How to remove Antivirus Security (Uninstall Instructions)

Posted by Grinler on September 11, 2008 @ 10:30 AM · Views: 3,629

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What this programs does:

Antivirus Security is a a new variant of the widely spread rogue anti-antispyware programs named Internet Antivirus and Antivirus 2009. Antivirus Security is advertised via malware and through the use of false and misleading pop-ups on web sites. If you are infected with malware that advertises this software, you will be presented with fake security alerts stating that your computer is infected and that you should download and install Antivirus Security in order to fix these problems. Web sites, on the other hand, will pretend to be online anti-malware scanners that are finding malware on your computer and stating you should download Antivirus Security to protect yourself. Both methods, though, have one ultimate goal; to have you download and install the software.

If you decide to download and run the software, Antivirus Security will scan your computer and list a variety of security risks that cannot be removed unless you first purchase the software. The program will also install a Windows Control Panel file that appears as an icon labeled Protection Center in your Control Panel. This Protection Center is a fake Windows Security Center that states you have no Antivirus protection and then will contain links back to the Antivirus Security homepage so you can download and install the software. Notice, that I said will in the previous statement. That is because the sloppy programmers forgot to replace the links in the Protection center so that they go to the correct site. Instead, all of the links go to the Antivirus 2009 home page instead of the Antivirus Security homepage.

Antivirus Security screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 4 images you can view.

This guide will walk you through removing the AntivirusSecurity program and its associated malware for free.

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

Advanced information:

View Antivirus Security files.
View Antivirus Security Registry Information.

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

None

Guide Updates:

09/11/08 - Initial guide creation.

Automated Removal Instructions for Antivirus Security 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 Antivirus Security 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 AntivirusSecurity 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 AntivirusSecurity 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 Antivirus Security Files:

%UserProfile%\Desktop\Antivirus Security.lnk
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Antivirus Security
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Antivirus Security\Antivirus Security.lnk
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\Antivirus Security.lnk
c:\WINDOWS\system32\scui.cpl

Associated Antivirus Security Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\9178374C66E059CC11C19DCD899FD538
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\AV9