-bdd69f915caa.dll, Delete-on-Reboot, [a2380a01197261d572aae4a9e421956b], PUP.Optional.HighStairs.A, C:\Users\{username}\Desktop\High Stairs.exe, Quarantined, [7a6033d83e4da78f03199eefe81d39c7], PUP.Optional.HighStairs.A, C:\Program Files (x86)\High Stairs\Uninstaller.exe, Quarantined, [6377c6452a6194a2f02c5d30b74e619f], PUP.Optional.HighStairs.A, C:\Users\{username}\Desktop\HighStairs\High Stairs.exe, Quarantined, [76648388127957df5dbfa5e8cc3920e0], PUP.Optional.HighStairs.A, C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{profile}.default\extensions\firefox@www.highstairs.com.xpi, Quarantined, [ffdb6ba0cac12c0a0812dadef80cbb45], PUP.Optional.HighStairs.A, C:\Program Files (x86)\High Stairs\7za.exe, Quarantined, [53878784addeab8b5f493fdbcf34e31d], PUP.Optional.HighStairs.A, C:\Program Files (x86)\High Stairs\Extensions\firefox@www.highstairs.com.xpi, Quarantined, [53878784addeab8b5f493fdbcf34e31d], Physical Sectors: 0(No malicious items detected)(end)
As mentioned before the full version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware could have protected your computer against this threat.

We use different ways of protecting your computer(s):

  • Dynamically Blocks Malware Sites & Servers
  • Malware Execution Prevention
Save yourself the hassle and get protected. Edited by Metallica
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