Antivir Solution Pro is a rogue anti-spyware program from
the same family as Antivirus
Soft and AV
Security Suite. This family of rogues is installed through the use of malware
and exploit kits that download and install Antivir Solution Pro onto your computer
without your permission. When this program is installed it will be configured
to start automatically when Windows starts, and once started, will perform a
scan of your computer and state that it has found numerous infections. It will
not, though, tell you the files that are supposedly infected and will also state
that you cannot remove anything until you first purchase the program. This is
a complete scam, as the program is scripted to display infections every time
it is run. That means if you reinstalled Windows and ran Antivir Solution Pro
it would still say that you are infected. It does this to scare you into thinking
that your computer has a security problem so that you will then purchase the
program. When you purchase the program, though, all you do is waste your money
as the program has no useful function for your computer.
Antivir Solution Pro is known to be installed through exploit kits on hacked
web sites. Exploit kits are are scripts that are added to hacked legitimate
web sites that attempt to install malware onto a visitors computer through the
use of known vulnerabilities in the Windows operating system and installed applications.
Due to this, and to avoid being infected again after your computer is cleaned,
it is important that you make sure that your Windows installation is completely
up-to-date with all the latest Microsoft security patches. It is also important
to make sure that all your programs, which include Sun Java, Adobe Reader, and
Adobe Flash, are updated to their latest versions. A great program that you
can use to scan your computer for insecure programs is the Secunia Personal
Software Inspector. We suggest that all readers scan their computer with this
program to make sure your applications are not vulnerable to security exploits
in order to add an extra layer of security. A tutorial on how to use Secunia
PSI can be found here:
How
to detect vulnerable and out-dated programs using Secunia Personal Software
Inspector
Antivir Solution Pro screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 6 images you can view.
When Antivir Solution Pro is running it will state that most programs are infected
when you attempt to run them. The text of this fake infection alert is:
Application cannot be executed. The file notepad.exe
is infected. Do you want to active your antivirus software now?
It does this for two reasons. The first is to make you think that your legitimate,
and clean, programs are infected so that you will then purchase the rogue. The
second reason is to block you from running any legitimate security programs
that may help you remove this infection.
While Antivir Solution Pro is running it will also show you fake security alerts
that attempt to further scare you into thinking you have a infection on your
computer. These alerts will state that active malware has been detected or that
your computer is under attack. The text of these alerts is:
Windows Security Alert
Windows reports that computer is infected. Antivirus software helps
to protect your computer against viruses and other security threats. Click
here for the scan your computer. Your system might be at risk now.
Antivirus Software Alert
Infiltration Alert
Your computer is being attacked by an internet virus. It could be a password-stealing
attack, a trojan - dropper or similar.
Just like the other false infections alerts, these warnings are all fake and
should be ignored. Last, but not least, Antivir Solution Pro will also configure
your computer to use a proxy server at 127.0.0.1:5643, which is actually the
Antivir Solution Pro program itself. This makes it that when you browse the
web using Internet Explorer, the rogue will intercept all your web browser requests
and instead display a page that shows a security warning about the site you
are visiting. This warning states:
Internet Explorer warning - visiting this site
may harm your computer!
Most likely causes:
- The website contains exploits that can launch a
malicious code on your computer
- Suspicious network activity
- There might be an active spyware running on your
computer
These warnings should be ignored as they are false. If you use a browser other
than Internet Explorer you will not see the warnings at all and can browse the
Internet like normal.
Without a doubt, Antivir Solution Pro was created solely to trick you into
purchasing the program by convincing you that your computer has a security problem.
Now that you know what this program does, it goes without saying that you should
not purchase this program for any reason. If you already have purchased it,
then we suggest you contact your credit card company and dispute the charges.
To remove Antivir Solution Pro and any related malware, please follow the steps
in the removal guide below.
Threat Classification:
Advanced information:
View Antivir Solution Pro files.
View Antivir Solution Pro Registry Information.
Tools Needed for this fix:
Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings,ProxyServer = http=127.0.0.1:5643
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [<random>] %UserProfile%\local settings\application data\<random>\<random>.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [<random>] %UserProfile%\local settings\application data\<random>\<random>.exe
Guide Updates:
07/14/10 - Initial guide creation.
07/15/10 - Updated to include information about Secunia OSI.
08/26/10 - Updated to include the new Secunia PSI tutorial.
Automated Removal Instructions for Antivir Solution Pro using Malwarebytes Anti-Malware:
- Print out these instructions as we may need to close every window that is
open later in the fix.
- It is possible that the infection you are trying to remove will not allow
you to download files on the infected computer. If you run into this problem
when following the steps in this guide you will need to download the files
requested in this guide on another computer and then transfer them to the
infected computer. You can transfer the files via a CD/DVD, external drive,
or USB flash drive.
- Reboot your computer into Safe Mode with Networking using
the instructions for your version of Windows found in the following tutorial:
How
to start Windows in Safe Mode
When following the steps in the above tutorial, select Safe Mode with
Networking rather than just Safe Mode. When the computer reboots
into Safe Mode with Networking make sure you login with the username you normally
use. When you are at your Windows desktop, please continue with the rest of
the steps.
- This infection changes your Windows settings to use a proxy server that
will not allow you to browse any pages on the Internet with Internet Explorer
or update security software. Regardless of the web browser you use, for these
instructions we will first need need to fix this problem so that we can download
the utilities we need to remove this infection.
Please start Internet Explorer, and when the program is open, click on the
Tools menu and then select Internet Options
as shown in the image below.
- You should now be in the Internet Options screen as shown in the image below.
Now click on the Connections tab as designated by the blue
arrow above.
- You will now be at the Connections tab as shown by the image below.
Now click on the Lan Settings button as designated by the
blue arrow above.
- You will now be at the Local Area Network (LAN) settings screen as shown
by the image below.
Under the Proxy Server section, please uncheck the checkbox labeled Use
a proxy server for your LAN. Then press the OK button
to close this screen. Then press the OK button to close the
Internet Options screen. Now that you have disabled the proxy server you will
be able to browse the web again with Internet Explorer.
- Now we must end the processes that belong to
Antivir Solution Pro
so that it does not interfere with the cleaning procedure. To do this, please
download RKill to your desktop from the following link.
RKill
Download Link - (Download page will open in a new tab or browser window.)
When at the download page, click on the Download Now button
labeled iExplore.exe download link. When you are prompted
where to save it, please save it on your desktop.
If you are unable to connect to the site to download RKill, please go back
and do steps 3-6 again and make sure the infection has not reenabled the proxy
settings. You may have to do this quite a few times before you can get RKill
downloaded. If you still cannot download the RKill program on the infected
computer, you should download it to a clean computer and copy it to the infected
one via a USB flash drive or CDROM.
- Once it is downloaded, double-click on the iExplore.exe
icon in order to automatically attempt to stop any processes associated with
Antivir Solution Pro
and other Rogue programs. Please be patient while the program looks for various
malware programs and ends them. When it has finished, the black window will
automatically close and you can continue with the next step. If you get a
message that RKill is an infection, do not be concerned. This message is just
a fake warning given by
Antivir Solution Pro
when it terminates programs that may potentially remove it. If you run into
these infections warnings that close RKill, a trick is to leave the warning
on the screen and then run RKill again. By not closing the warning, this typically
will allow you to bypass the malware trying to protect itself so that RKill
can terminate
Antivir Solution Pro
. So, please try running RKill until the malware is no longer running. You
will then be able to proceed with the rest of the guide. Do not reboot
your computer after running RKill as the malware programs will start again.
If you continue having problems running RKill, you can download the other
renamed versions of RKill from the RKill
download page. Both of these files are renamed copies of RKill, which
you can try instead. Please note that the download page will open in a new
browser window or tab.
- Now you should 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)
If you are unable to connect to the site to download Malwarebytes', please
go back and do steps 3-6 again and make sure the infection has not reenabled
the proxy settings.
- Once downloaded, close all programs and Windows on your computer, including
this one.
- Double-click on the icon on your desktop named mbam-setup.exe.
This will start the installation of MBAM onto your computer.
- 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. If MalwareBytes' prompts you to reboot, please do not do so.
- 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.
- 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
Antivir Solution Pro
related files.
- 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.
- 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
Antivir Solution Pro
removal process.
- You will now be back at the main Scanner screen. At this point you should
click on the Show Results button.
- 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.
- 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.
- You can now exit the MBAM program.
- As many rogues and other malware are installed through vulnerabilities found
in out-dated and insecure programs, it is strongly suggested that you use
Secunia PSI to scan for vulnerable programs on your computer. A tutorial on
how to use Secunia PSI to scan for vulnerable programs can be found here:
How to
detect vulnerable and out-dated programs using Secunia Personal Software Inspector
Your computer should now be free of the
Antivir Solution Pro
program. You may want to consider purchasing
the PRO version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to protect against these types
of threats in the future, as if you had the real-time protection component,
that comes with the paid for version, activated it would not have allowed this
infection to install.
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 Antivir Solution Pro Files:
%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\<random>\
%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\<random>\<random>.exe
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/7/8, and c:\winnt\profiles\<Current User> for Windows NT.
Associated Antivir Solution Pro Windows Registry Information:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AVSolution
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AVSuitE
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\AVSolution
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\AVSuitE
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\PhishingFilter "Enabled" = "0"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings "ProxyOverride" = "<local>"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings "ProxyServer" = "http=127.0.0.1:5643"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings "ProxyEnable" = "1"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "<random>"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "<random>"
This is a self-help guide. Use at your own risk.
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.
