How to remove AntiVirProtect

Posted by Grinler on April 10, 2008 @ 05:04 PM · Views: 1296

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What this programs does:

AntiVirProtect is the latest rogue anti-spyware in the family that consists of Spy-Shredder, DataHealer, and many others. AntiVirProtect is advertised through the use of misleading web sites and popups that state that you are infected. If you download and install AntiVirProtect, it will automatically start and scan your computer. After it has finished, it will state that a variety of programs, most of which are legitimate Windows programs, are infections. For example, you can see in the screen shot below that AntiVirProtect has flagged the C:\Windows\$hf_mig$\KB935839\update file as the Complexel Trojan. In reality, though, this file is actually part of an important security update for Windows XP. In some cases, the files that AntiViruProtect states exist can not even be found on the computer. These fake alerts are being used solely as a tactic to scare you into purchasing a license of the software.

Screen shots of AntiVirProtect and a false positive are shown below:

AntiVirProtect Screenshot


AntiVirProtect False Positives

This guide will walk you through removing the AntiVirProtect program.

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs

Advanced information:

View AntiVirProtect files.
View AntiVirProtect Registry Information.

Add/Remove Programs control panel entry:

AntiVirProtect

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [AntiVirProtect] C:\Program Files\AntiVirProtect\AntiVirProtect.exe

Guide Updates:

04/10/08 - Initial guide creation.

Automated Removal Instructions for AntiVirProtect using Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware:

1. Print out these instructions as we will need to close every window that is open later in the fix.
   
   
2. Download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, or MBAM, from the following location and save it to your desktop:
   
   Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware Download Link
   
   


3. Once downloaded, close all programs and Windows on your computer, including this one.
   
   
4. Double-click on the icon on your desktop named Download_mbam-setup.exe. This will start the installation of MBAM onto your computer.
   
   
5. When the installation begins, keep following the prompts in order to continue with the installation process. Do not make any changes to default settings and when the program has finished installing, make sure you leave both the Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware checked. Then click on the Finish button.
   
   
6. MBAM will now automatically start and you will see a message stating that you should update the program before performing a scan. As MBAM will automatically update itself after the install, you can press the OK button to close that box and you will now be at the main program as shown below.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. On the Scanner tab, make sure the the Perform quick scan option is selected and then click on the Scan button to start scanning your computer for AntiVirProtect related files.
   
   
8. MBAM will now start scanning your computer for malware. This process can take quite a while, so we suggest you go and do something else and periodically check on the status of the scan. When MBAM is scanning it will look like the image below.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
9. When the scan is finished a message box will appear as shown in the image below.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   You should click on the OK button to close the message box and continue with the AntiVirProtect removal process.
   
   
10. You will now be back at the main Scanner screen. At this point you should click on the Show Results button.
    
    
11. A screen displaying all the malware that the program found will be shown as seen in the image below.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    You should now click on the Remove Selected button to remove all the listed malware. MBAM will now delete all of the files and registry keys and add them to the programs quarantine.
    
    
12. When MBAM has finished removing the malware, it will open the scan log and display it in Notepad. Review the log as desired, and then close the Notepad window.
    
    
13. You can now exit the MBAM program.
    

Your computer should now be free of the AntiVirProtect program. If your current anti-virus solution let this infection through, you may want to consider purchasing the PRO version of Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware to protect against these types of threats in the future.

If you are still having problems with your computer after completing these instructions, then please follow the steps outlined in the topic linked below:

Preparation Guide For Use Before Posting A Hijackthis Log

Associated AntiVirProtect Files:

c:\Program Files\AntiVirProtect
c:\Program Files\AntiVirProtect\AntiVirProtect.exe
c:\Program Files\AntiVirProtect\AntiVirProtect.lic
c:\Program Files\AntiVirProtect\AntiVirProtect0.ap
c:\Program Files\AntiVirProtect\AntiVirProtect0.dll
c:\Program Files\AntiVirProtect\AntiVirProtect1.ap
c:\Program Files\AntiVirProtect\AntiVirProtect1.dll
c:\Program Files\AntiVirProtect\AntiVirProtect3.dll
c:\Program Files\AntiVirProtect\Uninstall.exe
c:\Documents and Settings\forensics\Desktop\AntiVirProtect.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\forensics\Start Menu\Programs\AntiVirProtect
c:\Documents and Settings\forensics\Local Settings\Temp\Perflib_Perfdata_4ac.dat
c:\Documents and Settings\forensics\Start Menu\Programs\AntiVirProtect\AntiVirProtect.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\forensics\Start Menu\Programs\AntiVirProtect\Uninstall.lnk

Associated AntiVirProtect Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AntiVirProtect
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\AntiVirProtect
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "AntiVirProtect"