Spyware Sweeper Pro Removal Instructions

Posted by Grinler on March 12, 2008 @ 03:03 PM · Views: 631

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What this programs does:

Spyware Sweeper Pro is a rogue antispyware program that is in the same family as SpywarePro. This program intentionally displays false antimalware results and then requires you to first purchase a license of the software in order to remove them. When Spyware Sweeper Pro is installed on your computer it will scan for infections and display a variety of infections found. These infections, though, are either legitimate programs categorized as dangerous or items that do not even exist on your computer. For example, one of the spyware threats it discovers is located in the folder c:\documents and settings\all users\application data\viewpoint\viewpoint media player\2000cracks even though this folder does not exist on my computer. The other scan results are of similar nature showing that anything this application reports should be ignored.

Screen shots of the the Spyware Sweeper Pro program and its false positives can be found below.

This guide will walk you through removing the Spyware Sweeper Pro program.

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs

Advanced information:

View Spyware Sweeper Pro files.
View Spyware Sweeper Pro Registry Information.

Add/Remove Programs control panel entry:

Spyware Sweeper Pro

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [SpywareSweeperProMFC] C:\Program Files\Spyware Sweeper Pro\Spyware Sweeper Pro.exe

Guide Updates:

03/12/08 - Initial guide creation.

Automated Removal Instructions for Spyware Sweeper Pro 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 Spyware Sweeper Pro 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 SpywareSweeperPro 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 SpywareSweeperPro 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 Spyware Sweeper Pro Files:

c:\Program Files\Spyware Sweeper Pro
c:\Program Files\Spyware Sweeper Pro\Spyware Sweeper Pro.exe
c:\Program Files\Spyware Sweeper Pro\Uninstall
c:\Program Files\Spyware Sweeper Pro\Uninstall\IRIMG1.JPG
c:\Program Files\Spyware Sweeper Pro\Uninstall\IRIMG2.JPG
c:\Program Files\Spyware Sweeper Pro\Uninstall\IRIMG3.JPG
c:\Program Files\Spyware Sweeper Pro\Uninstall\uninstall.dat
c:\Program Files\Spyware Sweeper Pro\Uninstall\uninstall.xml
c:\WINDOWS\Spyware Sweeper Pro
c:\WINDOWS\Spyware Sweeper Pro\uninstall.exe
%UserProfile%\Desktop\Spyware Sweeper Pro.lnk
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Programs\Spyware Sweeper Pro
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Programs\Spyware Sweeper Pro\Spyware Sweeper Pro.lnk
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Programs\Spyware Sweeper Pro\Uninstall Spyware Sweeper Pro.lnk

Associated Spyware Sweeper Pro Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\MPMFC1
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Spyware Sweeper Pro5.2
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "SpywareSweeperProMFC"