Remove AVDefender 2011 (Uninstall Guide)

Posted by Lawrence Abrams on August 26, 2010 @ 02:27 PM · Views: 4,294

 

What this infection does:

AVDefender 2011 is a rogue anti-virus program that is installed through other malware that is installed on your computer. When AVDefender 2011 is installed it will be configured to start by replacing Window's normal explorer.exe shell with the main infection executable. This allows the program to automatically start, even before the Windows Desktop shows, when you start Windows. Once started it will scan your computer and state that there are numerous infections found. It will state, though, that it cannot remove any of these infections until you purchase the program. The scan results for AVDefender, though, are completely false. In fact the scan results list legitimate Microsoft Windows programs, such as CMD.exe, as infections that if removed could cause your computer to not operate correctly. Therefore, do not manually delete any of the files it states are infections.

 

AVDefender 2011 screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 7 images you can view.

 

While AVDefender 2011 is running it will not allow you to run most programs. It does this to protect itself from legitimate anti-virus programs that may attempt to remove it. When you attempt to run a program it will instead display an alert stating that the program is infected and then terminate the program. The message that you will see is:

Windows Security Alert
Application NOTEPAD.EXE has crashed because of Conficker.Worm.Virus

Infected file: notepad.exe

Potential Risks: Viruses is spreading over your PC and the system status is unsafe. Your service provider may lock you out of internet access, because your PC is potentially harmful.

Viruses' actions: Steal your personal data and send it to the remote host. Spread between your friends quickly (via internet or storage drives). Send spam and malicious codes from your computer.

It is important to remember when you see the above alert that it is completely false and there is nothing wrong with the programs you are attempting to run.

AVDefender 2011 will also display fake security alerts that attempt to make you think that your computer has a severe security problem. These alerts are:

System warning:
Unknown virus is harming your system at this moment. Click here to stop and remove the virus.

Critical security error!
Malicious software has infected your PC and trying to send private information to remote host 231.21.212.1.

Warning! System health status is critical!
Your computer is infected with viruses. Stability and reliability of your system is damaged. It is strongly recommended to remove threats immediately.

Just like the fake infection messages and scan results, these security alerts are all fake and should be ignored. Last, but not least, when you start Internet Explorer this infection will also display a fake Google alert that states that Google has detected that it has detected a vulnerability in Microsoft software installed on your computer. This message will read:

Google Security Warning!
Warning
We have discovered a vulnerability related to Microsoft software that could allow a virus or other malicious program to harm your system or personal files or to steal personal information stored on your computer.

Like all of the other alerts, this one is false as well and should be ignored.

As you can see, AVDefender 2011 uses many tricks to make you think that you are infected with a computer virus. It does this to scare you into purchasing the program, which will not benefit your computer in any way. Therefore do not purchase this program, and if you already have, please contact your credit card company or merchant and dispute the charge stating that it is a scam and a computer virus. To remove AVDefender 2011 for free, please use the removal guide below.

 

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

 

Advanced information:

View AVDefender 2011 files.
View AVDefender 2011 Registry Information.

 

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

 

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

F2 - REG:system.ini: Shell=C:\Documents and Settings\Bleeping\Application Data\<random>\<random>.exe

 

Guide Updates:

08/26/10 - Initial guide creation.

 

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Automated Removal Instructions for AVDefender 2011 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. 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)
   
   


4. When the file has finished downloading, look on your desktop for mbam-setup.exe and right-click on it and select Rename. The title of the program will now have a blinking cursor where you can edit the name. Please change the name of the program to iexplore.exe.
   
   
5. After you rename the mbam-setup.exe to iexplorer.exe, close all your programs and Windows on your computer, including this one.
   
   
6. Now double-click on the file you renamed, which is now called iexplore.exe, and the installation of MBAM will start on your computer.
   
   
7. 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 and is at the last screen, make sure you uncheck both of the Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware check boxes. Then click on the Finish button. If Malwarebytes' prompts you to reboot, please do not do so.
   
   
8. As this infection will not allow you run executables unless they have certain filenames, we need to rename the core MalwareBytes' Anti-Malware executable so that it can run. To do this open the C:\program files\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\ folder. To open this folder, click on the Start button and type in the search field:
   
   C:\program files\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\
   
   Then press the enter button on your keyboard.
   
   
9. The MalwareBytes' Anti-Malware folder should now be open and you should see numerous files within it. Look for a file named mbam.exe and right-click on i. When the menu appears select Rename and change the name of the file to iexplore.exe. Once the file has been renamed to iexplore.exe, double-click on it to start the program. MBAM will now start and you will be at the main program screen as shown below.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
10. Before you can perform a scan, you must first update the program. To do this click on the Update tab, and that at the new screen click on the Check for Updates button. Malwarebytes' will now check for new updates and download and install them as necessary. When the update is completed, you will be prompted with a message stating either that you already have the latest updates or that they have been updated. Either way, you should now click on the OK button to continue.
    
    
11. Now click on the Scanner tab and make sure the the Perform full scan option is selected. Then click on the Scan button to start scanning your computer for AVDefender 2011 related files.
    
    
12. 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.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
13. 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 AVDefender 2011 removal process.
    
    
14. You will now be back at the main Scanner screen. At this point you should click on the Show Results button.
    
    
15. 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.
    
    
16. 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.
    
    
17. You can now exit the MBAM program. If you wish to use MalwareBytes' in the future, I suggest you now uninstall and reinstall it again so that all the files are using the correct names.
    
    
18. 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 AVDefender 2011 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

 

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Associated AVDefender 2011 Files:

%AppData%\AVDefender2011\
%AppData%\AVDefender2011\AVDefender2011.ini
%AppData%\AVDefender2011\history.dat
%AppData%\AVDefender2011\result.dat
%AppData%\AVDefender2011\vlc.dat
%AppData%\<random>\
%AppData%\<random>\<random>.exe
%AppData%\<random>\sk.lst
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\AVDefender2011\
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\AVDefender2011\AVDefender2011.lnk

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.

%AppData% refers to the current users Application Data folder. By default, this is C:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\Application Data for Windows 2000/XP. For Windows Vista and Windows 7 it is C:\Users\<Current User>\AppData\Roaming.

 

Associated AVDefender 2011 Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AVDefender 2011
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon "Shell" = "%AppData%\<random>\<random>.exe"