System Progressive Protection is a computer infection from the
Rogue.WinWebSec
family of rogue
anti-spyware programs. This program is classified as a rogue because it deliberately displays false scan results, hijacks your computer so that you are unable to run your normal applications, and displays a constant stream of fake security alerts that state your computer is infected. This rogue is distributed via three methods. The first method is hacked web sites that contain malicious code that attempts to exploit vulnerabilities on a visitors computers. If it can successfully exploit a vulnerability it will install the program without your permission or knowledge. The second method is through the use of fake online anti-malware scanners that pretend to scan your computer and then state you are infected. It will then prompt you to download System Progression Protection. The final method this rogue uses are Trojans that pretend to be software required to view an online video.
System Progressive Protection screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 7 images you can view.
When this rogue is installed it will be placed as a randomly named executable in a random folder in c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\, in XP,
or C:\ProgramData, in Windows Vista and Windows 7. System Progressive Protection will then be configured to start automatically when you login to your computer. Once started, it will scan your computer and state that there are numerous infections present. If you attempt to remove these infection, though, it will state that you first need to purchase the program before it will perform any virus removal. As all of the scan results displayed by this program are fake, please ignore any prompts to purchase the program.
To protect itself, System Progressive Protection will also close any programs you attempt to run on your computer and will state that they are infected. It does this so you are unable to run any security or anti-virus programs that can assist in its removal. The message that you will see when it terminates a program is:
Warning!
Application cannot be executed. The file GoogleUpdate.exe infected.
Please activate your antivirus software.
This infection will also hijack your web browser so that it displays an security warnings when attempt to visit a site. The text of this warning is:
Warning! The site you are trying visit may harm your computer!
Your security setting level puts your computer at risk!
Activate System Progressive Protection, and enable safe web surfing (recommended).
Ignore warnings and visit that site in the current stat (not recommended).
When you see this message you can safely click on the Ignore warnings and visit that site in the current state (not recommended) link so that you can visit the site you are trying to go to.
Finally, while System Progressive Protection is running it will also display fake security warnings that are designed to make you think your computer has a serious virus problem. Some of the messages you may see include:
Spyware.IEMonster activity detected. This is spyware that attempts to steal passwords from Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Outlook and other programs.
Click here to remove it immediately with System Progressive Protection.
System Progressive Protection Warning
Your PC is still infected with dangerous viruses. Activate antivirus protection to prevent data loss and avoid the theft of your credit card details.
Warning: Your computer is infected
Detected spyware infection!
Click this message to install the last update of security software...
Just like the fake scan results, these security warnings are all false and should be ignored.
Without a doubt, this rogue was created to scare you into purchasing it by making you think your computer has a security issue. It goes without
saying that you should definitely not purchase System Progressive Protection, and if you already have,
please contact your credit card company and dispute the charges stating that
the program is a scam and a computer virus. To remove System Progressive Protection and other
related malware, please use the free removal guide below.
Threat Classification:
Advanced information:
View System Progressive Protection files.
View System Progressive Protection Registry Information.
Tools Needed for this fix:
Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:
04 - HKCU\..\RunOnce: [<random numbers and chars>] %CommonAppData%\<random numbers and chars>\<random numbers and chars>.exe
Guide Updates:
09/20/12 - Initial guide creation.
Automated Removal Instructions for System Progressive Protection using Malwarebytes Anti-Malware:
- Print out these instructions as we may need to close every window that is
open later in the fix.
- Reboot your computer into Safe Mode with Networking. To
do this, turn your computer off and then back on and immediately when you
see anything on the screen, start tapping the F8 key on your
keyboard. Eventually you will be brought to a menu similar to the one below:
Using the arrow keys on your keyboard, select Safe Mode with Networking
and press Enter on your keyboard. If you are having trouble
entering safe mode, then please use the following tutorial: How
to start Windows in Safe Mode
Windows will now boot into safe mode with networking and prompt you to login
as a user. Please login as the same user you were previously logged in with
in the normal Windows mode. Then proceed with the rest of the steps.
- It is possible that the infection you are trying to remove will not allow
you to download files on the infected computer. If this is the case, then
you will need to download the files requested in this guide on another computer
and then transfer them to the infected computer. You can transfer the files
via a CD/DVD, external drive, or USB flash drive.
- Before we can do anything we must first end the processes that belong to
System Progressive Protection
so that it does not interfere with the cleaning procedure. To do this, please
download RKill to your desktop from the following link.
RKill
Download Link - (Download page will open in a new tab or browser window.)
When at the download page, click on the Download Now button
labeled iExplore.exe download link. When you are prompted
where to save it, please save it on your desktop.
- Once it is downloaded, double-click on the iExplore.exe
icon in order to automatically attempt to stop any processes associated with
System Progressive Protection
and other Rogue programs. Please be patient while the program looks for various
malware programs and ends them. When it has finished, the black window will
automatically close and you can continue with the next step. If you get a
message that RKill is an infection, do not be concerned. This message is just
a fake warning given by
System Progressive Protection
when it terminates programs that may potentially remove it. If you run into
these infections warnings that close RKill, a trick is to leave the warning
on the screen and then run RKill again. By not closing the warning, this typically
will allow you to bypass the malware trying to protect itself so that RKill
can terminate
System Progressive Protection
. So, please try running RKill until the malware is no longer running. You
will then be able to proceed with the rest of the guide. Do not reboot
your computer after running RKill as the malware programs will start again.
If you continue having problems running RKill, you can download the other
renamed versions of RKill from the RKill
download page. Both of these files are renamed copies of RKill, which
you can try instead. Please note that the download page will open in a new
browser window or tab.
- Now you should 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)
- Once downloaded, close all programs and Windows on your computer, including
this one.
- Double-click on the icon on your desktop named mbam-setup.exe.
This will start the installation of MBAM onto your computer.
- 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. If MalwareBytes' prompts you to reboot, please do not do so.
- 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.
- 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
System Progressive Protection
related files.
- 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.
- 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
System Progressive Protection
removal process.
- You will now be back at the main Scanner screen. At this point you should
click on the Show Results button.
- 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.
- 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.
- You can now exit the MBAM program.
- As many rogues and other malware are installed through vulnerabilities found
in out-dated and insecure programs, it is strongly suggested that you use
Secunia PSI to scan for vulnerable programs on your computer. A tutorial on
how to use Secunia PSI to scan for vulnerable programs can be found here:
How to
detect vulnerable and out-dated programs using Secunia Personal Software Inspector
Your computer should now be free of the
System Progressive Protection
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 System Progressive Protection Files:
%CommonAppData%\<random numbers and chars>\
%CommonAppData%\<random numbers and chars>\<random numbers and chars>
%CommonAppData%\<random numbers and chars>\<random numbers and chars>.exe
%CommonAppData%\<random numbers and chars>\<random numbers and chars>.ico
File Location Notes:
%CommonAppData% refers to the Application Data folder for the All Users Profile. By default, this is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data for Windows 2000/XP and C:\ProgramData\ in Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.
%CommonAppData% refers to the Application Data folder in the All Users profile. For Windows XP, Vista, NT, 2000 and 2003 it refers to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\, and for Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 it is C:\ProgramData.
Associated System Progressive Protection Windows Registry Information:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce "<random numbers and chars>"
This is a self-help guide. Use at your own risk.
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.
