Desktop Security 2010 is a rogue security program from the
same developers as Total
PC Defender. This rogue is promoted through the use of malware that will
install it onto your computer without permission. While installing, the rogue
will also create numerous fake malware files on your computer that will be detected
when the program scans your computer. This rogue will then be configured to
start automatically when you start Windows. Once started, it will scan your
computer and display numerous fake infections, including the ones that it created
in the first place. If you attempt to remove these infections, Desktop Security
2010 will state that you must purchase it before it will allow you to do so.
The reality is that these infections are all fake and some of them are legitimate
Windows files that are required for the proper operation of Windows. Therefore,
please do not act upon any of the files it states are infections.
Desktop Security 2010 screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 9 images you can view.
While Desktop Security 2010 is running it will also display a constant stream
of security warnings on your desktop that will pop-up over your running programs
and will not close unless you acknowledge them. Some of the alerts that you
will see are:
Warning! Running trial version!
Your computer has been compromised! Now running trial version of the software!
Click here to purchase the full version of the software and get full protection
for your PC!
Security Center Alert
To help protect your computer, Desktop Security 2010 has blocked some features
of this program.
Name Sft.dez.Wien
Risk High
Description Sft.dez.Wien is a virus attempts to spread itself by attaching
to a host program, and can damage hardware, software or data in the process.
This worm can be blocked from firewall and antivirus software.
Spyware Warning
Your online guard helps to stop unauthorized changes to your computer
Details: Spyware detected on your computer
Your computer might be at risk
Antivirus detects viruses, worms, and Trojan horses. They can (and do) destroy
data, format your hard disk or can destroy the BIOS. By destroying the BIOS
many times you end up buying a new motherboard or if the bios chip is removable
then that chip would need replacing.
Click this balloon to fix this problem.
No firewall is turned on
Automatic Updates is turned off
Antivirus software might not be activated
Click this balloon to fix this problem.
These alerts will then prompt you to purchase the program to protect your computer.
Desktop Security 2010 will also hijack the Windows Task Manager and display
a column that states whether a process running is a virus or not. Just like
the scan results, all of these security alerts are just another trick where
the program attempts to scare you into purchasing the program.
Without a doubt, Desktop Security 2010 was created with one purpose in mind; to
scam you into thinking you are infected so that you will then purchase the program.
As said previously, please do not purchase this program and if you already have,
please contact your credit card company and dispute the charges. Last, but not
least, to remove this infection and any related malware, please use the removal
guide below.
Threat Classification:
Advanced information:
View Desktop Security 2010 files.
View Desktop Security 2010 Registry Information.
Entries for this program found in the Uninstall Programs control panel:
Desktop Security 2010
Tools Needed for this fix:
Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Desktop Security 2010] C:\Program Files\Desktop Security 2010\Desktop Security 2010.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SecurityCenter] C:\Program Files\Desktop Security 2010\securitycenter.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [<random>] C:\WINDOWS\system32\<random>.exe
Guide Updates:
01/22/10 - Initial guide creation.
Automated Removal Instructions for Desktop Security 2010 using Malwarebytes Anti-Malware:
- Print out these instructions as we may need to close every window that is
open later in the fix.
- 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.
- Before we can do anything we must first end the processes that belong to
Desktop Security 2010
so that it does not interfere with the cleaning procedure. To do this, please
download RKill to your desktop from the following link.
RKill
Download Link - (Download page will open in a new tab or browser window.)
When at the download page, click on the Download Now button
labeled iExplore.exe download link. When you are prompted
where to save it, please save it on your desktop.
- Once it is downloaded, double-click on the iExplore.exe
icon in order to automatically attempt to stop any processes associated with
Desktop Security 2010
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
Desktop Security 2010
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
Desktop Security 2010
. 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, you can download the other renamed versions
of RKill from the rkill
download page. All of the files are renamed copies of RKill, which you
can try instead. Please note that the download page will open in a new browser
window or tab.
Do not reboot your computer after running RKill as the malware programs will
start again.
- 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)
- Once downloaded, close all programs and Windows on your computer, including
this one.
- Double-click on the icon on your desktop named mbam-setup.exe.
This will start the installation of MBAM onto your computer.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
Desktop Security 2010
related files.
- 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.
- 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
Desktop Security 2010
removal process.
- You will now be back at the main Scanner screen. At this point you should
click on the Show Results button.
- 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.
- 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.
- You can now exit the MBAM program.
- 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
Desktop Security 2010
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 Desktop Security 2010 Files:
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Desktop Security 2010
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Desktop Security 2010.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Desktop Security 2010\Activate Desktop Security 2010.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Desktop Security 2010\Desktop Security 2010.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Desktop Security 2010\Help Desktop Security 2010.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Desktop Security 2010\How to Activate Desktop Security 2010.lnk
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\Desktop Security 2010.lnk
%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Temp\gedx_ae09.exe
%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Temp\jkfuckjs.exe
%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Temp\kgn.exe
%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Temp\kilslmd.exex
%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Temp\kn.a.exe
c:\Program Files\Desktop Security 2010
c:\Program Files\Desktop Security 2010\daily.cvd
c:\Program Files\Desktop Security 2010\Desktop Security 2010.exe
c:\Program Files\Desktop Security 2010\guide.chm
c:\Program Files\Desktop Security 2010\hjengine.dll
c:\Program Files\Desktop Security 2010\mfc71.dll
c:\Program Files\Desktop Security 2010\MFC71ENU.DLL
c:\Program Files\Desktop Security 2010\msvcp71.dll
c:\Program Files\Desktop Security 2010\msvcr71.dll
c:\Program Files\Desktop Security 2010\pthreadVC2.dll
c:\Program Files\Desktop Security 2010\securitycenter.exe
c:\Program Files\Desktop Security 2010\taskmgr.dll
c:\Program Files\Desktop Security 2010\uninstall.exe
c:\WINDOWS\system32\<random>.exe
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/7/8, and c:\winnt\profiles\<Current User> for Windows NT.
Associated Desktop Security 2010 Windows Registry Information:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Desktop Security 2010
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Desktop Security 2010
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon "Shell" = "C:\Program Files\Desktop Security 2010\Desktop Security 2010.exe"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\User Agent\Post Platform "Desktop Security 2010"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "<random>"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "Desktop Security 2010"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "SecurityCenter"
This is a self-help guide. Use at your own risk.
BleepingComputer.com can not be held responsible for problems that may occur by using this information. If you would like help with any of these fixes, you can ask for malware removal assistance in our Virus, Trojan, Spyware, and Malware Removal Logs forum.
If you have any questions about this self-help guide then please post those questions in our Am I infected? What do I do? and someone will help you.
