Internet Security 2012 or Internet Security are rogue anti-spyware programs from the same family as Privacy Protection. This rogue will display
false scan results in order to trick you into thinking that your computer is
infected so that you will then purchase the program. When this infection is installed on your computer it will be configured
to start automatically when you login to Windows. Once started it will scan your computer and then state that there are numerous infections on your computer. If you attempt to remove any of these so-called infections, though, it
will state that you first need to purchase the program in order to remove anything.
As many of these files are actually legitimate files, please do not manually delete any of the files that this rogue states are infections as it may affect the operation of your legitimate programs and Windows.
Internet Security 2012 screenshot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 6 images you can view.
While running, Internet Security 2012 will also display fake security alerts on
your computer. These security alerts are used to make you think that there are
various security problems on your computer. The text of one of these alerts
is:
Security Warning
Malicious program has been detected.
Click here to protect your computer.
Firewall Warning
Hidden file transfers to remote host has been detected.
has detected a leak of your files through the Internet. We strongly recommend that you block the attack immediately.
In order to protect itself, Internet Security 2012 will also not allow you to run
most executables on your computer. When you attempt to run an executable you
will instead be greeted with a message that states that the program is infected.
The text of this message is:
notepad.exe can not start
File notepad.exe is infected by W32/Blaster.worm. Please activate Internet Security 2012 to protect your computer.
Just like the fake scan results, these fake alerts are just another tactic
to have you purchase the program and should be ignored.
As you can see, this program was created for the sole purpose of scaring you into thinking your computer is severely infected so that you will then purchase it.
Therefore, do not purchase Internet Security 2012 for any reason, and if you already
have, please contact your credit card company and state that the program is
a computer infection and a scam and that you would like to dispute the charge.
To remove this infection and related malware, please follow the steps in the
guide below.
Threat Classification:
Advanced information:
View Internet Security 2012 files.
View Internet Security 2012 Registry Information.
Tools Needed for this fix:
Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Internet Security 2012] %CommonAppData%\isecurity.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Internet Security] %CommonAppData%\isecurity.exe
Guide Updates:
01/22/12 - Initial guide creation.
02/02/12 - New variant released without the year in the title.
Automated Removal Instructions for Internet Security 2012 using Malwarebytes Anti-Malware:
- Print out these instructions as we may need to close every window that is
open later in the fix.
- 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.
- 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.
- As this infection is known to be bundled with the TDSS rootkit infection, you should
also run a program that can be used to scan for this infection. Please follow
the steps in the following guide:
How
to remove Google Redirects or the TDSS, TDL3, or Alureon rootkit using TDSSKiller
If after running TDSSKiller, you are still unable to update Malwarebytes' Anti-malware or continue to have Google search result redirects, then you should post a virus removal request using the steps
in the following topic rather than continuing with this guide:
Preparation Guide For Use Before Using Malware Removal Tools and Requesting Help Topic
If TDSSKiller requires you to reboot, please allow it to do so. After you reboot, reboot back into Safe Mode with Networking again.
- When in Safe More with Networking, we must first end the processes that belong to
Internet Security 2012
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,
scroll down and click on the click on the link labeled eXplorer.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 eXplorer.exe
icon in order to automatically attempt to stop any processes associated with
Internet Security 2012
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
Internet Security 2012
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
Internet Security 2012
. 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. Do not reboot
your computer after running RKill as the malware programs will start again.
If you continue having problems running RKill, you can download the other
renamed versions of RKill from the RKill
download page. Both of these 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.
- 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
Internet Security 2012
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
Internet Security
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
Internet Security
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 Internet Security 2012 Files:
%CommonAppData%\isecurity.exe
%Desktop%\Internet Security 2012.lnk
%Desktop%\Internet Security.lnk
File Location Notes:
%Desktop% means that the file is located directly on your desktop. This is C:\DOCUMENTS AND SETTINGS\<Current User>\Desktop\ for Windows 2000/XP, and C:\Users\<Current User>\Desktop\ for Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.
%CommonAppData% refers to the Application Data folder for the All Users Profile. By default, this is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data for Windows 2000/XP and C:\ProgramData\ in Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.
%CommonAppData% refers to the Application Data folder in the All Users profile. For Windows XP, Vista, NT, 2000 and 2003 it refers to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\, and for Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 it is C:\ProgramData.
Associated Internet Security 2012 Windows Registry Information:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\<random chars>
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "Internet Security 2012"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "Internet Security"
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.
