Remove AntivirusBest (Removal Guide)

Posted by Grinler on June 28, 2009 @ 11:34 PM · Views: 2,691

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What this programs does:

AntivirusBest is a rogue anti-spyware program from the same family as Anti-Virus-1 and Anti-Virus Number 1. This program uses deceptive scan results and fake security warnings in order to convince you that you are infected. When AntivirusBest is installed on your computer it will be configured to start automatically. Once running the program will scan your computer and then show numerous infections that it states will not be removed unless you purchase the program. These infections, though, are all fake and do not exist anywhere on your computer and are only being shown to scam you into purchasing the program.

AntivirusBest Screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 11 images you can view.

While AntivirusBest is running you will see numerous pop-ups and alerts stating that your computer is under attack. Some of the alerts you may see are:

AntivirusBEST protection has detected Spyware program Win32.Monster.fx that is trying to attack your computer.
Do you want to block the attack?

System files modification alert!
Some critical files of your computer were modified by malicious programs. It may cause system instability and data loss. Click here to block unauthorised <sic> modifications by removing threats.

Spyware activity alert!
Spyware.IEMonster activity detected. It is spyware that attempts to steal passwords from Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Outlook and other programs, including logins and passwords from online banking sessions, eBay, Paypal.

If you then click on any of these alerts you will be prompted to purchase AntivirusBest in order to protect yourself.

AntivirusBest also utilizes numerous other tactics to scare you into thinking there are infections on your computer. These include:

• At random intervals a fake screen saver will appear that pretends to be a Blue Screen of Death, or Windows crash. This screen will state that your computer crashed because an malware called Malware.Monster.DX has infected your computer. It will then pretend to reboot your computer, and while rebooting, show a fake Windows boot up screen that recommends you purchase AntivirusBest.
  
  
• A window that impersonates the Windows Security Center. This screen will state that Security Center recommends that you register the program.
  
  
• An Internet Explorer hijack that displays a warnings whenever you visit a web site. This warning states that Internet Explorer has detected that AntivirusBest is not registered and that you should do so.
  
  
• Last, but not least, AntivirusBest will modify your Windows HOSTS file and then randomly open fake review pages that appear to be from legitimate sites. These fake review sites are from well-known companies such as PC Magazine, CNET, ZDNet, Reevo, and Download.com.

As you can see AntivirusBest is a program to avoid as it was created for one purpose; to steal your money. If you find that you are infected with this program, please do not purchase it, and instead use the free guide below to remove AntivirusBest and any related malware.

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

Advanced information:

View AntivirusBest files.
View AntivirusBest Registry Information.

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O1 - Hosts: 70.38.19.201 www.review.2009softwarereviews.com
O1 - Hosts: 70.38.19.201 review.2009softwarereviews.com
O1 - Hosts: 70.38.19.201 a1.review.zdnet.com
O1 - Hosts: 70.38.19.201 www.d1.reviews.cnet.com
O1 - Hosts: 70.38.19.201 www.reviews.toptenreviews.com
O1 - Hosts: 70.38.19.201 reviews.toptenreviews.com
O1 - Hosts: 70.38.19.201 www.reviews.download.com
O1 - Hosts: 70.38.19.201 reviews.download.com
O1 - Hosts: 70.38.19.201 www.reviews.pcadvisor.c.uk
O1 - Hosts: 70.38.19.201 reviews.pcadvisor.co.uk
O1 - Hosts: 70.38.19.201 www.reviews.pcmag.com
O1 - Hosts: 70.38.19.201 reviews.pcmag.com
O1 - Hosts: 70.38.19.201 www.reviews.pcpro.co.uk
O1 - Hosts: 70.38.19.201 reviews.pcpro.co.uk
O1 - Hosts: 70.38.19.201 www.reviews.reevoo.com
O1 - Hosts: 70.38.19.201 reviews.reevoo.com
O1 - Hosts: 70.38.19.201 www.reviews.riverstreams.co.uk
O1 - Hosts: 70.38.19.201 reviews.riverstreams.co.uk
O1 - Hosts: 70.38.19.201 www.reviews.techradar.com
O1 - Hosts: 70.38.19.201 reviews.techradar.com
O1 - Hosts: 70.38.19.201 d1.reviews.cnet.com
O2 - BHO: QWProtectBHO - {44B2C9F5-608D-46de-82E1-26C5BCB85193} - C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AB\QWProtect.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AntivirusBEST] C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AB\Installer.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AntivirusBEST] C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AB\abest.exe

Guide Updates:

06/28/09 - Initial guide creation.

Automated Removal Instructions for AntivirusBest 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 AntivirusBest 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 AntivirusBest 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 AntivirusBest 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 AntivirusBest Files:

c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AB
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AB\ABEST.CAB
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AB\abest.exe
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AB\Installer.exe
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AB\QWProtect.dll
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AB\svchost.exe
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop\AntivirusBEST.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\AntivirusBEST
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\AntivirusBEST\AntivirusBEST.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\AntivirusBEST\Uninstall.lnk

Associated AntivirusBest Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ABEST\ABEST
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AppID\{296A8A7F-B5AC-4789-9B33-F32C2F9A6ABD}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AppID\QWProtect.DLL
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{44B2C9F5-608D-46de-82E1-26C5BCB85193}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface\{296A8A7F-B5AC-4789-9B33-F32C2F9A6ABD}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\QWProtect.QWProtectBHO
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\QWProtect.QWProtectBHO.1
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib\{684A7904-2593-4BBE-A90E-CDAF2AC606AE}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{44B2C9F5-608D-46de-82E1-26C5BCB85193}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "AntivirusBEST"