WinPCDoctor Removal Instructions

Posted by Grinler on March 27, 2008 @ 04:03 PM · Views: 413

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What this programs does:

WinPCDoctor is a rogue pc optimization program from the same family of rogues such as HardDriveGuard and PCToolPro. WinPCDoctor uses aggressive and misleading advertisements in order to make you think your computer has a security problem. Once you download and install this software, it will list a variety of exaggerated or false results and require you to purchase a license of the software in order to remove them. This is a scam, though, and the purchase of the software should be avoided.

WinPCDoctor will occasionally display a message box that states you have a security risk and that you should download a particular software in order to fix it. The software that will be downloaded is just another clone of the WinPCDoctor software. Screenshots of the program, fake alert, and scan can be found below.

This guide will walk you through removing the WinPCDoctor program.

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs

Advanced information:

View WinPCDoctor files.
View WinPCDoctor Registry Information.

Add/Remove Programs control panel entry:

WinPCDoctor 1.4.1.0
WinPCDoctor 1.5.15.0

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [WinPCDoctor] C:\Program Files\WinPCDoctor\SysRep.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [cwriter] C:\Program Files\WinPCDoctor\ucookw.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [strpmon] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\WinPCDoctor\strpmon.exe" dm=http://winpcdoctor.com ad=http://winpcdoctor.com sd=http://inspaid.winpcdoctor.com

Guide Updates:

03/27/08 - Initial guide creation.

Automated Removal Instructions for WinPCDoctor 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 WinPCDoctor 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 WinPCDoctor 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 WinPCDoctor 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 WinPCDoctor Files:

%UserProfile%\Desktop\WinPCDoctor.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\winpcdoctor
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\winpcdoctor\Data
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\winpcdoctor\Data\em
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\winpcdoctor\Data\oid
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\winpcdoctor\Data\user
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\WinPCDoctor\Contact Customer Service.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\WinPCDoctor\WinPCDoctor.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\SalesMon
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\SalesMon\Data
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\WinPCDoctor
c:\Program Files\WinPCDoctor
c:\Program Files\WinPCDoctor\atl71.dll
c:\Program Files\WinPCDoctor\kernel.dll
c:\Program Files\WinPCDoctor\License.rtf
c:\Program Files\WinPCDoctor\mfc71.dll
c:\Program Files\WinPCDoctor\msvcp71.dll
c:\Program Files\WinPCDoctor\msvcr71.dll
c:\Program Files\WinPCDoctor\Readme.rtf
c:\Program Files\WinPCDoctor\rm.url
c:\Program Files\WinPCDoctor\sr.log
c:\Program Files\WinPCDoctor\swupd.log
c:\Program Files\WinPCDoctor\SysRep.exe
c:\Program Files\WinPCDoctor\sysrep.exe.Log
c:\Program Files\WinPCDoctor\SysRep.exe.xml
c:\Program Files\WinPCDoctor\SysRep.url
c:\Program Files\WinPCDoctor\transpaid.exe
c:\Program Files\WinPCDoctor\ucookw.exe
c:\Program Files\WinPCDoctor\unins000.dat
c:\Program Files\WinPCDoctor\unins000.exe
c:\Program Files\WinPCDoctor\urls.ini
c:\Program Files\WinPCDoctor\Res
c:\Program Files\WinPCDoctor\Res\Main.ico
c:\Program Files\WinPCDoctor\Res\RecycleBin.ico
c:\Program Files\Common Files\WinPCDoctor
c:\Program Files\Common Files\WinPCDoctor\strpmon.exe

Associated WinPCDoctor Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\WinPCDoctor
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\WinPCDoctorDownloader
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WinPCDoctor
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\GES_is1
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Purchased Products
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Purchased Products\System Error Repair
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent\Post Platform "UGES 1.5.15.0"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "cwriter"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "strpmon"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "WinPCDoctor"