How to remove Win Antivir 2008 and Win Antivirus 2008 (Uninstall Instructions)

Posted by Grinler on July 29, 2008 @ 10:07 PM · Views: 12,175

Add to Favorites!    Print Guide!

What this programs does:

Win Antivir 2008 and Win Antivirus 2008 are the names of two rogue anti-spyware programs that, though they have different names and filenames, are actually the same exact program. These two programs are part of the notorious SpywareSheriff family that has plagued Internet users for quite a while. These programs are advertised via web sites that pretend to be anti-malware scanners, but are instead nothing more than glorified ads. When the fake scanners are finished, they will say you are infected and prompt you to download and install Win Antivir 2008 or Win Antivirus 2008.

If you decide to install either of these programs, they will automatically scan your computer a list a variety of made up infections such as Backdoor.Mite, VBS.Lion@mm, Spyware.ActivityKey, and W32.HLLW.Backzat.G that cannot be removed unless you first purchase the program. All of these infections, though, are fake and point to legitimate programs. For example, in our test scan these programs stated that the MalwareBytes AntiMalware program was an infection, as well as the HijackThis.exe file. These programs are both legitimate security programs and should not be deleted.

Win Antivir 2008 screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 5 images you can view.

This guide will walk you through removing the Win Antivir 2008 and Win Antivirus 2008 programs and any associated malware for free.

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs

Advanced information:

View Win Antivir 2008 and Win Antivirus 2008 files.
View Win Antivir 2008 and Win Antivirus 2008 Registry Information.

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Win Antivirus 2008] C:\Program Files\Win Antivirus 2008\Win Antivirus 2008.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Win Antivir 2008] C:\Program Files\Win Antivir 2008\Win Antivir 2008.exe

Guide Updates:

07/29/08 - Initial guide creation.

Automated Removal Instructions for Win Antivir 2008 and Win Antivirus 2008 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 Win Antivir 2008 and Win Antivirus 2008 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 Win Antivir 2008 and Win Antivirus 2008 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 Win Antivir 2008 and Win Antivirus 2008 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 Win Antivir 2008 and Win Antivirus 2008 Files:

c:\Program Files\Win Antivirus 2008
c:\Program Files\Win Antivirus 2008\Buy.url
c:\Program Files\Win Antivirus 2008\Help.url
c:\Program Files\Win Antivirus 2008\HowToBuy.txt
c:\Program Files\Win Antivirus 2008\License.txt
c:\Program Files\Win Antivirus 2008\Restart.exe
c:\Program Files\Win Antivirus 2008\Uninstall.exe
c:\Program Files\Win Antivirus 2008\Win Antivirus 2008.exe
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Win Antivirus 2008
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Win Antivirus 2008\Purchase License.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Win Antivirus 2008\Start Win Antivirus 2008.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Win Antivirus 2008\Support Page.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Win Antivirus 2008\Win Antivirus 2008 Uninstall.lnk
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Win Antivirus 2008
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Win Antivirus 2008\base.dat
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Win Antivirus 2008\base2.dat
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Win Antivirus 2008\Desc.dat
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Win Antivirus 2008\spline.dat
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Win Antivirus 2008\Win Antivirus 2008.ini
%UserProfile%\Desktop\Win Antivirus 2008.lnk
%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Temp\Perflib_Perfdata_480.dat

c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Win Antivir 2008
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Win Antivir 2008\Purchase License.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Win Antivir 2008\Start Win Antivir 2008.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Win Antivir 2008\Support Page.lnk
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Win Antivir 2008
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Win Antivir 2008\base.dat
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Win Antivir 2008\base2.dat
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Win Antivir 2008\Desc.dat
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Win Antivir 2008\spline.dat
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Win Antivir 2008\Win Antivir 2008.ini
%UserProfile%\Desktop\Win Antivir 2008.lnk
%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Temp\Perflib_Perfdata_654.dat
c:\Program Files\Win Antivir 2008
c:\Program Files\Win Antivir 2008\Buy.url
c:\Program Files\Win Antivir 2008\Help.url
c:\Program Files\Win Antivir 2008\HowToBuy.txt
c:\Program Files\Win Antivir 2008\ID.dat
c:\Program Files\Win Antivir 2008\License.txt
c:\Program Files\Win Antivir 2008\Restart.exe
c:\Program Files\Win Antivir 2008\Uninstall.exe
c:\Program Files\Win Antivir 2008\Win Antivir 2008.exe

Associated Win Antivir 2008 and Win Antivirus 2008 Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "Win Antivirus 2008"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "Win Antivir 2008"