{
  "family": "autofixerpro",
  "sample_count": 3,
  "category": "adware",
  "description": "Autofixerpro (classified in antivirus detection telemetry under designations including Adware:Win32/Autofixerpro, Adware.Win32.Autofixerpro, and Win32/Autofixerpro) is a commercial adware and potentially unwanted application (PUA) bundled with third-party software installers to monetize search navigation and display intrusive advertising. Disseminated across enterprise networks and consumer workstations via social engineering, phishing attachments, malicious drive-by downloads, or weaponized software cracks, Autofixerpro executes an initial reconnaissance phase upon system ingress. The binary evaluates host privileges, detects active hypervisors and sandbox environments to evade behavioral analysis, and establishes resilient autostart persistence by configuring registry keys under HKCU\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Run or registering background Windows services. Operational mechanics characteristic of this family include browser homepage modification, search provider hijacking, shortcut tampering, and background advertising service registration. Outbound communication is established with remote threat actor infrastructure to beacon operational status and receive tasking, posing significant security risks to data integrity and host availability.",
  "cta": "Published by the SystemHelpdesk Threat Intelligence Team.",
  "aliases": [
    "Adware:Win32/Autofixerpro",
    "Adware.Win32.Autofixerpro",
    "Win32/Autofixerpro"
  ],
  "enrichment_level": "curated_sourced",
  "faq": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What is Adware:Win32/Autofixerpro?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Autofixerpro is a adware threat designed to infiltrate Windows systems and execute unauthorized operations without user consent."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "How does Autofixerpro compromise target systems?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "It commonly infiltrates systems via phishing emails, trojanized software installers, exploit kits, or unpatched vulnerabilities."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What persistence mechanisms does Autofixerpro utilize?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "It typically creates autostart entries in the Windows Registry (HKCU/HKLM Run keys), registers scheduled tasks, or installs hidden background services."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What risks does Autofixerpro pose to an enterprise?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "It can lead to credential theft, system manipulation, unauthorized remote access, data loss, or secondary malware delivery."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "How can administrators detect and eliminate Autofixerpro?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Deploy modern EDR solutions with updated behavioral signatures, isolate infected endpoints, audit autostart persistence entries, and conduct full antimalware scans."
      }
    }
  ],
  "faq_count": 5,
  "mitre_attack": [
    "T1176",
    "T1112",
    "T1547.001",
    "T1071.001",
    "T1036"
  ],
  "cisa_advisory": null,
  "last_updated": "2026-10-16",
  "mitre_attack_detail": [
    {
      "id": "T1562.001",
      "name": "Impair Defenses: Disable or Modify Tools (Disabling Task Manager/AV)",
      "tactic": "Defense Evasion"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1498",
      "name": "Network Denial of Service (Blocking access to security sites)",
      "tactic": "Impact"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1547.001",
      "name": "Boot or Logon Autostart Execution",
      "tactic": "Persistence"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1189",
      "name": "Drive-by Compromise",
      "tactic": "Initial Access"
    }
  ],
  "containment_steps": [
    "Boot the infected machine into 'Safe Mode with Networking' to prevent the Autofixerpro persistence mechanisms from launching and blocking remediation tools.",
    "Use the Registry Editor to manually re-enable Task Manager and Command Prompt if they were disabled by the malware.",
    "Run a full system scan using a known, trusted, enterprise-grade anti-malware solution to detect and remove the rogue executable.",
    "Educate the user on the deceptive tactics of rogue security software and instruct them to contact their credit card company if they made a payment."
  ],
  "what_to_avoid": [
    "Do not input any personal or financial information into the payment portals presented by the software.",
    "Avoid attempting to manually delete the Autofixerpro files in normal Windows mode, as the malware may actively defend itself and block deletion."
  ],
  "target_industries": [
    "Global / Opportunistic"
  ],
  "motivation": "Opportunistic",
  "threat_actors": [
    "Unknown / Cybercriminal"
  ],
  "target_geographies": [
    "Global"
  ],
  "attack_stage": [
    "execution",
    "persistence"
  ],
  "ecosystem": [
    "windows_pe"
  ],
  "is_emerging": false,
  "sources": [
    {
      "name": "Microsoft Defender Threat Encyclopedia - Adware:Win32/Autofixerpro",
      "url": "https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wdsi/threats/malware-encyclopedia-description?Name=Adware:Win32/Autofixerpro"
    },
    {
      "name": "Kaspersky Threat Intelligence - Adware.Win32.Autofixerpro",
      "url": "https://threats.kaspersky.com/en/threat/"
    },
    {
      "name": "MITRE ATT&CK - Enterprise Techniques",
      "url": "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1176/"
    }
  ],
  "target_platforms": [
    "Windows 11",
    "Windows 10",
    "Windows 7"
  ]
}