Remove PC Live Guard (Uninstall Guide)

Posted by Grinler on December 4, 2009 @ 12:04 PM · Views: 35,056

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What this infection does:

PC Live Guard is a rogue anti-spyware program that is promoted through the use of fake online scanner sites and misleading advertisements. When this program is installed it will be configured to start automatically. The installer will also create numerous files on your computer that will then be detected as malware by PC Live Guard when it scans your computer. The files that this rogue creates are:

%UserProfile%\Recent\cb.drv
%UserProfile%\Recent\CLSV.sys
%UserProfile%\Recent\DBOLE.exe
%UserProfile%\Recent\FW.dll
%UserProfile%\Recent\kernel32.drv
%UserProfile%\Recent\PE.tmp
%UserProfile%\Recent\ppal.dll
%UserProfile%\Recent\SM.dll
%UserProfile%\Recent\SICKBOY.tmp
%UserProfile%\Recent\sld.drv

This method of creating the files that will be detected by the same program is becoming more and more common with rogues. They do this to substantiate the existence of supposed malware files even on machines that are completely clean. Therefore, please do not believe any of the scan results presented by this program.

PC Live Guard 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 PC Live Guard is running you will also see a constant barrage of fake security alerts and warnings appear on your desktop. These warnings will state that a virus has been detected or that active malware is sending data on the Internet. Just like the scan results, these fake security alerts are just another method where the program is trying to trick you into thinking that you have a security problem.

Without a doubt, PC Live Guard is a scam designed to trick you into purchasing the program to remove fake infections. It goes without saying that you should not purchase this program and if you already have, we suggest you contact your credit card company to dispute the charges. Finally, to remove this infection and any related malware, please use the removal guide below.

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

Advanced information:

View PC Live Guard files.
View PC Live Guard Registry Information.

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [PC Live Guard] "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\<random>\PC<random numbers>.exe" /s /d

Guide Updates:

12/04/09 - Initial guide creation.
01/21/10 - Updated for new files and search hijack.

Automated Removal Instructions for PC Live Guard 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 (Download page will open in a new window)
   
   


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 PC Live Guard 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 PC Live Guard 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 PC Live Guard 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 PC Live Guard Files:

c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\<random>\
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\<random>\PC<random numbers>.exe
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\<random>\PCLG.ico
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\<random>\573.mof
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\<random>\mozcrt19.dll
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\<random>\sqlite3.dll
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\<random>\PCLGSys
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\<random>\PCLGSys\vd952342.bd
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\<random>\BackUp\
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\<random>\Quarantine Items\
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\PC<random>
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\PC<random>\PCAWWLG.cfg
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\PC Live Guard.lnk
%UserProfile%\Application Data\PC Live Guard
%UserProfile%\Application Data\PC Live Guard\cookies.sqlite
%UserProfile%\Desktop\PC Live Guard.lnk
%UserProfile%\Recent\gid.tmp
%UserProfile%\Recent\SICKBOY.tmp
%UserProfile%\Recent\sld.drv
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\PC Live Guard.lnk
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Programs\PC Live Guard.lnk
c:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\searchplugins\search.xml

Associated PC Live Guard Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\3
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{3F2BBC05-40DF-11D2-9455-00104BC936FF}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\xp_edb11.DocHostUIHandler
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes "URL" = "http://search-gala.com/?&uid=7&q={searchTerms}"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes "URL" = "http://findgala.com/?&uid=292&q={searchTerms}"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer "IIL"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Download "RunInvalidSignatures" = "1"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent\Post Platform "[xSP_2:117fc3395e69e29f71abba93a68c4181_7]"
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes "URL" = "http://search-gala.com/?&uid=7&q={searchTerms}"
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes "URL" = "http://findgala.com/?&uid=292&q={searchTerms}"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "PC Live Guard"