How to uninstall and remove AntiSpyware Pro 2009

Posted by Lawrence Abrams on March 11, 2009 @ 02:50 PM · Views: 4,621

 

What this infection does:

AntiSpyware Pro 2009 is a rogue anti-spyware program because it uses false advertising and false positives in order to sell a license of the software. When installed, this software will be configured to start automatically when Windows starts. Once running it will scan your computer and list a variety of infections that cannot be removed unless you first purchase it. This program, though, will always produce the same scan results on any computer that is scanned because it uses scripted results. It shows these pretend infections in order to scare you into thinking you are legitimately infected, which they hope will scare you into purchasing their software to fix it.

 

AntiSpyware Pro 2009 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 running, you may also see false alerts and pop-ups stating that you are infected. Just like the scan results, these alerts are all fake and can be ignored. Unfortunately, because the program is always running in the background, when AntiSpyware Pro 2009 is installed you may find that your computer begins to become slower. This is because the program is using up your computer's resources that other legitimate programs could better use. If you are infected with this malware, please use the below guide to remove AntiSpyware Pro 2009 for free.

 

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

 

Advanced information:

View AntiSpyware Pro 2009 files.
View AntiSpyware Pro 2009 Registry Information.

 

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

AntiSpyware Pro

 

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

 

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O2 - BHO: AntiSpyware Pro Site Blocker Button - {66B643BE-5E94-4569-B93E-CE2636848AC8} - C:\Program Files\AntiSpyware Pro\ASProSB.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AntiSpyware Pro] "C:\Program Files\AntiSpyware Pro\AntiSpyware Pro.exe" hide
O4 - Startup: .security
O4 - Global Startup: .security

 

Guide Updates:

03-11-09 - Initial guide creation.

 

---

Automated Removal Instructions for AntiSpyware Pro 2009 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 AntiSpyware Pro 2009 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 AntiSpywarePro 2009 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 AntiSpywarePro 2009 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

 

---

 

Associated AntiSpyware Pro 2009 Files:

c:\Program Files\AntiSpyware Pro
c:\Program Files\AntiSpyware Pro\AntiSpyware Pro.db
c:\Program Files\AntiSpyware Pro\AntiSpyware Pro.exe
c:\Program Files\AntiSpyware Pro\AntiSpywarePro.pkg
c:\Program Files\AntiSpyware Pro\ASProSB.dll
c:\Program Files\AntiSpyware Pro\ASpyProPUBlk.dll
c:\Program Files\AntiSpyware Pro\BlankActiveX.ocx
c:\Program Files\AntiSpyware Pro\prg.info
c:\Program Files\AntiSpyware Pro\Uninstall.exe
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\AntiSpyware Pro
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\AntiSpyware Pro\Register AntiSpyware Pro.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\AntiSpyware Pro\Start AntiSpyware Pro.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\AntiSpyware Pro\Uninstall AntiSpyware Pro.lnk
%UserProfile%\Application Data\AntiSpyware Pro
%UserProfile%\Application Data\AntiSpyware Pro\conf.xml
%UserProfile%\Application Data\AntiSpyware Pro\Sites.black
%UserProfile%\Application Data\AntiSpyware Pro\logs
%UserProfile%\Application Data\AntiSpyware Pro\logs\1236795825.log
%UserProfile%\Application Data\AntiSpyware Pro\startup
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\.security
c:\.security
c:\WINDOWS\.security
c:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\.security
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\.security

File Location Notes:

%UserProfile% refers to the current user's profile folder. By default, this is C:\Documents and Settings\<Current User> for Windows 2000/XP, C:\Users\<Current User> for Windows Vista/7, and c:\winnt\profiles\<Current User> for Windows NT.

 

Associated AntiSpyware Pro 2009 Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AntiSpyware Pro
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{66B643BE-5E94-4569-B93E-CE2636848AC8}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\AntiSpyware Pro
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{66B643BE-5E94-4569-B93E-CE2636848AC8}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\AntiSpyware Pro
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "AntiSpyware Pro"