How to remove AntivirusPCSuite (Removal Instructions)

Posted by Lawrence Abrams on February 24, 2008 @ 08:23 PM · Views: 2,754

 

What this infection does:

AntivirusPCSuite is a rogue anti-spyware program that is part of the same family of rogues consisting of WinSecureAv. These rogues are advertised through misleading web sites that state your computer is infected with a variety of malware even though the web site could not know that. Once installed, AntivirusPCSuite scans your computer and states that a variety of legitimate files are infections or other computer risks. These deliberate false positives are displayed in order to scare you into purchasing a license of AntivirusPCSuite , which is required to remove these so-called infections. When installed, you will also see popups stating that your computer has severe problems or infections and then advise you to install another rogue. An example of one warning is where they suggest CleanPCTool to be used to fix these problems.. The text of this example is:

Your system is in danger of severe system errors!
Would you like to make a free scan with CleanPCTool to get rid of them now (Recommended)?

Screen shots of AntivirusPCSuite, false positives, and the CleanPCTool alert are shown below.

 

 

 

This guide will walk you through removing the AntivirusPCSuite program.

 

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

 

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

AntivirusPCSuite 2.1.355.14

 

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

 

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O2 - BHO: CIEIntegrator Object - {5C3F6257-3E00-45C2-88D5-CB0F3A17BF0E} - C:\Program Files\AntivirusPCSuite\Tools\pblock.dll
O2 - BHO: IEFW Object - {6F87F145-DC2D-4766-AF03-3A3B96FFAD98} - C:\Program Files\AntivirusPCSuite\Tools\sbiebho.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AntivirusPCSuite] C:\Program Files\AntivirusPCSuite\pgs.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ugac] "C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\WINSEC~1\ugac.exe" -start
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [bm] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\AntivirusPCSuite\bm.exe" dm=http://antiviruspcsuite.com ad=http://antiviruspcsuite.com sd=http://ykeeper.antiviruspcsuite.com
O4 - HKLM\..\RunOnce: [overinstall] "C:\Program Files\AntivirusPCSuite\pgs.exe" /empty

 

Guide Updates:

02/24/08 - Initial guide creation.

 

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Automated Removal Instructions for AntivirusPCSuite 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 (Download page will open in a new window)
   
   


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 full scan option is selected and then click on the Scan button to start scanning your computer for AntivirusPCSuite 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 AntivirusPCSuite 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 AntivirusPCSuite 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 Using Malware Removal Tools and Requesting Help