by Ventsislav Krastev | November 10, 2016 | 0 Comments computer security, Google Analytics, malware, scam

Refferal spam being released under multiple domain extensions (.xyz, .com, .info, .net, .to) has been reported to be associate with a web page advertising fake buttons under the unlicensed brand ShareButton. The most often related traffic with the ShareButton domains are believed to be one of the most massively spammed domains on websites and users are advised to block them out completely. The sites are advertised as what appears to be a free website design tool (sharing button widget). Anyone who has detected referral spam coming from any of the ShareButton domains is advised to immediately take actions towards blocking it, using the information in this article.

Threat Summary

Name	ShareButton Domains
Type	Referral Spam
Short Description	The ShareButton page has been seen on many referral spams sites on predominantly targeted medium sized and smaller blogs in traffic.
Symptoms	The user may witness the ShareButton spam on various places of the website that is being targeted. If used, the buttons may redirect to phishing sites.
Distribution Method	Most often via spammed URL’s. Bundling or unwanted software as well as spammed advertisements also a scenario. Even possible via malware.
Detection Tool	See If Your System Has Been Affected by malware Download Malware Removal Tool
User Experience	Join Our Forum to Discuss ShareButton Domains.

How Is ShareButton Spam Spread

The domains spreading the ShareButton spam are multiple:

Share-button(.)com
Sharebutton(.)to
Sharebuttons(.)xyz
Sharebutton(.)net
Sharebutton(.)com
Get-Your-Social-Buttons(.)Info

These domains may spread the ShareButton plugin via either using affiliates that generate revenue by spreading them or post them in return for a compensation on different places online or automatically.

The automatic distribution strategy may be used in the case of the Sharebutton domains because they are believed to spread via two primary types of spamming software also known as spam bots.

Type 1: Web Crawler Spam

Also known as Spiders, this type of spamming software uses a pre-programmed list of websites on which it spams referrals under a ghost account. Since this particular type of spam is spread on websites that contain low-quality security, the cyber-criminals may have used a method, known as Google Dorking. This method involves using scripts to perform searches in google for specific types of websites based on what security features they have. This technique could be combined together with the spamming software which also has the same feature based on dorking – to crawl the web for web-sites based on a pre-configured criteria which could be dorking code as well.

Whatever the case may be, the Web Crawler bots are more oriented towards spamming massively on different websites, than remaining persistent on one site. In addition to this they are also easier to be blocked primarily because they are not so persistent. But if they are combined with other spamming tools, they become very dangerous.

Type 2: Ghost Referrer Spam

Also known as Ghost Referrals, this type of spam is named like this for a purposes. The spamming software aims to target a specific website and while it is spamming it aims to do it as remotely as possible, without having to be directly connected to the website being spammed with Sharebutton URL’s. This technique is more effective than Web Crawlers because it uses sophisticated combination of exploiting the free HTTP protocol and connect remotely to the website it aims to spam with web links. This makes banning the spammer significantly harder because his source IP address may easily be changed often or obfuscated.

Fact is, that both spam methods are being used more and more often and can quickly render the data about traffic on your website useless.

ShareButton Domains In-Depth

The attacks related to the ShareButton domains exist for quite some time now and they are created for several different purposes. One of those purposes is to generate traffic to websites that are third-party and want to be boosted and sold online with high traffic that is actually a hoax. Another goal of referral spam may be to spam not only ShareButton as a service but also generate custom URLs that redirect the users to malicious sites. This means that the web links may contain malware and even ransomware, like Cerber v4, for example, which holds your files hostage until you pay a hefty sum to get them unlocked.

The network of domains that lead to the ShareButton web page has been reported by security experts to be potentially harmful, so all users of your website who have clicked on such URLs are advised to perform an anti-malware scan to see if they have been infected by malware:

Download

Malware Removal Tool

The other primary purpose of redistributing referral spam is to promote the suspicious plugin of sharing buttons that ShareButton advertises. This plugin may obtain crucial user information and may redirect your users not to the actual social media websites, but to phishing websites that may be fraudulent and phishing and may steal the login information, so users, beware what you click on.

How to Fully Stop Spam from ShareButton Domains

Since this type of spam may result in the rapid devaluation of website statistics, we recommend not only blocking the different domain extensions of ShareButton, but also using the instructions below to block them in your web server as well. In addition to this, we also advise you to check the list of blacklisted websites link for which you can find in step “2. Block ShareButton domains from your Server” by Perishablepress.com to further block domains that are generally blacklisted and associated with referral spam.

After following the instructions we also recommend you to check the our suggested methods to protect yourself from referral spam by ShareButton or other domains in the future:

Exclude All Hits from Known Bots and Spiders In Google Analytics

1: Filtering ShareButton Domains in Google Analytics

Step 1: Click on the ‘Admin’ tab on your GA web page.

Step 2: Choose which ‘View’ is to be filtered and then click the ‘Filters’ button.

Step 3: Click on ‘New Filter’.

Step 4: Write a name, such as ‘Spam Referrals’.

Step 5: On Filter Type choose Custom Filter –>Exclude Filter –> Field: Campaign Source–> Filter Pattern. Then on the Pattern, enter the domain name – ShareButton Domains

Step 6: Select Views to Apply Filter.

Step 7: Save the filter, by clicking on the ‘Save’ button.

You are done! Congratulations!

Also, make sure you check out these several methods to help you further block out this referrer spam from Google Analytics:

More Methods To Stop Spam Bots and Spiders In Google Analytics

1: Block ShareButton Domains from Your Server.

In case you have a server that is Apache HTTP Server, you may want to try the following commands to block ShareButton Domains domains in the .htaccess file:

RewriteEngine on

RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^https://.*sharebutton \.com/ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^https://.*sharebutton \-for\-website\.com/ [NC,OR]

RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^https://.*sharebutton \.to/ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^https://.*sharebutton \-for\-website\.to/ [NC,OR]

RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^https://.*share-button \.xyz/ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^https://.*share-button \-for\-website\.xyz/ [NC,OR]

RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^https://.*sharebutton \.net/ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^https://.*sharebutton \-for\-website\.net/ [NC,OR]

RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^https://.*sharebuttons \.xyz/ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^https://.*sharebutton \-for\-website\.xyz/ [NC,OR]

RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^https://.*Get-Your-Social-Buttons \.info/ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^https://.*Get-Your-Social-Buttons\-for\-website\.info/ [NC,OR]

RewriteRule ^(.*)$ – [F,L]

Also here is a web link to some spam URLs being blacklisted from other servers:

Ultimate Referrer Blacklist by Perishablepress.com

Disclaimer: This type of domain blocking in Apache servers has not yet been tested and it should be done by experienced professionals. Backup is always recommended.

3: Stop ShareButton Domains via WordPress.

There is a method outlined by security researchers online that uses WordPress plugins to block referrer spams from sites. There are many plugins that help deal with referrer spam, simply do a google search. We have currently seen one particular plugin reported to work, called WP-Ban, but bear in mind that you may find an equally good or better. WP-Ban has the ability to block users based on their IP address and other information such as the URL, for example.

Also, in case you feel like you may have clicked and been redirected to one of the domains mentioned in the spam message, and you believe your system may be compromised, you should scan your computer with a particular anti-malware tool. Downloading such software will also make sure your computer is safe against any future intrusions as well.

Spy Hunter scanner will only detect the threat. If you want the threat to be automatically removed, you need to purchase the full version of the anti-malware tool.Find Out More About SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool / How to Uninstall SpyHunter

Ventsislav Krastev

Ventsislav is a cybersecurity expert at SensorsTechForum since 2015. He has been researching, covering, helping victims with the latest malware infections plus testing and reviewing software and the newest tech developments. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for learning new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management, Network Administration and Computer Administration of System Applications, he found his true calling within the cybersecrurity industry and is a strong believer in the education of every user towards online safety and security.

How to Remove ShareButton Domains from Windows.

Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove ShareButton Domains

OFFER

Manual Removal Usually Takes Time and You Risk Damaging Your Files If Not Careful!

We Recommend To Scan Your PC with SpyHunter

Keep in mind, that SpyHunter’s scanner is only for malware detection. If SpyHunter detects malware on your PC, you will need to purchase SpyHunter's malware removal tool to remove the malware threats. Read our SpyHunter 5 review. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter's EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria

1. Hold Windows key() + R

2. The "Run" Window will appear. In it, type "msconfig" and click OK.

3. Go to the "Boot" tab. There select "Safe Boot" and then click "Apply" and "OK".

Tip: Make sure to reverse those changes by unticking Safe Boot after that, because your system will always boot in Safe Boot from now on.

4. When prompted, click on "Restart" to go into Safe Mode.

5. You can recognise Safe Mode by the words written on the corners of your screen.

Step 2: Uninstall ShareButton Domains and related software from Windows

Here is a method in few easy steps that should be able to uninstall most programs. No matter if you are using Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP, those steps will get the job done. Dragging the program or its folder to the recycle bin can be a very bad decision. If you do that, bits and pieces of the program are left behind, and that can lead to unstable work of your PC, errors with the file type associations and other unpleasant activities. The proper way to get a program off your computer is to Uninstall it. To do that:

1. Hold the Windows Logo Button and "R" on your keyboard. A Pop-up window will appear.

2. In the field type in "appwiz.cpl" and press ENTER.

3. This will open a window with all the programs installed on the PC. Select the program that you want to remove, and press "Uninstall"

Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall most programs.

Step 3: Clean any registries, created by ShareButton Domains on your computer.

The usually targeted registries of Windows machines are the following:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce

You can access them by opening the Windows registry editor and deleting any values, created by ShareButton Domains there. This can happen by following the steps underneath:

1. Open the Run Window again, type "regedit" and click OK.

2. When you open it, you can freely navigate to the Run and RunOnce keys, whose locations are shown above.

3. You can remove the value of the virus by right-clicking on it and removing it.

Tip: To find a virus-created value, you can right-click on it and click "Modify" to see which file it is set to run. If this is the virus file location, remove the value.

IMPORTANT!
Before starting "Step 4", please boot back into Normal mode, in case you are currently in Safe Mode.
This will enable you to install and use SpyHunter 5 successfully.

Step 4: Scan for ShareButton Domains with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

1. Click on the "Download" button to proceed to SpyHunter's download page.

Download

Malware Removal Tool

It is recommended to run a scan before purchasing the full version of the software to make sure that the current version of the malware can be detected by SpyHunter. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter's EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria.

2. After you have installed SpyHunter, wait for it to update automatically.

3. After the update process has finished, click on the 'Malware/PC Scan' tab. A new window will appear. Click on 'Start Scan'.

4. After SpyHunter has finished scanning your PC for any files of the associated threat and found them, you can try to get them removed automatically and permanently by clicking on the 'Next' button.

If any threats have been removed, it is highly recommended to restart your PC.

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Get rid of ShareButton Domains from Mac OS X.

Step 1: Uninstall ShareButton Domains and remove related files and objects

OFFER

Manual Removal Usually Takes Time and You Risk Damaging Your Files If Not Careful!

We Recommend To Scan Your Mac with SpyHunter for Mac

Keep in mind, that SpyHunter for Mac needs to purchased to remove the malware threats. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter’s EULA and Privacy Policy

1. Hit the ⇧+⌘+U keys to open Utilities. Another way is to click on “Go” and then click “Utilities”, like the image below shows:

2. Find Activity Monitor and double-click it:

3. In the Activity Monitor look for any suspicious processes, belonging or related to ShareButton Domains:

Tip: To quit a process completely, choose the “Force Quit” option.

4. Click on the "Go" button again, but this time select Applications. Another way is with the ⇧+⌘+A buttons.

5. In the Applications menu, look for any suspicious app or an app with a name, similar or identical to ShareButton Domains. If you find it, right-click on the app and select “Move to Trash”.

6: Select Accounts, after which click on the Login Items preference. Your Mac will then show you a list of items that start automatically when you log in. Look for any suspicious apps identical or similar to ShareButton Domains. Check the app you want to stop from running automatically and then select on the Minus (“-“) icon to hide it.

7: Remove any left-over files that might be related to this threat manually by following the sub-steps below:

Go to Finder.
In the search bar type the name of the app that you want to remove.
Above the search bar change the two drop down menus to “System Files” and “Are Included” so that you can see all of the files associated with the application you want to remove. Bear in mind that some of the files may not be related to the app so be very careful which files you delete.
If all of the files are related, hold the ⌘+A buttons to select them and then drive them to “Trash”.

In case you cannot remove ShareButton Domains via Step 1 above:

In case you cannot find the virus files and objects in your Applications or other places we have shown above, you can manually look for them in the Libraries of your Mac. But before doing this, please read the disclaimer below:

Disclaimer! If you are about to tamper with Library files on Mac, be sure to know the name of the virus file, because if you delete the wrong file, it may cause irreversible damage to your MacOS. Continue on your own responsibility!

1: Click on "Go" and Then "Go to Folder" as shown underneath:

2: Type in "/Library/LauchAgents/" and click Ok:

3: Delete all of the virus files that have similar or the same name as ShareButton Domains. If you believe there is no such file, do not delete anything.

You can repeat the same procedure with the following other Library directories:

→ ~/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons

Tip: ~ is there on purpose, because it leads to more LaunchAgents.

Step 2: Scan for and remove ShareButton Domains files from your Mac

When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as ShareButton Domains, the recommended way of eliminating the threat is by using an anti-malware program. SpyHunter for Mac offers advanced security features along with other modules that will improve your Mac’s security and protect it in the future.

Click the button below below to download SpyHunter for Mac and scan for ShareButton Domains:

Download

SpyHunter for Mac

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Remove ShareButton Domains from Google Chrome.

Step 1: Start Google Chrome and open the drop menu

Step 2: Move the cursor over "Tools" and then from the extended menu choose "Extensions"

Step 3: From the opened "Extensions" menu locate the unwanted extension and click on its "Remove" button.

Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Google Chrome by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Erase ShareButton Domains from Mozilla Firefox.

Step 1: Start Mozilla Firefox. Open the menu window

Step 2: Select the "Add-ons" icon from the menu.

Step 3: Select the unwanted extension and click "Remove"

Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Mozilla Firefox by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Uninstall ShareButton Domains from Microsoft Edge.

Step 1: Start Edge browser.

Step 2: Open the drop menu by clicking on the icon at the top right corner.

Step 3: From the drop menu select "Extensions".

Step 4: Choose the suspected malicious extension you want to remove and then click on the gear icon.

Step 5: Remove the malicious extension by scrolling down and then clicking on Uninstall.

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Remove ShareButton Domains from Safari.

Step 1: Start the Safari app.

Step 2: After hovering your mouse cursor to the top of the screen, click on the Safari text to open its drop down menu.

Step 3: From the menu, click on "Preferences".

Step 4: After that, select the 'Extensions' Tab.

Step 5: Click once on the extension you want to remove.

Step 6: Click 'Uninstall'.

A pop-up window will appear asking for confirmation to uninstall the extension. Select 'Uninstall' again, and the ShareButton Domains will be removed.

How to Reset Safari
IMPORTANT: Before resetting Safari make sure you back up all your saved passwords within the browser in case you forget them.

Start Safari and then click on the gear leaver icon.

Click the Reset Safari button and you will reset the browser.

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Eliminate ShareButton Domains from Internet Explorer.

Step 1: Start Internet Explorer.

Step 2: Click on the gear icon labeled 'Tools' to open the drop menu and select 'Manage Add-ons'

Step 3: In the 'Manage Add-ons' window.

Step 4: Select the extension you want to remove and then click 'Disable'. A pop-up window will appear to inform you that you are about to disable the selected extension, and some more add-ons might be disabled as well. Leave all the boxes checked, and click 'Disable'.

Step 5: After the unwanted extension has been removed, restart Internet Explorer by closing it from the red 'X' button located at the top right corner and start it again.