Easyspeedcheck

Overview

Executive Summary

Distribution and Technical Behavior

• Fake Scans and Scareware: The software frequently runs unsolicited "speed tests" or system scans that inevitably "discover" dozens of critical errors or network bottlenecks. It then aggressively prompts the user to purchase a premium license to fix these fabricated problems.
• Browser Hijacking: The PUP forcefully alters the browser's default search engine, homepage, and new tab settings. It redirects all search traffic through a specific portal controlled by the adware operators, allowing them to intercept queries and generate pay-per-click revenue.
• System Alteration: To ensure it remains active, EasySpeedCheck creates persistent Scheduled Tasks and modifies the Windows Registry to automatically launch its fake scanning and ad-serving components upon system boot.

Risk Assessment

Mitigation and Removal Strategies

• Endpoint Scanning: Utilize a reputable enterprise-grade anti-malware solution to perform a deep system scan, targeting the EasySpeedCheck executables, hidden scheduled tasks, and persistent registry keys.
• Browser Remediation: Manually inspect and remove any unknown or unauthorized extensions from all installed web browsers. Perform a complete factory reset of the browsers to clear the hijacked proxy and search settings.
• Application Control: Enforce strict application whitelisting policies to prevent standard users from executing unapproved software installers that are the primary vector for this adware.

Known aliases

Threat reports may refer to this family under multiple names:

• Adware.EasySpeedCheck
• PUP.EasySpeedCheck
• BrowserModifier:Win32/EasySpeedCheck

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques

Observed techniques used by this family, mapped to our technical analysis hubs and the official MITRE ATT&CK framework:

Tactical Mitigations

Based on the techniques used by this family, consider the following defensive strategies:

• T1566.002: Inspect email links for known malicious domains and use link-rewriting services for time-of-click analysis.

MITRE D3FEND™ Defensive Countermeasures

Defensive techniques mapped to counter the offensive tradecraft observed in this family (via the MITRE D3FEND matrix):

Tiered Detection Rules (Cisco CAIRN Model)

Modern threat detection requires multi-layered rule engineering. We classify detections into three operational tiers based on signal fidelity:

rule MALWARE_WIN_EASYSPEEDCHECK_T1_ARTIFACT {
    meta:
        description = "Tier 1 Primitive Artifact: Raw string matches for Easyspeedcheck"
        tier = "T1 - Primitive Artifact"
        confidence = "Low-Medium (Fast Triage)"
        author = "SystemHelpdesk Threat Research Desk"
        date = "2026-10-14"
    strings:
        $s1 = "easyspeedcheck" ascii wide nocase
        $s2 = "adware.easyspeedcheck" ascii wide nocase
        $s3 = "pup.easyspeedcheck" ascii wide nocase
        $s4 = "browsermodifier:win32/easyspeedcheck" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        uint16(0) == 0x5a4d and any of them
}

title: SystemHelpDesk Detection - Easyspeedcheck (Advanced Threat) Execution & Triage
id: c1cdba1f-f1f2-509f-8081-dd4c06b5e674
status: production
description: Detects execution, defense evasion, and persistence behaviors associated
  with the Easyspeedcheck malware family. Detects proxy execution, reflective DLL
  loading, and remote command injection associated with modular enterprise backdoors.
references:
- https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/families/easyspeedcheck
- https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/defensive/backdoor-rat-protection
- https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/
author: Ricky Jordan, Lead Threat Intelligence Analyst, SystemHelpDesk MSP
date: '2026-10-14'
modified: '2026-10-14'
tags:
- attack.advanced-threat
- author.ricky-jordan
- source.systemhelpdesk-mfc
- attack.t1566_002
- attack.t1176
- attack.t1112
logsource:
  category: process_creation
  product: windows
detection:
  selection_process:
    Image|endswith:
    - \powershell.exe
    - \cmd.exe
    - \rundll32.exe
    - \regsvr32.exe
    CommandLine|contains:
    - DownloadString
    - IEX(
    - '/s /n /u /i:'
    - sc create
    - start-process
  condition: selection_process
falsepositives:
- Legitimate enterprise administrative scripts during approved change windows
- Authorized IT software deployment utilities and backup management agents
level: high

rule MALWARE_WIN_EASYSPEEDCHECK_T3_ATTRIBUTION {
    meta:
        description = "Tier 3 Attribution Fingerprint: Heuristic detection for Easyspeedcheck tradecraft"
        tier = "T3 - Attribution Fingerprint"
        confidence = "High (Confirmed Family Signature)"
        author = "SystemHelpdesk Threat Research Desk"
        date = "2026-10-14"
    strings:
        // Core family identifier & heuristic payload signatures
        $attrib_str = "easyspeedcheck" ascii wide nocase
        $pe_magic = "MZ" ascii
        $net_marker = "http" ascii nocase
    condition:
        uint16(0) == 0x5a4d and ($attrib_str and $net_marker) and filesize < 15MB
}

Containment & Response Steps

Ordered checklist for responders. Adapt to your environment and engage professional support for active incidents.

1. Enforce forensic network isolation on all suspected endpoints while maintaining an out-of-band telemetry conduit to capture live Easyspeedcheck adversary activity.
2. Perform full memory dumps across identified staging nodes to extract memory-only implants, kernel rootkit hooks, and decrypted Easyspeedcheck C2 infrastructure IP/domain lists.
3. Review Active Directory domain controller authentication logs for anomalous Kerberos ticket requests (Pass-the-Ticket, Golden Ticket) and unauthorized DCSync operations associated with Easyspeedcheck.
4. Block all confirmed C2 domains, dynamic DNS endpoints, and proxy IP addresses across perimeter firewalls, proxies, and DNS security gateways.
5. Conduct an enterprise-wide sweep across surrounding subnets for secondary webshells, WMI event subscriptions, or remote execution tooling left behind by Easyspeedcheck operators.

What to Avoid

Common mistakes during response to this family that can destroy evidence, spread the infection, or worsen recovery.

1. Do not assume the incident is resolved simply because an antivirus tool removed the initial Easyspeedcheck dropper; always verify that secondary payloads and persistence hooks have been eradicated.
2. Avoid logging in with Domain Admin or privileged credentials on a machine suspected of running Easyspeedcheck until memory triage is complete.
3. Do not delay host isolation; automated lateral movement and credential dumping can occur within minutes of initial execution.

References & External Analysis

• Search "easyspeedcheck" on VirusTotal (External Analysis)
• Search "easyspeedcheck" on Any.Run (Sandbox Sandbox)
• Search "easyspeedcheck" on MalwareBazaar (Malware Samples)

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Threats (Category: Advanced Threat)

Explore other documented threats in the same operational category:

• Flvdownloader
• Elitekeylogger
• Helper
• Tibia
• Prochack
• Webcompanion
• Gameapp
• Tiklog

Machine-readable

Get this profile as JSON: https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/api/easyspeedcheck.json

Ecosystem & Interactive Environments

This profile is part of the Malware Families Catalog, a public dataset of 2,899 malware families. The catalog is also published across our ecosystem: Hugging Face, Kaggle, Zenodo, Replit, StackBlitz, CodeSandbox, and CodePen.