Remove BlockWatcher (Uninstall Guide)

Posted by Grinler on October 30, 2009 @ 04:06 PM · Views: 2,017

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What this programs does:

BlockWatcher is a rogue anti-spyware program that is promoted through the use of Trojans. These Trojans masquerade as Flash updates or video codecs that are required to watch an online video. Once the Trojan is installed it will download and install BlockWatcher on to your computer. The installer will also create numerous files that will then be detected as malware when BlockWatcher scans your computer. When you try and remove the files it finds in the scan results, BlockWatcher will state that you need to first purchase it before it will remove anything. This is a scam, because the files that are found are harmless and cannot harm your computer. They are only stating they are infection to scare you into purchasing the program.

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

The Trojan will also display fake security warnings on your computer. These warnings will state that malware has been detected or that your computer is under attack. The Trojan will also display a fake Windows Security Center that states that you should purchase BlockWatcher to protect your computer. Last, but not least, this infection will also hijack Internet Explorer so that it randomly shows a security warning when browsing the web. The text of the warning is:

Insecure Internet activity. Threat of virus attack!

Due to insecure Internet browsing your PC can easily get infected with viruses, worms and trojans without your knowledge, which can lead to system slowdowns, freezes and crashes. Also insecure Internet activity can result in revealing your personal information.
To get full advanced real-time protection for PC and Internet activity, register BlockWatcher. We recommend you to protect your PC now and continue safe Internet browsing.

Just like the scan results, these warnings are all fake and should be ignored.

If you find that you are infected with BlockWatcher, please do not purchase the program. If you have already purchase it, then please dispute the charges as it is a scam. To remove the BlockWatcher infection, and any related malware, please use the removal guide below.

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

Advanced information:

View BlockWatcher files.
View BlockWatcher Registry Information.

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

BlockWatcher

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [yxh5.tmp.exe] C:\WINDOWS\system32\yxh5.tmp.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [BlockWatcher] C:\Program Files\BlockWatcher Software\BlockWatcher\BlockWatcher.exe -min

Guide Updates:

10/30/09 - Initial guide creation.

Automated Removal Instructions for BlockWatcher 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 quick scan option is selected and then click on the Scan button to start scanning your computer for BlockWatcher 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 BlockWatcher 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 BlockWatcher 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 BlockWatcher Files:

c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop\BlockWatcher.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\BlockWatcher
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\BlockWatcher\1 BlockWatcher.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\BlockWatcher\2 Homepage.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\BlockWatcher\3 Uninstall.lnk
%Temp%\yxh5.tmp.exe
c:\Program Files\BlockWatcher Software
c:\Program Files\BlockWatcher Software\BlockWatcher
c:\Program Files\BlockWatcher Software\BlockWatcher\BlockWatcher.exe
c:\WINDOWS\10068tro9zd85.exe
c:\WINDOWS\10258z9amb5t73a.bin
c:\WINDOWS\10518virzs5f9.ocx
c:\WINDOWS\system32\19z89s5y663.dll
c:\WINDOWS\system32\1a605tzal32359.dll
c:\WINDOWS\system32\1aa8tzi952064.cpl

Associated BlockWatcher Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\BlockWatcher
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\BlockWatcher
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\BlockWatcher
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "BlockWatcher"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "yxh5.tmp.exe"