How to remove XP-Guard (Removal Instructions)

Posted by Grinler on August 17, 2008 @ 02:08 PM · Views: 2,279

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What this programs does:

XP-Guard is a rogue anti-spyware program from the same family of rogues as XP-Shield. XP Guard promotes itself through the use of false advertising in the form of web sites pretending to be malware scanners. When visiting certain web sites you will be presented with a pop-up stating that your computer is infected. Regardless of the buttons that you press to close this pop-up, you will then be presented with another web site that pretends to scan your computer for malware, and when it is complete, will state that you are infected with a variety of malware. This is a scam as there is no way for a web site to know if your computer has infections without there first being a piece of software installed on your computer. They do this, though, to scare you into clicking on the download button and installing their software.

If you decided to download and install XP-Guard, the program will be set to run on your computer automatically when the computer starts. It will then scan your computer and list a variety of malware that cannot be removed unless you first purchase the software. These found infections, though, are all fake. In reality, these items are legitimate Microsoft programs and configuration files that are being falsely identified as infections in order to further scare you into purchasing the software.

XP Guard screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 4 images you can view.

This guide will walk you through uninstalling the XP Guard rogue and any related malware that may be installed with it.

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs

Advanced information:

View XP-Guard files.
View XP-Guard Registry Information.

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [XPGuard] C:\PROGRA~1\XPGuard\XP-Guard.exe

Guide Updates:

08/17/08 - Initial guide creation.

Automated Removal Instructions for XP-Guard 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-Guard 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 XPGuard 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 XPGuard 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-Guard Files:

c:\Program Files\XPGuard
c:\Program Files\XPGuard\INSTALL.LOG
c:\Program Files\XPGuard\UNWISE.EXE
c:\Program Files\XPGuard\XP-Guard Web Site.url
c:\Program Files\XPGuard\XP-Guard.exe
%UserProfile%\Desktop\XP-Guard.lnk
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Programs\XPGuard
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Programs\XPGuard\XP-Guard Web Site.lnk
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Programs\XPGuard\XP-Guard.lnk

Associated XP-Guard Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\XPGuard
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\XP-Guard
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "XPGuard"