How to remove Internet Antivirus (Uninstall Instructions)

Posted by Grinler on August 11, 2008 @ 01:08 PM · Views: 26,498

Add to Favorites!    Print Guide!

What this programs does:

Internet Antivirus is a new rogue anti-virus program that uses false information and aggressive tactics in order to scare people into purchasing it. Most people see ads for Internet Antivirus as they browse the web. Certain sites will display a pop-up ad stating that your computer has infections, even though the web site has no way of knowing that, and then pretends to be a program scanning your computer for malware. Once this ad has finished with its act you will see another popup stating that a variety of infections were found and that you should download and install Internet Antivirus.

If you decide to download and install the program, Internet Antivirus will be set to automatically run when your computer starts. Once started, it will scan your computer and display a variety of legitimate programs and folders and state that they are infection. These infections, though, can't be removed unless you first register the program. This act of displaying legitimate entries as malware is being done to scare you into purchasing the program. In fact, if you deleted all of the files and folders that it stated were infections, your computer would not run properly.

Another side effect of this program is that it will inject fake warnings into the web sites you visit, display fake warnings when you browse to various web sites, and issue popups stating that your computer has a variety security risks. These popups and warnings can cause your computer to slow down and not run as efficiently as it should.

Screen shot of Internet Antivirus
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 9 images you can view.

This guide will walk you through uninstalling Internet Antivirus rogue and any related malware.

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs

Advanced information:

View Internet Antivirus files.
View Internet Antivirus Registry Information.

Add/Remove Programs control panel entry:

Internet Antivirus (1.0.0.17)

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Internet Antivirus] "c:\program files\Internet Antivirus\IAvir.exe" /s
O4 - HKCU\..\RunOnce: [3P_UDEC_IA] "%UserProfile%\Desktop\IAInstall.exe" 0;C;user_id=165639&uid=0
O4 - HKCU\..\Policies\Explorer\Run: [iv] "%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\iv.exe"

Guide Updates:

08/11/08 - Initial guide creation.

Automated Removal Instructions for Internet Antivirus 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 Internet Antivirus 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 InternetAntivirus 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 InternetAntivirus 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 Internet Antivirus Files:

c:\Program Files\IA
c:\Program Files\IA\InternetAntivirus.exe
c:\Program Files\Internet Antivirus
c:\Program Files\Internet Antivirus\activate.ico
c:\Program Files\Internet Antivirus\cookies.log
c:\Program Files\Internet Antivirus\Explorer.ico
c:\Program Files\Internet Antivirus\IAUpdater.exe
c:\Program Files\Internet Antivirus\IAvir.exe
c:\Program Files\Internet Antivirus\Scanner.log
c:\Program Files\Internet Antivirus\unins000.dat
c:\Program Files\Internet Antivirus\uninstall.ico
c:\Program Files\Internet Antivirus\working.log
c:\Program Files\Internet Antivirus\db
c:\Program Files\Internet Antivirus\db\config.cfg
c:\Program Files\Internet Antivirus\db\DBInfo.ver
c:\Program Files\Internet Antivirus\db\ia080614.db
c:\Program Files\Internet Antivirus\Languages
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop\Internet Antivirus.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Internet Antivirus
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Internet Antivirus\Internet Antivirus Home Page.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Internet Antivirus\Internet Antivirus.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Internet Antivirus\Purchase License.lnk
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Internet Antivirus
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Internet Antivirus\settings.ini
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Internet Antivirus\uill.ini
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Internet Antivirus\unins000.exe
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Internet Antivirus\Uninstall Internet Antivirus.lnk
%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\iv.exe

Associated Internet Antivirus Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\Run "iv"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "Internet Antivirus"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce "3P_UDEC_IA"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Internet Antivirus_is1