Remove AntivirusGT (Uninstall Guide)

Posted by Grinler on July 5, 2010 @ 10:17 AM · Views: 21,448

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What this infection does:

AntivirusGT is a rogue anti-spyware program that is distributed through the use of fake online anti-malware scanners. When browsing the web you may be redirected to a page that states that your computer is infected. This page will then prompt you to perform an online anti-malware scan on your computer in order to search for viruses. Regardless of whether you accept this offer, you will be brought to a page that displays a fake scanner, that when finished scanning, will state that your computer is infected. It will then prompt you to download and install AntivirusGT in order to remove these supposed infections. It should be noted that this fake scanner page does not actually scan your computer. Instead it is simply an advertisement that will state that your computer is infected no matter how clean it may be.

AntivirusGT screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 8 images you can view.

Once AntivirusGT is installed on to your computer, it will be configured to start automatically and then scan your computer. When it has finished scanning your computer the program will state that there are numerous infections present on your computer, but will not allow you to remove any of them until you first purchase the program. These infections, though, are actually legitimate programs that if removed may cause your computer not to start or operate properly. Therefore, do not manually delete any of the files it states are infections as you will be deleting legitimate and required Windows programs.

While running, AntivirusGT will also attempt to protect itself by not allowing you to run various programs. It does this so that you cannot run security programs that may assist you in removing this infection. When you attempt to run a program you will instead see a message stating that the file is infected. An example of this fake security warning is:

AntivirusGT Resident Shield: Virus Detected
Warning! Active virus detected!
Threat Detected: Trojan.Injector.BZ
Infected File: C:\Windows\System32\rundll32.exe

When AntivirusGT is no longer running you will then be able to run your applications like normal.

While started, AntivirusGT will also display fake alerts that state your computer is under attack or that there are new Windows updates available. When you try to fix the errors or install the updates, though, it will instead prompt you to purchase AntivirusGT. An example of the security update alert is:

Security advisor: Important updates available
New important updates available:

Virus and spyware database is out of date.
New Important updates:
 - antivirus database definitions update
 - anti-spyware database definitions update
 - critical system vulnerabilities fix
Optional Updates
 - resident shield update
 - Internet Explorer potential vulnerabilities fix

The infection will also hijack your Internet Explorer browser so that when you are browsing the web you will be randomly shown an alert stating that the page blocked you from accessing because you are infected. The text of this alert is:

Attention! Your web page request has been cancelled.
This web site refused your connection as it was reported as a malicious request. This can be caused by Viruses, Trojans or Malware installed on your computer.

In order to resend your request to the website, press Resend request (please note, this action may cause a permanent block of your computer by the requested website)

In order to activate your security software, please press Fix Now (recommended)

All of the above alerts are fake and are only being shown to scare you into thinking that you have a security problem and should be ignored.

As you can see, AntivirusGT was created to trick you into purchasing the program by making you think that your computer is infected. As all of these alerts and scan results are fake, you should not purchase this program for any reason. If you have already purchased it, then we suggest you contact your credit card company and dispute the charges stating that it is a scam. To remove AntivirusGT please follow the steps in the removal guide below.

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

Advanced information:

View AntivirusGT files.
View AntivirusGT Registry Information.

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O2 - BHO: &UpdateCheck.dll - {3304F17F-732C-4AC6-BF67-DBDC8B88C11F} - %Temp%\MICROS~1.DLL
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [AVGT] C:\Program Files\AVGT\antivirusGT.exe

Guide Updates:

07/05/10 - Initial guide creation.

Automated Removal Instructions for AntivirusGT using Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware:

1. Print out these instructions as we may need to close every window that is open later in the fix.
   
   
2. 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.
   
   
3. Before we can do anything we must first end the processes that belong to AntivirusGT so that it does not interfere with the cleaning procedure. To do this, download the following file to your desktop.
   
   rkill.com Download Link
   
   
4. Once it is downloaded, double-click on the rkill.com in order to automatically attempt to stop any processes associated with AntivirusGT 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 AntivirusGT 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 AntivirusGT . 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.com, you can download iExplore.exe or eXplorer.exe, which are renamed copies of rkill.com, and try them instead.
   
   Do not reboot your computer after running rkill as the malware programs will start again.
   
   
5. 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)
   
   


6. Once downloaded, close all programs and Windows on your computer, including this one.
   
   
7. Double-click on the icon on your desktop named mbam-setup.exe. This will start the installation of MBAM onto your computer.
   
   
8. 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.
   
   
9. 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.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
10. 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 AntivirusGT related files.
    
    
11. 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.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
12. 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 AntivirusGT removal process.
    
    
13. You will now be back at the main Scanner screen. At this point you should click on the Show Results button.
    
    
14. 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.
    
    
15. 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.
    
    
16. You can now exit the MBAM program.
    
    
17. 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 AntivirusGT 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 AntivirusGT Files:

c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\AVGT\
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\AVGT\AntivirusGT.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\AVGT\Uninstall.lnk
c:\Program Files\AVGT\
c:\Program Files\AVGT\antivirusGT.exe
%UserProfile%\Desktop\AntivirusGT.lnk

File Location Notes:

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

Associated AntivirusGT Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\EVA246
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\WinFD
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{3304F17F-732C-4AC6-BF67-DBDC8B88C11F}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{3304F17F-732C-4AC6-BF67-DBDC8B88C11F}
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "AVGT"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent\Post Platform "WinNT-EVI 05.07.2010"