How to remove Spyware Guard 2008 and Spyware Guard 2009 (Uninstall Instructions)

Posted by Grinler on October 2, 2008 @ 05:32 PM · Views: 260,852

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What this programs does:

Spyware Guard 2008 is a rogue anti-spyware program that uses deceptive advertising methods. This program is promoted through the use of fake online anti-malware scanners that state your computer is infected and that you should download and install Spyware Guard 2008 to protect it. These online scanners, though, are just advertisements and have no way of knowing what is running on your computer. They are only stating that you are infected in order to scare you into installing the program.

If you decide to install the software, Spyware Guard 2008 will configure itself to run automatically on your computer when it starts. Then it will create seven fake malware files that it will detect as malware on your computer in order to further scare you into thinking you are infected. These fake malware files are:

c:\WINDOWS\reged.exe
c:\WINDOWS\spoolsystem.exe
c:\WINDOWS\sys.com
c:\WINDOWS\syscert.exe
c:\WINDOWS\sysexplorer.exe
c:\WINDOWS\vmreg.dll
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\olesys.dll

When Spyware Guard 2008 starts, it automatically scans your computer and lists the seven files above, as well as numerous legitimate files, as malware and does not allow you to remove them unless you first purchase the software. These fake malware files, and all of the legitimate files it flags as infections, are only being used to scare you into purchasing the software. In fact, the files found are all harmless. While this software is installed, you may also find that your computer starts to operate slower. This is because the program is constantly running in the background using up your computer's resources.

Please note that the rogue programs called Spyware Guard 2008 and 2009 are not related to the legitimate security software named SpywareGuard that is created by Javacool Software. The legitimate Javacool SpywareGuard program has a DLL file named spywareguard.dll that is located at C:\Program Files\SpywareGuard\spywareguard.dll. This is a legitimate file and should not be deleted if found on your machine. In fact, we recommend that you install SpywareGuard, from Javacool, in order to further secure your computer. A tutorial on how to use this program can be found here.

Spyware Guard 2008 screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 3 images you can view.

This guide will walk you through removing the Spyware Guard 2008 rogue anti-spyware program and any associated malware that may have been installed with it.

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

Advanced information:

View Spyware Guard 2008 and Spyware Guard 2009 files.
View Spyware Guard 2008 and Spyware Guard 2009 Registry Information.

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

Spyware Guard 2008
Spyware Guard 2009

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [spywareguard] C:\Program Files\Spyware Guard 2008\spywareguard.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [spywareguard] C:\Program Files\Spyware Guard 2009\spywareguard.exe

Guide Updates:

10/02/08 - Initial guide creation.
01/14/09 - Updated for Spyware Guard 2009
03/30/09 - Updated to include information about the legitimate SpywareGuard program.

Automated Removal Instructions for Spyware Guard 2008 and Spyware Guard 2009 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 Spyware Guard 2008 and Spyware Guard 2009 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 SpywareGuard 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 SpywareGuard 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 Posting A Hijackthis Log

Associated Spyware Guard 2008 and Spyware Guard 2009 Files:

%UserProfile%\Desktop\Spyware Guard 2008.lnk
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Programs\Spyware Guard 2008
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Programs\Spyware Guard 2008\Spyware Guard 2008.lnk
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Programs\Spyware Guard 2008\Uninstall.lnk
c:\Program Files\Spyware Guard 2008
c:\Program Files\Spyware Guard 2008\conf.cfg
c:\Program Files\Spyware Guard 2008\mbase.vdb
c:\Program Files\Spyware Guard 2008\quarantine.vdb
c:\Program Files\Spyware Guard 2008\queue.vdb
c:\Program Files\Spyware Guard 2008\spywareguard.exe
c:\Program Files\Spyware Guard 2008\uninstall.exe
c:\Program Files\Spyware Guard 2008\vbase.vdb
c:\Program Files\Spyware Guard 2008\quarantine
c:\WINDOWS\reged.exe
c:\WINDOWS\spoolsystem.exe
c:\WINDOWS\sys.com
c:\WINDOWS\syscert.exe
c:\WINDOWS\sysexplorer.exe
c:\WINDOWS\vmreg.dll
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\olesys.dll

Associated Spyware Guard 2008 and Spyware Guard 2009 Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Spyware Guard
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Spyware Guard 2008
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "spywareguard"