SoftBarrier is a fake anti-malware program that is part of the Wini family of rogue programs. This program is promoted through the use of Trojans that pretend to be video codecs or flash updates required to watch an online movie. When the Trojan is run, it will download and install SoftBarrier on to your computer and configure it to start automatically. The Trojan will also create numerous files on your computer with random names that will then be detected as malware by SoftBarrier when it scans your computer. SoftBarrier, though, will not attempt to remove these files until you first purchase the program. This scam of creating the files that the program will detect is a common method for rogue programs to trick you into thinking you are infected.

 

SoftBarrier 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 the Trojan is running, you will also see numerous security alerts and messages appear on your desktop. These alerts will contain warnings that your computer is infected, is under attack, or that you are sending private data to the Internet. The Trojan will also display a window that impersonates the legitimate Windows Security Center. This fake Security Center will suggest that you purchase SoftBarrier to protect your computer. Just like the fake scan results, these warnings are all false and should be ignored.

If you find that your computer is infected with SoftBarrier, then please ignore the warnings and do not purchase the program. If you have already purchased the program, then I suggest you contact your credit card company and dispute the charges stating the purchase is fraudulent. Last, but not least, to remove SoftBarrier and any related malware, please use the removal guide below.

 

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

 

Advanced information:

View SoftBarrier files.
View SoftBarrier Registry Information.

 

Entries for this program found in the Uninstall Programs control panel:

SoftBarrier

 

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

 

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [SoftBarrier] C:\Program Files\SoftBarrier Software\SoftBarrier\SoftBarrier.exe -min

 

Guide Updates:

10/28/09 - Initial guide creation.

 

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Automated Removal Instructions for SoftBarrier 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 SoftBarrier 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 SoftBarrier 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 SoftBarrier 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 SoftBarrier Files:

c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop\SoftBarrier.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\SoftBarrier
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\SoftBarrier\1 SoftBarrier.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\SoftBarrier\2 Homepage.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\SoftBarrier\3 Uninstall.lnk
c:\Program Files\SoftBarrier Software
c:\Program Files\SoftBarrier Software\SoftBarrier
c:\Program Files\SoftBarrier Software\SoftBarrier\SoftBarrier.exe
c:\Program Files\SoftBarrier Software\SoftBarrier\uninstall.exe
c:\WINDOWS\1037not-a-zir9s795.cpl
c:\WINDOWS\10517z9rm7e.cpl
c:\WINDOWS\111249acztool1ef5.exe
c:\WINDOWS\system32\1649zt5oj447.exe
c:\WINDOWS\system32\164z7spamb95755.bin
c:\WINDOWS\system32\16624s5y1z9.dll
%Temp%\vwc4.tmp.exe

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 in Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.

 

Associated SoftBarrier Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SoftBarrier
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\SoftBarrier
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\SoftBarrier
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "SoftBarrier"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "vwc4.tmp.exe"

 

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BleepingComputer.com can not be held responsible for problems that may occur by using this information. If you would like help with any of these fixes, you can ask for malware removal assistance in our Virus, Trojan, Spyware, and Malware Removal Logs forum.

If you have any questions about this self-help guide then please post those questions in our Am I infected? What do I do? and someone will help you.