Remove ProtectSoldier (Uninstall Guide)

Posted by Grinler on January 21, 2010 @ 11:05 AM · Views: 1,466

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What this programs does:

ProtectSoldier is a rogue anti-virus program from the Wini family of rogues. It is still installed through the use of Trojans that masquerade as Flash updates required to watch an online video. When the Trojan is run it will download and install ProtectSoldier and configure it to start automatically when Windows starts. The Trojan will also create numerous harmless files in the C:\Windows and C:\Windows\System32 folders that have random names. These files will then be detected as infections by ProtectSoldier when it scans your computer, but ProtectSoldier will state it cannot remove these files unless you first purchase the program. This method of create faking infection files on your computer and then detecting them as malware is just a tactic where the developers are trying to convince you that you have a security problem in the hopes that you will then purchase the program.

ProtectSoldier screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 2 images you can view.

While the Trojan is running, it will also display numerous security alerts on your computer. These security alerts will contain messages stating that your computer is under attack or that an active malware has been detected. The text of one of these alerts is:

Spyware Alert!
Your computer is infected with spyware. It could damage your critical files or expose your private data on the Internet. Click here to register your copy of ProtectSoldier and remove spyware threats from your PC.

The Trojan will also display a fake Windows Security Center window that suggests that you purchase ProtectSoldier to protect your computer. Just like the scan results, these fake security alerts should be ignored.

As you can see, the purpose of this rogue is to trick you into thinking there is a security problem on your computer so that you will be convinced to purchase the program. If you have already purchased this program, then we suggest that you contact your credit card company and dispute the charges stating that the program was a scam. Finally, to remove this malware please use the removal guide below.

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

Advanced information:

View ProtectSoldier files.
View ProtectSoldier Registry Information.

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

ProtectSoldier

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ProtectSoldier] C:\Program Files\ProtectSoldier Software\ProtectSoldier\ProtectSoldier.exe -min

Guide Updates:

01/21/10 - Initial guide creation.

Automated Removal Instructions for ProtectSoldier 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 ProtectSoldier 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 ProtectSoldier 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 ProtectSoldier 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 ProtectSoldier Files:

%UserProfile%\Desktop\ProtectSoldier.lnk
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Programs\ProtectSoldier.lnk
c:\Program Files\ProtectSoldier Software
c:\Program Files\ProtectSoldier Software\ProtectSoldier
c:\Program Files\ProtectSoldier Software\ProtectSoldier\ProtectSoldier.exe
c:\Program Files\ProtectSoldier Software\ProtectSoldier\Uninstall.exe

Associated ProtectSoldier Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ProtectSoldier
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ProtectSoldier
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ProtectSoldier
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "ProtectSoldier"