Remove SoftVeteran (Uninstall Guide)

Posted by Lawrence Abrams on October 21, 2009 @ 01:15 PM · Views: 5,476

 

What this infection does:

SoftVeteran is a rogue security program from the Wini family. This rogue is installed via Trojans that masquerade as Flash updates or video codecs that are required to watch an online video. Once you download and install this Trojan it will install SoftVeteran onto your computer as well as create numerous harmless files throughout your C:\Windows and C:\Windows\System32 folders. The Trojan will also configure SoftVeteran to start automatically when Windows starts and then launch the program. When the program launches it will scan your computer and display the harmless files, that the Trojan previously made, as infections, but will not remove them until you first purchase the program. This method of creating fake malware files and then detecting them as malware is a tactic where they are trying to scare you into purchasing the program. It goes without saying that you should not do so.

 

SoftVeteran Screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 6 images you can view.

 

While the Trojan is running it will also display security warnings and windows on your computer. These security warnings will state that active infections have been found or that a remote computer is attempting to infiltrate your computer. The Trojan will also display a window that impersonates the legitimate Windows Security Center, except that it suggests that you purchase SoftVeteran to protect your computer. These alerts and fake windows should be ignored as the information in them is false.

This program was designed for one purpose, which is to scare you into thinking that your computer is infected in the hopes that you will then purchase the SoftVeteran program. If you have already purchased SoftVeteran then you should contact your credit card company and dispute the charges. Last, but not least, if you are infected with SoftVeteran then please follow the steps in the guide below to remove this infection and any related malware from your computer.

 

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

 

Advanced information:

View SoftVeteran files.
View SoftVeteran Registry Information.

 

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

SoftVeteran

 

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

 

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [jqd4.tmp.exe] C:\WINDOWS\system32\jqd4.tmp.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [SoftVeteran] C:\Program Files\SoftVeteran Software\SoftVeteran\SoftVeteran.exe -min

 

Guide Updates:

10/21/09 - Initial guide creation.

 

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Automated Removal Instructions for SoftVeteran 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 SoftVeteran 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 SoftVeteran 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 SoftVeteran 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 SoftVeteran Files:

c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop\SoftVeteran.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\SoftVeteran
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\SoftVeteran\1 SoftVeteran.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\SoftVeteran\2 Homepage.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\SoftVeteran\3 Uninstall.lnk
%Temp%\jqd4.tmp.exe
c:\Program Files\SoftVeteran Software
c:\Program Files\SoftVeteran Software\SoftVeteran
c:\Program Files\SoftVeteran Software\SoftVeteran\SoftVeteran.exe
c:\Program Files\SoftVeteran Software\SoftVeteran\uninstall.exe
c:\WINDOWS\1051zhreat910265.ocx
c:\WINDOWS\10555hzcktool91c.exe
c:\WINDOWS\1057download952240z.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 SoftVeteran Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SoftVeteran
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\SoftVeteran
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\SoftVeteran
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "jqd4.tmp.exe"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "SoftVeteran"