Remove BlockDefense (Removal Guide)

Posted by Grinler on August 30, 2009 @ 11:03 PM · Views: 2,337

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What this infection does:

BlockDefense is a rogue anti-spyware program that deliberately displays false scan results as a method to scare you into thinking your computer is compromised in some manner. When installed BlockDefense will create numerous fake program files that will then be detected as malware when the program scans your computer. These "infections", though, are actually harmless and pose no threat to your computer. Instead they are just being created to validate the fake scan results of the program.

BlockDefense screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 5 images you can view.

While the program is running you will also see security alerts appear on your computer. These alerts will state that your computer is being attacked by a remote computer or that some sort of malware has been detected. Just like the scan results, these fake security alerts are only being shown to further scare you into purchasing BlockDefense. Last, but not least, BlockDefense will also display a window that impersonates the legitimate Windows Security Center. Instead, this window recommends that you purchase BlockDefense in order to protect your computer.

As you can see BlockDefense is designed to scam you into thinking that your computer is infected in the hopes that you purchase the program. If you find that you have BlockDefense on your computer, please do not purchase the program. Instead use the guide below to remove the program and any associated malware.

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

Advanced information:

View BlockDefense files.
View BlockDefense Registry Information.

Entries for this program found in the Add or Remove Programs control panel:

BlockDefense

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [9zgr7zsq.exe] %Temp%\9zgr7zsq.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [BlockDefense] C:\Program Files\BlockDefense Software\BlockDefense\BlockDefense.exe -min
O23 - Service: BlockDefense Security Service (BlockDefenseSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\BlockDefense Software\BlockDefense\BlockDefenseSvc.exe (file missing)

Guide Updates:

08/30/09 - Initial guide creation.

Automated Removal Instructions for BlockDefense 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 (Download page will open in a new window)
   
   


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 BlockDefense 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 BlockDefense 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 BlockDefense 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 BlockDefense Files:

c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop\BlockDefense.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\BlockDefense
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\BlockDefense\1 BlockDefense.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\BlockDefense\2 Homepage.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\BlockDefense\3 Uninstall.lnk
%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Temp\9zgr7zsq.exe
%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Temp\v4rb9isc.exe
c:\Program Files\BlockDefense Software
c:\Program Files\BlockDefense Software\BlockDefense
c:\Program Files\BlockDefense Software\BlockDefense\BlockDefense.exe
c:\Program Files\BlockDefense Software\BlockDefense\license.txt
c:\Program Files\BlockDefense Software\BlockDefense\uninstall.exe
c:\WINDOWS\10365not-a9virus53z.dll
c:\WINDOWS\1051zwor94a1.ocx
c:\WINDOWS\11101vi9us57z.ocx

Associated BlockDefense Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\BlockDefense
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\BlockDefense
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\BlockDefense
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\Root\LEGACY_BLOCKDEFENSESVC
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\BlockDefenseSvc
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "BlockDefense"