Remove BlockProtector (Uninstall Guide)

Posted by Lawrence Abrams on November 4, 2009 @ 04:29 PM · Views: 3,805

 

What this infection does:

BlockProtector is a security program from the Wini family of rogues. This program is installed through Trojans that masquerade as video codecs or flash updates required to watch an online video. When the Trojan is installed, it will install BlockProtector on to your computer and configure it to start automatically when Windows starts. The Trojan will also create numerous files on your hard drive that will then be detected as malware when BlockProtector scans your computer. BlockProtector will not, though, attempt to remove these programs until you first purchase it. This tactic of a rogue creating the files that it will then detect is just a scam where they are trying to convince you that you are infected.

 

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

 

While the Trojan is running you will also see warning messages appear on your desktop or from your Windows taskbar stating that your computer has some sort of security problem. An example of one of the alerts you will see is:

Spyware Alert!

Your computer is infected with spyware. It could damage your critical files or expose your private data on the Internet. Click here to register your copy of BlockProtector and remove spyware threats from your PC.

The Trojan will also display a fake Windows Security Center window that suggests you register the BlockProtector program. Just like the fake scan results, these messages should be ignored as it is just another tactic that they are using to scare you into thinking that your computer is infected.

If BlockProtector is on your computer, then I suggest you use the removal guide below. By no means should you purchase the program as it is only a scam. If you have already purchased the program, then I suggest you contact your credit card company and dispute the charges.

 

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

 

Advanced information:

View BlockProtector files.
View BlockProtector Registry Information.

 

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

BlockProtector

 

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

 

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [BlockProtector.exe] C:\Program Files\BlockProtector Software\BlockProtector\BlockProtector.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [rwb4.tmp.exe] C:\WINDOWS\system32\rwb4.tmp.exe

 

Guide Updates:

11/04/09 - Initial guide creation.

 

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Automated Removal Instructions for BlockProtector 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 BlockProtector 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 BlockProtector 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 BlockProtector 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

 

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Associated BlockProtector Files:

c:\Documents and Settings\Bleeping\Desktop\BlockProtector.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\Bleeping\Start Menu\Programs\BlockProtector.lnk
c:\Program Files\BlockProtector Software
c:\Program Files\BlockProtector Software\BlockProtector
c:\Program Files\BlockProtector Software\BlockProtector\BlockProtector.exe
c:\Program Files\BlockProtector Software\BlockProtector\Uninstall.exe
c:\WINDOWS\1069szyware7695.exe
c:\WINDOWS\1095th5zf21449.cpl
c:\WINDOWS\11763zpy1f95.exe
c:\WINDOWS\system32\335steal97z2.ocx
c:\WINDOWS\system32\348eb9ckdoor1z785.cpl
c:\WINDOWS\system32\35z0sp9rse478.bin
%Temp%\rwb4.tmp.exe

File Location Notes:

%Temp% refers to the Windows Temp folder. By default, this is C:\Windows\Temp for Windows 95/98/ME, C:\DOCUMENTS AND SETTINGS\<Current User>\LOCAL SETTINGS\Temp for Windows 2000/XP, and C:\Users\<Current User>\AppData\Local\Temp for Windows Vista and Windows 7.

 

Associated BlockProtector Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\BlockProtector
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\BlockProtector
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\BlockProtector
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "rwb4.tmp.exe"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "BlockProtector.exe"