Remove AntiMalware (Uninstall Guide)

Posted by Grinler on November 9, 2009 @ 11:15 PM · Views: 19,302

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What this programs does:

AntiMalware is a rogue application from the same family as Active Security. When this program is installed it will be configured to start automatically when you log into Windows. The installer will also attempt to uninstall anti-virus programs that it feels can potentially detect it and thus remove it. The list of security programs that the installer tries to remove includes:

• NOD32
• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
• Agnitum
• AVG
• F-Secure
• Avira AntiVir
• avast!
• Kaspersky
• BitDefender
• Sophos
  

When AntiMalware is started it will scan your computer and detect numerous infections on your computer, but will not remove them until you purchase the program. These infections, though, are all fake and do not exist on your computer. In fact, AntiMalware is programmed to show the same scan results regardless of the computer that it is running on. Some of the infections that this program will state it detects on your computer include:

Though these are the names of real infections, what AntiMalware is detecting does not actually exist on your computer. Therefore, do not be concerned by what the scan results of this program says.

AntiMalware screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 7 images you can view.

While the program is running you will also see numerous fake security warnings pop-up on your desktop. These security warnings will state that Internet Explorer is infected, that an active malware has been found, or that a keylogger is present on your computer. The text of some of these messages are:

User's activity loggers detected!
It's strongly recommended to remove detected threats right now!

AntiMalware detected the virus of the harmful program on your computer!
Internet Explorer is infected with worm Rootkit.Win32.Agent.pp. This worm can harm your computer.

AntiMalware network security alert
Network attack rejected!
Your computer is being attacked from remote host. Attack has been classified as Remote code execution attempt.

Just like the fake scan results, these fake security warnings should all be ignored as they are just trying to trick you into thinking there is a security problem on your computer.

Without a doubt, AntiMalware was designed for one purpose; to trick you into thinking you are infected so that you will then purchase AntiMalware to remove the infections. You now know that if you see behavior as described above, you should not purchase the program regardless of what it tells you. If you have already purchased it, then please contact your credit card company and dispute the charges stating that this software is a scam. Finally, to remove AntiMalware and any related malware, please use the removal guide below.

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

Advanced information:

View AntiMalware files.
View AntiMalware Registry Information.

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

AntiMalware

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [AntiMalware] C:\Program Files\AntiMalware\AntiMalware.exe -boot
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [AntiMalware] "C:\Program Files\AntiMalware\antimalware.exe" -noscan

Guide Updates:

11/09/09 - Initial guide creation.

Automated Removal Instructions for AntiMalware 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 full scan option is selected and then click on the Scan button to start scanning your computer for AntiMalware 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 AntiMalware 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 AntiMalware 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 AntiMalware Files:

c:\Program Files\AntiMalware
c:\Program Files\AntiMalware\amext.dll
c:\Program Files\AntiMalware\antimalware.exe
c:\Program Files\AntiMalware\help.ico
c:\Program Files\AntiMalware\malw.db
c:\Program Files\AntiMalware\uninstall.exe
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop\AntiMalware Support.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop\AntiMalware.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\AntiMalware
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\AntiMalware\AntiMalware Support.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\AntiMalware\AntiMalware.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\AntiMalware\Uninstall AntiMalware.lnk
%Temp%\4otjesjty.mof
%Temp%\c.dat

Associated AntiMalware Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{5E2121EE-0300-11D4-8D3B-444553540000}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Active Security
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\AntiMalware
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\AntiMalware
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "AntiMalware"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions\Approved "{5E2121EE-0300-11D4-8D3B-444553540000}"