Remove Advanced Virus Remover (Removal Instructions)

Posted by Grinler on May 31, 2009 @ 02:58 PM · Views: 65,711

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What this programs does:

Advanced Virus Remover is a scareware program that pretends to be an anti-virus program. In reality, though, this program is programmed to show that your computer is infected even if it is not. It does this in order to scare you into thinking you are infected and thus scamming you into purchasing the program. When Advanced Virus Remover is installed it will be configured to start automatically, and when started, will supposedly scan your computer for infections. When the scan is complete it will state that your computer has numerous infections that it will not remove until you purchase the program.

Advanced Virus Remover screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 5 images you can view.

While the program is running you will also see false security alerts appear from the Windows taskbar. These alerts range from warnings that you are infected to a remote computer hacking your computer. Just like the fake scan results, these alerts are just another attempt to scare you into thinking you are infected. The current text of one of these alerts is:

System warning!
Continue working in unprotected mode is very dangerous. Viruses can damage your confidential data and work on your computer. Click here to protect your computer.

Regardless of what this programs states, please do not purchase Advanced Virus Remover. Instead please use the removal guide outlined below to remove this program for free.

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

Advanced information:

View Advanced Virus Remover files.
View Advanced Virus Remover Registry Information.

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

Guide Updates:

05/31/09 - Initial guide creation.

Automated Removal Instructions for Advanced Virus Remover 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 Virus Remover 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 Advanced Virus Remover 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 Advanced Virus Remover 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 Virus Remover Files:

c:\Program Files\AdvancedVirusRemover
c:\Program Files\AdvancedVirusRemover\PAVRM.exe
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\Advanced Virus Remover.lnk
%UserProfile%\Desktop\Advanced Virus Remover.lnk
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Advanced Virus Remover.lnk

Associated Advanced Virus Remover Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AVR
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\International\CpMRU