Guide on how to remove General Antivirus

Posted by Grinler on March 14, 2009 @ 04:10 PM · Views: 5,145

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What this programs does:

General Antivirus is a rogue anti-spyware from the Innovagest 2000 company. This is the same company that has released titles that include Internet Antivirus Pro and AlfaCleaner. General Antivirus is advertised through two methods. The first method is through advertisements that pretend to be online anti-malware scanners that when finished scanning state your computer is infected and that you should download General Antivirus. The second method is through the use of Trojans that display fake alerts and automatically install General Antivirus onto your computer.

This rogue uses aggressive techniques to make it difficult to remove it. First, it disables Task Manager so that you cannot end the processes associated with this program. It will also install a random named malware that is created in random paths under the Windows folder. This process, along with the main Live Enterprise Suite, will terminate known security executables as well as constantly terminate Explorer.exe when it restarts itself so that you cannot access your Windows desktop or access any of the programs residing on it. Last, but not least, the TDL3 rootkit has been found with this rogue that may make it even harder to remove. Though the guide below uses Safe Mode with Networking to remove this infection, it is not a guarantee that it will work. If you run into problems removing this infection you may need to boot into Recovery Console or a Recovery Environment to delete the files associated with this infection. Since some of these files are random named, this is not advised unless you absolutely know what you are doing. If you do not feel comfortable accessing a recovery mode then we suggest you follow the steps in this topic.

General Antivirus screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 11 images you can view.

When the program is installed, Windows will be set to start it automatically when the computer loads. General Antivirus will then scan your computer and display a variety of infections that cannot be removed until you purchase a license of the software. These infections, though, are all fake and are scripted to be shown no matter how clean your computer is in order to scare you into purchasing the software. While infected with General Antivirus, and its related malware, your computer will also exhibit the following behavior:

• A fake Windows Security Center will be displayed stating that your computer does not have adequate protection and will then recommend that you purchase General Antivirus to protect yourself.
  
• You will see fake balloon alerts from your Windows taskbar stating that your computer is under attack, malware has been detected, or some other security risk. Clicking on these alerts will bring you to the purchase page for General Antivirus.
  
• An alert that pretends to be a firewall alert stating that your computer is under attack from a remote computer
  
• An alert stating that a Virus/Attack was detected.
  
• An alert labeled Infiltration Alert stating that some sort of process is trying to run.
  
• When browsing the web using Internet Explorer you will randomly be shown a page stating Insecure Internet Activity has been detected.

All of these alerts are just tactics to convince you that you are infected, when for the most part the only infection you have is the actual rogue and its associated malware. Instead of purchasing this software please use the removal guide below in order to remove General Antivirus for free.

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

Advanced information:

View General Antivirus files.
View General Antivirus Registry Information.

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

General Antivirus (2.0.1.2)

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Microsoft Windows logon process] C:\Documents and Settings\Bleeping\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows\winlogon.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [General Antivirus] "c:\program files\General Antivirus\GenAvir.exe" /s
O4 - HKCU\..\Policies\Explorer\Run: [iv] "C:\Documents and Settings\Bleeping\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\iv.exe"
O23 - Service: Guard Service (ITGrdEngine) - Unknown owner - C:\Documents and Settings\Bleeping\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows\services.exe

Guide Updates:

03-14-09 - Initial guide creation.
01-28-10 - Updated because the rogue is using more aggressive protection techniques.

Automated Removal Instructions for General Antivirus 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. Reboot your computer into Safe Mode with Networking. To do this, turn your computer off and then back on and immediately when you see anything on the screen, start tapping the F8 key on your keyboard. Eventually you will be brought to a menu similar to the one below:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Using the arrow keys on your keyboard, select Safe Mode with Networking and press Enter on your keyboard. If you are having trouble entering safe mode, then please use the following tutorial: How to start Windows in Safe Mode
   
   Windows will now boot into safe mode with networking and prompt you to login as a user. Please login as the same user you were previously logged in with in the normal Windows mode. Then proceed with the rest of the steps.
   
   
3. Download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, or MBAM, from the following location and save it to your desktop:
   
   http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/malwarebytes/mbam-setup.exe - Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware Download Link
   
   
4. Once downloaded, close all programs and Windows on your computer, including this one.
   
   
5. Double-click on the icon on your desktop named mbam-setup.exe. This will start the installation of MBAM onto your computer.
   
   
6. 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.
   
   
7. 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.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
8. 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 General Antivirus related files.
   
   
9. 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.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
10. 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 GeneralAntivirus removal process.
    
    
11. You will now be back at the main Scanner screen. At this point you should click on the Show Results button.
    
    
12. 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.
    
    
13. 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.
    
    
14. You can now exit the MBAM program.
    

Your computer should now be free of the GeneralAntivirus 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 General Antivirus Files:

c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop\General Antivirus.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\General Antivirus
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\General Antivirus\General Antivirus Home Page.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\General Antivirus\General Antivirus.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\General Antivirus\Purchase License.lnk
%UserProfile%\Application Data\General Antivirus
%UserProfile%\Application Data\General Antivirus\settings.ini
%UserProfile%\Application Data\General Antivirus\uill.ini
%UserProfile%\Application Data\General Antivirus\unins000.exe
%UserProfile%\Application Data\General Antivirus\Uninstall General Antivirus.lnk
%UserProfile%\Application Data\General Antivirus\db
%UserProfile%\Application Data\General Antivirus\db\config.cfg
%UserProfile%\Application Data\General Antivirus\db\Timeout.inf
%UserProfile%\Application Data\General Antivirus\db\Urls.inf
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\General Antivirus.lnk
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows\winlogon.exe
%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\iGSh.png
%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\iMSh.png
%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\iPSh.png
%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\iv.exe
%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows\log.txt
%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows\pguard.ini
%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows\services.exe
%UserProfile%\2saSddPYaWAasRsE-thief.jpg
c:\Program Files\Common Files\file.exe
c:\Program Files\Common Files\GeneralAntivirus.exe
c:\Program Files\General Antivirus
c:\Program Files\General Antivirus\activate.ico
c:\Program Files\General Antivirus\Explorer.ico
c:\Program Files\General Antivirus\GenAvir.exe
c:\Program Files\General Antivirus\unins000.dat
c:\Program Files\General Antivirus\uninstall.ico
c:\Program Files\General Antivirus\working.log
c:\Program Files\General Antivirus\db
c:\Program Files\General Antivirus\db\DBInfo.ver
c:\Program Files\General Antivirus\db\ga090122.db
c:\Program Files\General Antivirus\Languages
c:\WINDOWS\system32\log.txt

Associated General Antivirus Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\General Antivirus_is1
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Enum\Root\LEGACY_ITGRDENGINE
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\ITGrdEngine
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\Root\LEGACY_ITGRDENGINE
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\ITGrdEngine
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer "ParameterName"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer "prob"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer "prob1"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer "prob2"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer "probRedir"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer "PrS"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer "subscriber"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer "uid"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\Run "iv"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "General Antivirus"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "Microsoft Windows logon process"