IE AntiVirus is a rogue anti-spyware program from the same developers as Files Secure and Malware Bell. IE AntiVirus is advertised on your computer through the use of a Trojan installed on your computer as an Internet Explorer Browser Helper Object. This Trojan manipulates search engine queries to show their own ads or to insert results into the search results of popular search engines like Google and Yahoo. Another byproduct of this Trojan is to display fake alerts stating that your computer has a security risk and that you should download IE AntiVirus in order to remove them. In order to trick you into thinking these fake alerts are real, IE Antivirus will read the name that you registered your computer with and display it in the warnings.

If you decide to install IE AntiVirus, it will automatically scan your computer and list a variety of the security threats that you can not remove unless you purchase a license of the software. These results, though, are false or exaggerated and are only being shown to you in order to scare you into purchasing the software.

 

Screen shot of IE Antivirus 3.3
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 2 images you can view.

 

This guide will walk you through removing the IE AntiVirus and the accompanied malware from your computer.

 

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

 

Advanced information:

View IE AntiVirus files.
View IE AntiVirus Registry Information.

 

Entries for this program found in the Uninstall Programs control panel:

IE AntiVirus

 

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
• SmitFraudFix

 

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [antispy] C:\Program Files\IEAntiVirus\ieav.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [antispy] C:\Program Files\IEAntiVirus\ANTIVIR.exe

 

Guide Updates:

04/24/08 - Initial guide creation.
06/25/08 - Upgraded for IE Antivirus version 3.3.

 

---

Choose the removal method you would like to use:

• Automated Removal using Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
• Automated Removal using SmitFraudFix

---

Automated Removal Instructions for IE AntiVirus 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 IE AntiVirus 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 IEAntiVirus 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 IEAntiVirus 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

 

---

Automated Removal Instructions for IE AntiVirus using SmitFraudFix:

 

1. Print out these instructions as we will need to close every window that is open later in the fix.
   
   
2. Download SmitfraudFix.exe from here and save it to your desktop:
   
   SmitFraudFix.exe
   
   Confirm that the file SmitfraudFix.exe now resides on your desktop, but do not double-click on the icon as of yet. We will use it in later steps. The icon will look like the one below:
   
   
   
   


3. Next, please reboot your computer into Safe Mode by doing the following:
   
   
   1. Restart your computer
      
      
   2. After hearing your computer beep once during startup, but before the Windows icon appears, press F8.
      
      
   3. Instead of Windows loading as normal, a menu should appear
      
      
   4. Select the first option, to run Windows in Safe Mode.
      
      
   5. When you are at the logon prompt, log in as the same user that you had performed the previous steps as.
      
      
4. When your computer has started in safe mode, and you see the desktop, close all open Windows.
   
   
5. Now, double-click on the SmitFraudfix icon that should be residing on your desktop.The icon will look like the one below:
   
   
   
   
6. When the tool first starts you will see a credits screen. Simply press any key on your keyboard to get to the next screen.
   
   
7. You will now see a menu as shown in the image below. Press the number 2 on your keyboard and the press the enter key to choose the option Clean (safe mode recommended).
   
   
   
   


8. The program will start cleaning your computer and go through a series of cleanup processes. When it is done, it will automatically start the Disk Cleanup program as shown by the image below.
   
   
   
   
   
   This program will remove all Temp, Temporary Internet Files, and other files that may be leftover files from this infection. This process can take up to a few hours depending on your computer, so please be patient. When it is complete, it will close automatically and you will should continue with step 11.
   
   
9. When Disk Cleanup is finished, you will be presented with an option asking Do you want to clean the registry ? (y/n). At this screen you should press the Y button on your keyboard and then press the enter key.
   



10. When this last routine is finished, you will be presented with a red screen stating Computer will reboot now. Close all applications. You should now press the spacebar on your computer. A counter will appear stating that the computer will reboot in 15 seconds. Do not cancel this countdown and allow your computer to reboot.
    
11. Once the computer has rebooted, you will be presented with a Notepad screen containing a log of all the files removed from your computer. Examine this log, and when you are done, close the Notepad screen.
    

Your computer should now be free of the IE AntiVirus infection.

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

 

---

 

Associated IE AntiVirus Files:

c:\Program Files\IEAntiVirus
c:\Program Files\IEAntiVirus\ieas.db2
c:\Program Files\IEAntiVirus\ieas.db3
c:\Program Files\IEAntiVirus\ieav.db4
c:\Program Files\IEAntiVirus\ieav.exe
c:\Program Files\IEAntiVirus\antivir.exe
c:\Program Files\IEAntiVirus\license.txt
c:\Program Files\IEAntiVirus\uninst.exe
c:\Documents and Settings\forensics\Desktop\IE AntiVirus 3.2.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\forensics\Desktop\IE AntiVirus 3.3.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\forensics\Start Menu\Programs\IE AntiVirus 3.2.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\forensics\Start Menu\Programs\IE AntiVirus 3.3.lnk

 

Associated IE AntiVirus Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\IEAntiVirus
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\IE AntiVirus
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "antispy"

 

---

 

BleepingComputer.com can not be held responsible for problems that may occur by using this information. If you would like help with any of these fixes, you can ask for malware removal assistance in our Virus, Trojan, Spyware, and Malware Removal Logs forum.

If you have any questions about this self-help guide then please post those questions in our Am I infected? What do I do? and someone will help you.