How to remove XP Antivirus 2008, XP Antivirus 2009, and XPAntiVirus (Removal Instructions)

Posted by Grinler on July 22, 2008 @ 01:07 PM · Views: 490,767

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What this programs does:

XP Antivirus 2008, XP Antivirus 2009, and XPAntiVirus are rogue antivirus programs that, when run, display false results as a tactic to scare you into purchasing the software. Older versions of XP Antivirus would create 9 entries in your Windows Registry that impersonate infections on your machine. In reality, though, these registry entries were harmless and had absolutely no effect on your computer. Instead, these entries were set so that XP AntiVirus can find them when scanning your computer and report them as infections. The newer of versions of the program , such as XP Antivirus 2008 and XP Antivirus 2009, instead just display false results when scanning your computer that state infections were found. In order to remove these fake infections, though, you would first need to purchase the software as the trial does not allow you to remove them.

While running, XP Antivirus will also display fake alerts stating that you are infected or under attack from some type of threat. These alerts are fake and can be ignored. If you do click on the alert, though, it will prompt you to purchase the software. Examples of text contained in these alerts can be found below.

Privacy Violation alert!
XP antivirus detected Privacy Violation. Some program is secretly sending your private data to untrusted internet host. Click here to block this activity by removing threats (Recommended).

or

System files modification alert!
Some critical system files of your computer were modified by malicious program. It may cause system instability and data loss. Click here to block unathorised <sic> modification by removing threats (Recommended).

As you can see these programs are fraudware because they make changes to your computer and then state these changes are infections as a scare tactic to have you purchase the software. It goes without saying that under no circumstances should you buy it. The older program, XPAntivirus, does come with a removal option in the computer's Add or Remove Programs list, but when you attempt to uninstall it, all that happens is the entry is removed from the list and program's process is terminated. Next time you reboot, XP AntiVirus will start up again. The newer versions of the program do not contain an entry in the Add or Remove Programs list at all.

XP Antivirus 2008 screenshot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 7 images you can view.

The guide below will walk you through the steps necessary to remove this software and any entries it installed in your Windows Registry for free.

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs

Advanced information:

View XP Antivirus 2008, XP Antivirus 2009, and XPAntivirus files.
View XP Antivirus 2008, XP Antivirus 2009, and XPAntivirus Registry Information.

Add/Remove Programs control panel entry:

XP antivirus 1.0.1

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O2 - BHO: (no name) - {4e7bd74f-2b8d-469e-dcf7-f96da086b434} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {6C6B8C69-9285-4D94-8492-9E920C8C2B65} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {74f25a2c-22b3-4023-8f1a-ca616c30a8b5} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {9a19966f-ae0e-4699-8cce-9b6f5f1c352c} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {D714A94F-123A-45CC-8F03-040BCAF82AD6} - (no file)
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [System] C:\WINDOWS\krln32.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Windows Framework] C:\WINDOWS\system32\scvh0st.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [mmnext06] C:\Program Files\Common Files\trjdwnl.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [shellbn] C:\WINDOWS\shlext32.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [XP Antivirus] C:\Program Files\XPAntivirus\XPAntivirus.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [10181281926292389167514053783761] C:\Program Files\XP Antivirus\xpa.exe

Guide Updates:

10/10/07 - Initial guide creation.
07/22/08 - Updated with information on new variants

Automated Removal Instructions for XP Antivirus 2008, XP Antivirus 2009, and XPAntivirus 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 XP Antivirus 2008, XP Antivirus 2009, and XPAntivirus 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 XP Antivirus 2008, XP Antivirus 2009, and XPAntivirus 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 XP Antivirus 2008, XP Antivirus 2009, and XPAntivirus 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 XP Antivirus 2008, XP Antivirus 2009, and XPAntivirus Files:

c:\Program Files\XP Antivirus
c:\Program Files\XP Antivirus\xpa.exe
C:\Program Files\XPAntivirus\
C:\Program Files\XPAntivirus\XPAntivirus.exe
c:\WINDOWS\system32\scui.cpl
%UserProfile%\Desktop\XP Antivirus 2008.lnk
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\XP Antivirus 2008
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\XP Antivirus 2008\Uninstall XP Antivirus 2008.lnk
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\XP Antivirus 2008\XP Antivirus 2008.lnk
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\XP Antivirus 2008.lnk
C:\WINDOWS\krln32.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\scvh0st.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\trjdwnl.dll
C:\WINDOWS\shlext32.exe

Associated XP Antivirus 2008, XP Antivirus 2009, and XPAntivirus Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\XP antivirus
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\XPAntivirusFilter
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\XPAntivirusFilter
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{4e7bd74f-2b8d-469e-dcf7-f96da086b434}\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{6C6B8C69-9285-4D94-8492-9E920C8C2B65}\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{74f25a2c-22b3-4023-8f1a-ca616c30a8b5}\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{9a19966f-ae0e-4699-8cce-9b6f5f1c352c}\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{D714A94F-123A-45CC-8F03-040BCAF82AD6}\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\XP antivirus_is1\
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "XP Antivirus"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "mmnext06"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "shellbn"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "System"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "Windows Framework"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run ""