How to remove ContentEraser (Uninstall Instructions)

Posted by Grinler on October 8, 2008 @ 09:10 AM · Views: 710

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What this programs does:

ContentEraser is a rogue privacy software that displays false positives or exaggerated results as a way of scaring you into purchasing the software. This program is advertised via advertisements that pretend to be online anti-malware scanners, that when finished scanning, state your computer has privacy issues and that you should install ContentEraser to fix them. This software is also advertised through the use of fake security alerts shown by other installed rogue programs from the same developer.

Once installed, ContentEraser will be configured to start automatically when you logon to your computer. When started, ContentEraser will scan your computer and list hundreds of privacy issues that cannot be resolved until you first purchase the software. These privacy problems, though, are grossly exaggerated to make them appear more harmful then they really are. Furthermore, some of the results are actually perfectly harmless and only being shown to further scare you into thinking you have a problem on your computer. While ContentEraser is running you will also occassionally see pop-ups advertising other rogue software that this developer has created. These alerts come in the fashion of a Windows message box stating that your computer is infected and that you should download and install a particular software to fix the problem. While I was experimenting, the particular pop-up that I received was one for AntiMalwareGuard.

ContentEraser screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 6 images you can view.

This guide will walk you through removing the ContentEraser rogue privacy program and any associated malware that may have been installed with it.

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs

Advanced information:

View ContentEraser files.
View ContentEraser Registry Information.

Add/Remove Programs control panel entry:

ContentEraser 1.1.74.0

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SBI] %UserProfile%\Desktop\installer_sbd_en.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ContentEraser] C:\Program Files\ContentEraser\GDC.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [GDCW] C:\Program Files\ContentEraser\plug\GDCW.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Salestart] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\ContentEraser\stm.exe" dm=http://contenteraser.com ad=http://contenteraser.com sd=http://ilp.contenteraser.com

Guide Updates:

10/08/08 - Initial guide creation.

Automated Removal Instructions for ContentEraser 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 ContentEraser 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 Content Eraser 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. Please note that the infections found may be different than what is shown in the image.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    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. When removing the files, MBAM may require a reboot in order to remove some of them. If it displays a message stating that it needs to reboot, please allow it to do so. Once your computer has rebooted, and you are logged in, please continue with the rest of the steps.
    
    
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 Content Eraser 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 ContentEraser Files:

c:\Program Files\ContentEraser
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\config.ini
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\default.ini
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\GDC.exe
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\GDC.url
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\License.rtf
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\Readme.rtf
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\support.url
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\unins000.dat
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\unins000.exe
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\updater.dat
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\updater.exe
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\ver.dat
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\data
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\data\brand.dat
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\data\sfl.dat
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\data\skin.skn
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\data\srl.dat
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\data\application
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\data\firefox
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\data\ie
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\data\messanger
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\data\mozilla
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\data\netscape
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\data\opera
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\data\windows
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\button_arrow.bmp
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\button_arrow2.bmp
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\buy.bmp
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\checked.bmp
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\custom.bmp
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\customcleanup.bmp
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\header.bmp
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\icon.ico
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\icon_about.ico
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\icon_checked.ico
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\icon_grayed.ico
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\icon_link.ico
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\icon_manual.ico
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\icon_quit.ico
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\icon_support.ico
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\icon_unchecked.ico
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\icon_uncheked.ico
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\icon_uninstall.ico
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\icon_update.ico
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\log.bmp
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\logo.bmp
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\register.bmp
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\settings.bmp
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\sign_green.bmp
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\sign_green_big.bmp
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\sign_red.bmp
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\sign_red_big.bmp
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\sign_yellow.bmp
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\splash.bmp
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\status_good.bmp
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\status_risk.bmp
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\support.bmp
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\sys_shield.bmp
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\sys_update.bmp
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\sysstatus.bmp
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\unchecked.bmp
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\update.bmp
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\gfx\WindowsIconsMini.ico
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\lang
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\lang\Arabic.lng
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\lang\Brazilian.lng
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\lang\Catalan.lng
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\lang\Chinese.lng
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\lang\Czech.lng
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\lang\Danish.lng
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\lang\Dutch.lng
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\lang\English.lng
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\lang\Finnish.lng
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\lang\French.lng
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\lang\German.lng
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\lang\Greek.lng
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\lang\Hebrew.lng
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\lang\Italian.lng
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\lang\Japanese.lng
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\lang\Malayan.lng
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\lang\Norwegian.lng
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\lang\Polish.lng
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\lang\Portuguese.lng
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\lang\Russian.lng
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\lang\Slovenian.lng
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\lang\Spanish.lng
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\lang\Swedish.lng
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\lang\Thai.lng
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\lang\Turkish.lng
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\plug
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\plug\GDCPatch.exe
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\plug\GDCW.exe
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\plug\IH.exe
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\plug\sr.log
c:\Program Files\ContentEraser\plug\stpHlpr.dll
c:\WINDOWS\system32\mfc71.dll
c:\WINDOWS\system32\msvcp71.dll
c:\WINDOWS\system32\sqlite3.dll
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\ContentEraser unregistered.lnk
%UserProfile%\Desktop\ContentEraser unregistered.lnk
%UserProfile%\Desktop\ScanReport.dat
c:\Program Files\Common Files\ContentEraser
c:\Program Files\Common Files\ContentEraser\stm.exe
c:\Program Files\Common Files\ContentEraser instant update
c:\Program Files\Common Files\ContentEraser instant update\icon.ico
c:\Program Files\Common Files\ContentEraser instant update\InstantSCNS.exe
c:\Program Files\Common Files\ContentEraser instant update\InstantSCNS.xml
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ContentEraser
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ContentEraser\Abbr
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ContentEraser\prod_code
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\SalesMon
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\SalesMon\Data
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\ContentEraser
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\ContentEraser\Contact Customer Service.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\ContentEraser\ContentEraser unregistered.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\ContentEraser\ContentEraser web page.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\ContentEraser\Uninstall ContentEraser.lnk

Associated ContentEraser Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ContentEraser
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ContentEraserDownloader
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\Shell\Secure Delete
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ContentEraser
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ContentEraserDownloader
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\GDC_is1
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Purchased Products
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent\Post Platform "UGDC 1.1.74.0"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "ContentEraser"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "GDCW"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "Salestart"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "SBI"