Remove Antivirus PC 2009 (Uninstall Guide)
Posted by Lawrence Abrams on December 31, 2009 @ 08:33 AM · Views: 8,845
What this infection does:
Antivirus PC 2009 is a rogue anti-spyware program that is
promoted through the use of Malware. When installed, Antivirus PC 2009 will
be configured to start automatically when you log into Windows. When the program
is installed it will also create fake malware files on your computer that have
random filenames. These files are then detected as viruses when Antivirus PC
2009 scans your computer. The program, though, will state that it will not remove
these files unless you first purchase it. This is obviously a scam where Antivirus
PC 2009 is detecting the files it created in the first place. Therefore, do
not act upon any of the scan results this program displays.
Antivirus PC 2009 screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 4 images you can view.
While Antivirus PC 2009 is running you will also see fake security warnings
appear on your desktop. These warnings will state that your computer is under
attack, that malicious programs are running, or that you are sending personal
information to a remote location. Just like the fake scan results, these security
warnings are all fake and are only being shown to scare you into purchasing
the program.
Without a doubt, this program is a scam and you should not purchase this program
regardless of what it may state. If you have already purchased the program,
then please contact your credit card company and dispute the charges. Finally,
please use the guide below to remove Antivirus PC 2009 and any related malware
for free.
Threat Classification:
Advanced information:
View Antivirus PC 2009 files.
View Antivirus PC 2009 Registry Information.
Entries for this program found in the Add or Remove Programs control panel:
Antivirus PC 2009
Tools Needed for this fix:
Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Antivirus PC 2009] cmd /C cd "C:\Program Files\Antivirus PC 2009" && start avpc2009.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Antivirus PC 2009] cmd /C cd "C:\Program Files\Antivirus PC 2009" && start avpc2009.exe
Guide Updates:
12/31/09 - Initial guide creation.
Automated Removal Instructions for Antivirus PC 2009 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 this is the case, then
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.
- Before we can do anything we must first end the processes that belong to
Antivirus PC 2009
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.
- Once it is downloaded, double-click on the iExplore.exe
icon in order to automatically attempt to stop any processes associated with
Antivirus PC 2009
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
Antivirus PC 2009
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
Antivirus PC 2009
. 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. If you continue
having problems running RKill, you can download the other renamed versions
of RKill from the rkill
download page. All of the 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.
Do not reboot your computer after running RKill as the malware programs will
start again.
- 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)
- 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
Antivirus PC 2009
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
Antivirus PC 2009
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
Antivirus PC 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 Antivirus PC 2009 Files:
%UserProfile%\xvgke.exe
%UserProfile%\Desktop\Antivirus PC 2009.lnk
%UserProfile%\My Documents\eopqi.exe
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Programs\Antivirus PC 2009.lnk
c:\Program Files\Antivirus PC 2009
c:\Program Files\Antivirus PC 2009\2.vbs
c:\Program Files\Antivirus PC 2009\avpc2009.exe
c:\Program Files\Antivirus PC 2009\avpc2009s.exe
c:\Program Files\Antivirus PC 2009\bzip2.dll
c:\Program Files\Antivirus PC 2009\libltdl3.dll
c:\Program Files\Antivirus PC 2009\pthreadVC2.dll
c:\Program Files\Antivirus PC 2009\Uninstaller.exe
c:\Program Files\Antivirus PC 2009\data
c:\Program Files\Antivirus PC 2009\data\daily.cvd
c:\Program Files\Antivirus PC 2009\data\self.hdb
c:\Program Files\Antivirus PC 2009\quarantine
c:\WINDOWS\wvjhtpr.exe
c:\WINDOWS\system32\fnrnspc.exe
c:\WINDOWS\system32\islbk.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, and c:\winnt\profiles\<Current User> for Windows NT.
Associated Antivirus PC 2009 Windows Registry Information:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\AVPC2009
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Antivirus PC 2009
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "Antivirus PC 2009"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "Antivirus PC 2009"
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