How to remove Advanced XP Defender (Removal Instructions)

Posted by Grinler on May 16, 2008 @ 12:57 PM · Views: 9,687

Add to Favorites!    Print Guide!

What this programs does:

Advanced XP Defender is the successor to the rogue anti-spyware program called WinIFixer. Advanced XP Defender is advertised through the use of Trojans that display fake security warnings and state that you should install Advanced XP Defender in order to remove them. If you click on one of these advertisements, AdvancedXPDefender will be downloaded. Once installed, Advanced XP Defender will scan your computer and list a variety of security risks that cannot be removed until you first purchase a license of the software. These infections, though, are fake and are actually legitimate Microsoft folders being used to scare you into thinking you are infected.

Advanced XP Defender 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 the free removal of the AdvancedXP Defender program and any associated malware.

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

Advanced information:

View Advanced XP Defender files.
View Advanced XP Defender Registry Information.

Entries for this program found in the Add or Remove Programs control panel:

AXPDefender

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AXPDefender] C:\Program Files\AXPDefender\AXPDefender.exe

Guide Updates:

05/16/08 - Initial guide creation.

Automated Removal Instructions for Advanced XP Defender 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 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 Advanced XP Defender 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 AdvancedXPDefender 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 AdvancedXPDefender 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 Advanced XP Defender Files:

c:\Program Files\AXPDefender
c:\Program Files\AXPDefender\AXPDefender.exe
c:\Program Files\AXPDefender\AXPDefender.exe.local
c:\Program Files\AXPDefender\AXPDefenderSkin.dll
c:\Program Files\AXPDefender\database.dat
c:\Program Files\AXPDefender\license.txt
c:\Program Files\AXPDefender\MFC71.dll
c:\Program Files\AXPDefender\MFC71ENU.DLL
c:\Program Files\AXPDefender\msvcp71.dll
c:\Program Files\AXPDefender\msvcr71.dll
c:\Program Files\AXPDefender\Uninstall.exe
c:\Documents and Settings\forensics\Application Data\AXPDefender
c:\Documents and Settings\forensics\Application Data\AXPDefender\AXPDefender
c:\Documents and Settings\forensics\Application Data\AXPDefender\AXPDefender\Quarantine
c:\Documents and Settings\forensics\Application Data\AXPDefender\AXPDefender\Quarantine\Autorun
c:\Documents and Settings\forensics\Application Data\AXPDefender\AXPDefender\Quarantine\Autorun\HKCU
c:\Documents and Settings\forensics\Application Data\AXPDefender\AXPDefender\Quarantine\Autorun\HKCU\RunOnce
c:\Documents and Settings\forensics\Application Data\AXPDefender\AXPDefender\Quarantine\Autorun\HKLM
c:\Documents and Settings\forensics\Application Data\AXPDefender\AXPDefender\Quarantine\Autorun\HKLM\RunOnce
c:\Documents and Settings\forensics\Application Data\AXPDefender\AXPDefender\Quarantine\Autorun\StartMenuAllUsers
c:\Documents and Settings\forensics\Application Data\AXPDefender\AXPDefender\Quarantine\Autorun\StartMenuCurrentUser
c:\Documents and Settings\forensics\Application Data\AXPDefender\AXPDefender\Quarantine\BrowserObjects
c:\Documents and Settings\forensics\Application Data\AXPDefender\AXPDefender\Quarantine\Packages
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop\AXPDefender.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Advanced XP Defender
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Advanced XP Defender.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Advanced XP Defender\Advanced XP Defender.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Advanced XP Defender\How to register.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Advanced XP Defender\License Agreement.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Advanced XP Defender\Register.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Advanced XP Defender\Uninstall.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\forensics\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\AXPDefender.lnk

Associated Advanced XP Defender Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\AXPDefender
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\AXPDefender\AXPDefender
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\AXPDefender\AXPDefender\Settings
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\AXPDefender
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "AXPDefender"