How to remove MalwareDoc or Malware Doctor (Uninstall Instructions)

Posted by Grinler on February 19, 2009 @ 05:46 PM · Views: 32,748

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What this programs does:

MalwareDoc is a clone of the rogue called AntiSpy Knight. This program is classified as a rogue because it uses deceptive advertising, attempts to trick users into thinking it's a different program, and show false results when scanning your computer. The developers of MalwareDoc were also sloppy when they cloned AntiSpy Knight into MalwareDoc as shown by the Registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Malware Doctor\AntiSpy Knight. When testing MalwareDoc on a freshly formatted computer it still found infections. Unfortunately, these infections were legitimate Microsoft programs that includes files such as C:\Windows\Notepad.exe, C:\Windows\regedit.exe, and C:\Windows\System32\xcopy.exe. A large concern is that infected users who are unfamiliar with this program may mistakenly delete files thinking they are infections when in fact they are files required for the proper operation of Windows.

MalwareDoc screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 3 images you can view.

When installed, MalwareDoc will be configured to start automatically when you boot your computer. Once running, it will scan your computer and display a variety of infections on your computer that cannot be removed unless you first purchase the program. As described above, these infections are all fake and are only being shown to scare you into thinking you are infected and to have you purchase the program. To further confuse users, when the installer creates the autostart entry in your Windows Registry that is used to start the program automatically, they chose a name that is used by a legitimate software. This name is Alcmtr and normally is associated with the a piece of audio software from RealTek. The reason they chose a legitimate name was to make it further appear like a program that should be allowed to run.

MalwareDoc is an unwanted program and has no redeeming qualities. It was not created to help anyone, but rather to steal your money. Instead of using this software, please use the free removal guide outlined below to remove MalwareDoc and any malware that was installed with it.

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

Advanced information:

View MalwareDoc files.
View MalwareDoc Registry Information.

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

Malware Doctor version 1.0

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Alcmtr] C:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\Malware Doctor.exe

Guide Updates:

02/19/08 - Initial guide creation.

Automated Removal Instructions for MalwareDoc 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 full scan option is selected and then click on the Scan button to start scanning your computer for MalwareDoc 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 Malware Doctor 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 Malware Doctor 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 MalwareDoc Files:

c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\htmlayout.dll
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\maincfg.xml
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\Malware Doctor.exe
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\unins000.dat
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\unins000.exe
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\Validation.dll
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\help.htm
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\index.htm
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\main.css
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\options.htm
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\protect.htm
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\r_index.htm
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\r_protect.htm
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\r_support.htm
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\register.htm
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\status.htm
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\support.htm
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\update.htm
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\about.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\banner.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\button-back.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\button-back-active.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\button-back-hover.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\focusled.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\greenpoint.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\header.jpg
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\header.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\header_right.jpg
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\header-hover.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\help.ico
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\noconnection.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\ok.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\options.ico
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\options.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\progress-back.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\progress-body.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\progress-body-dark.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\protect.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\protection.ico
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\redpoint.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\regicon.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\register.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\scan.ico
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\sectionheader.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\sectionheaderred.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\shield.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\status.ico
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\stripback.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\support.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\tab.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\tabback.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\tab-hover.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\thanx.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\toolbarback.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\update.ico
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\update.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\warning.png
c:\Program Files\Malware Doctor\GUI\images\warningicon.png
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Malware Doctor
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Malware Doctor\Malware Doctor.lnk

Associated MalwareDoc Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Malware Doctor
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Malware Doctor\AntiSpy Knight
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Malware Doctor
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Malware Doctor_is1
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "Alcmtr"