Remove Live Security Suite (Uninstall Guide)

Posted by Lawrence Abrams on May 13, 2010 @ 04:10 PM · Views: 16,174

 

What this infection does:

Live Security Suite is a program that pretends to be an anti-spyware program, but in reality is a computer infection. This program is designed to scare you into thinking that you have a computer infection by showing fake security alerts and scan results in the hopes that you will then purchase the program. When installed, Live Security Suite will be configured to start automatically when your computer starts. Once started it will scan your computer and state that your computer has numerous infections on it, but will not allow you to remove any of these infections until you first purchase the program. The files that Live Security Suite detects, though, are not actually real files and they do not exist on your computer. It is only displaying these fake results to scare you into purchasing the program.

 

Live Security Suite screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 5 images you can view.

 

While Live Security Suite is running it will also hijack your Internet Explorer browser. When browsing the web with Internet Explorer, the infection will display a message stating that the site is a risk and will not allow you to visit the site. It does this so that you cannot go to sites that contain removal instructions or programs that can be used to remove the infection. The text of the Internet Explorer hijack that you will see is:

Internet Explorer has closed this webpage to help protect your computer.
A malfunctioning or malicious add-on has caused Internet Explorer to close this webpage.

While Live Security Suite is running it will also display fake security warnings on your computer. These security warnings are displayed to scare you into thinking that your computer is under attack, that it is sending private information to remote location, or that active malware has been detected. The text of some of the fake warnings that you will see are:

Live Security Suite has detected harmful software in your system. We strongly recommended you to register Live Security Suite to remove these threats immediately.

Spyware activity alert!
Spyware.BrowserDeath activity detected. This kind of spyware is attempts to steal passwords from Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera and other programs, including logins and passwords from online banking sessions, eBay, PayPal, etc.

Privacy Violation alert!
Live Security Suite detected a Privacy Violation. A program is secretly sending your private data to an untrusted internet host. Click here to block this activity by removing the threat (Recommended).

System files modification alert!
Some critical system files of your computer were modified by malicious program. It may cause system instability and data loss. Click here to block unauthorized modification by removing threats (Recommended).

Intercepting programs that may compromise your privacy and harm your system have been detected on your PC. Click here to remove it immediately with Live Security Suite.

Your PC is still infected with dangerous viruses. It is strongly recommended to activate antivirus protection to prevent data loss and to avoid the theft of your credit card details. Click here to activate protection.

Tracking cookies that steal your passwords, accounts and credit card information have been detected in your system. Click here to remove them immediately with Live Security Suite.

Malicious spyware that can harm your system has been detected on your PC. Click here to remove this riskware immediately with Live Security Suite.

Self restoring Trojan virus that can lead to total system crash has been detected on your PC. Click here to remove this harmful virus immediately with Live Security Suite.

Live Security Suite has found %Found% viruses on your computer. It is recommended to disinfect files as soon as possible.

Just like the fake scan results, all of these security warnings are fake and are being show to scare you into purchasing the program.

As you can see, Live Security Suite was created for one reason; to scare you into purchasing the program. It goes without saying that you should not purchase this program, and if you already have, please contact your credit card company and dispute the charges stating it was a scam. The guide below contains instructions on how to remove this infection and any related files.

 

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

 

Advanced information:

View Live Security Suite files.
View Live Security Suite Registry Information.

 

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

Live Security Suite (2.0.3.0)

 

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

 

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Live Security Suite] "C:\Program Files\Live Security Suite\LiveSS.exe" /s

 

Guide Updates:

05/13/10 - Initial guide creation

 

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Automated Removal Instructions for Live Security Suite using Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware:

 

1. Print out these instructions as we may need to close every window that is open later in the fix.
   
   
2. 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.
   
   
3. Before we can do anything we must first end the processes that belong to Live Security Suite 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.
   
   
4. Once it is downloaded, double-click on the iExplore.exe icon in order to automatically attempt to stop any processes associated with Live Security Suite 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 Live Security Suite 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 Live Security Suite . 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.
   
   
5. 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)
   
   


6. Once downloaded, close all programs and Windows on your computer, including this one.
   
   
7. Double-click on the icon on your desktop named mbam-setup.exe. This will start the installation of MBAM onto your computer.
   
   
8. 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.
   
   
9. 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.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
10. 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 Live Security Suite related files.
    
    
11. 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.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
12. 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 Live Security Suite removal process.
    
    
13. You will now be back at the main Scanner screen. At this point you should click on the Show Results button.
    
    
14. 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.
    
    
15. 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.
    
    
16. You can now exit the MBAM program.
    
    
17. 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 Live Security Suite 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 Live Security Suite Files:

c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop\Live Security Suite.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Live Security Suite
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Live Security Suite\Live Security Suite Home Page.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Live Security Suite\Live Security Suite.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Live Security Suite\Purchase Licence.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Live Security Suite\Purchase License.lnk
c:\Program Files\Live Security Suite
c:\Program Files\Live Security Suite\activate.ico
c:\Program Files\Live Security Suite\Explorer.ico
c:\Program Files\Live Security Suite\LiveSS.exe
c:\Program Files\Live Security Suite\unins000.dat
c:\Program Files\Live Security Suite\uninstall.ico
c:\Program Files\Live Security Suite\working.log
c:\Program Files\Live Security Suite\db
c:\Program Files\Live Security Suite\db\DBInfo.ver
c:\Program Files\Live Security Suite\db\ia080614.db
c:\Program Files\Live Security Suite\db\lists.ini
c:\Program Files\Live Security Suite\db\WMILib.dll
c:\Program Files\Live Security Suite\Languages
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Live Security Suite
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Live Security Suite\settings.ini
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Live Security Suite\uill.ini
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Live Security Suite\unins000.exe
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Live Security Suite\Uninstall Live Security Suite.lnk
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Live Security Suite\db
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Live Security Suite\db\config.cfg
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Live Security Suite\db\Timeout.inf
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Live Security Suite\db\Urls.inf
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\Live Security Suite.lnk
%UserProfile%\Desktop\Live Security Suite.lnk
%UserProfile%\Desktop\LiveSS.exe.txt
%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\Windows\pguard.ini
%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows\services.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, and c:\winnt\profiles\<Current User> for Windows NT.

 

Associated Live Security Suite Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Live Security Suite
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Live Security Suite
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Live Security Suite_is1
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\taskmgr.exe
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\FTP "SearchDir" = "C:\Program Files\Live Security Suite\"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer "PrS" = "http://gen-avpay.com/choose/?productid=GENAV3&uid=0&machineid=c3f92274b4b15694ae2311bd2316c727"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer "uniname" = "Live Security Suite_is1"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "Live Security Suite"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Security Center "AVPath" = "\\.\root\SecurityCenter:AntiVirusProduct.instanceGuid="{653E64F8-62B6-4F96-B22D-4FFC6E44130E}""
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent "URLSS[2.0.3.0]"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Security Center "FirewallDisableNotify" = "0"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Security Center "FirstRunDisabled" = "0"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Security Center "UpdatesDisableNotify" = "0"