How to remove SafeFighter (Uninstall Guide)

Posted by Lawrence Abrams on October 7, 2009 @ 05:26 PM · Views: 3,682

 

What this infection does:

SafeFighter is a scareware program that is installed by Trojans and that utilizes fake scan results to convince you to purchase the program. When the Trojan installs SafeFighter, SafeFighter will be configured to start automatically when you login to Windows. The Trojan will also create a large amount of harmless files that have random file names. These files will then be detected as infections when SafeFighter scans your computer. The program, though, will tell you it will not remove any of these supposed infections unless you first purchase the program. The reality is that the files that SafeFighter states are infections pose absolutely no threat to your computer and are only being shown to scare you into thinking that you are infected. Therefore, please do not be tricked into purchasing SafeFighter when you see these scan results.

 

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

 

The same Trojan that installed SafeFighter will also display fake security alerts and messages on your computer. These alerts will state that your computer has active malware or that a remote computer is trying to attack yours. The Trojan will also display a window that impersonates the legitimate Windows Security Center. The only difference is that the imposter will suggest you purchase SafeFighter to protect your computer. Just like the scan results, these security alerts are designed to scare you into thinking that you are infected in the hopes that you will then purchase the program.

If you find that you are infected with SafeFighter then please use the guide below to remove it. If you have already purchased the software, then we suggest you contact your credit card company to dispute the charges.

 

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

 

Advanced information:

View SafeFighter files.
View SafeFighter Registry Information.

 

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

SafeFighter

 

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

 

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [1aa456a.exe] C:\WINDOWS\system32\1aa456a.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [SafeFighter] C:\Program Files\SafeFighter Software\SafeFighter\SafeFighter.exe -min

 

Guide Updates:

10/07/09 - Initial guide creation.

 

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Automated Removal Instructions for SafeFighter 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 SafeFighter 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 SafeFighter 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 SafeFighter 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 SafeFighter Files:

c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop\SafeFighter.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\SafeFighter
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\SafeFighter\1 SafeFighter.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\SafeFighter\2 Homepage.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\SafeFighter\3 Uninstall.lnk
%Temp%\1aa456a.exe
c:\Program Files\SafeFighter Software
c:\Program Files\SafeFighter Software\SafeFighter
c:\Program Files\SafeFighter Software\SafeFighter\SafeFighter.exe
c:\Program Files\SafeFighter Software\SafeFighter\uninstall.exe
c:\WINDOWS\10450tr9j4z5.ocx
c:\WINDOWS\10516hacktzol9f5.bin
c:\WINDOWS\105bs9ezl2345.exe
c:\WINDOWS\system32\135095irusaz9.bin
c:\WINDOWS\system32\13571sp5mbot6e9z.exe
c:\WINDOWS\system32\13658tro9536z.ocx

File Location Notes:

%Temp% refers to the Windows Temp folder. By default, this is C:\Windows\Temp for Windows 95/98/ME, C:\DOCUMENTS AND SETTINGS\<Current User>\LOCAL SETTINGS\Temp for Windows 2000/XP, and C:\Users\<Current User>\AppData\Local\Temp for Windows Vista and Windows 7.

 

Associated SafeFighter Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SafeFighter
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\SafeFighter
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\SafeFighter
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "1aa456a.exe"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "SafeFighter"