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System Security is a rogue anti-spyware program from the
same family as Winweb
Security. This program is classified as a rogue because it uses false scan
results as a method of scaring you into purchasing the software. If System Security
is installed, it will be set to start automatically when you login to your computer.
Once running, the program will begin to scan your computer and list a variety
of infections that cannot be removed unless you first purchase the program.
A dangerous problem is that System Security will list legitimate and necessary
programs as infections. For example, one of the files that it states is an infection
is C:\Windows\System32\svchost.exe. This file is not only legitimate, but a
very important file for the operation of your computer. Without that file, your
computer would not operate correctly and Windows itself may not start.
Another byproduct of System Security is that when it is running you will see
a variety of false security alerts. These alerts range from warnings that your
computer is being attacked to being infected with a variety of fake infections
such as Lsas.Blaster.Keyloger and Spyware.IEMonster. If you click on these alerts,
the program will open up a web browser and go to a page asking you to purchase
the software. Just like the false scan results, these alerts are only trying
to scare you into buying the program. Please ignore these alerts and instead
use the free removal guide below.
System Security screen shot For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above. There are a total of 5 images you can view.
This guide will walk you through removing the System Security program and its
associated malware for free.
Automated Removal Instructions for System Security using Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware:
Print out these instructions as we may need to close every window that is
open later in the fix.
Before we can do anything we must first end the System Security process
as it disables the ability to run various programs, including MalwareBytes'
Anti-Malware. To do this we must first download and install a Microsoft program
called Process Explorer. Normally, we would have you use the Windows Task
Manager to terminate the process, but this rogue will disable this utility
as well. Please download Process Explorer from the following link and save
it to your desktop.
Once the program has finished downloading, look for the procexp.exe file
that should now be located on your desktop. Once you find it, right-click
on it and select Rename. After you click on the Rename option,
you will now be able to change the name of the icon. Please change the name
to explorer.exe. Once the file has been renamed, double-click
on it and you will be asked to agree to the license agreement. You may also
see a screen with Windows asking if you are sure you want to run the program.
Please do so and you should be presented with a screen similar to the one
below.
Scroll through the list of running programs until you see a process that
has a name consisting of random numbers, such as 13279294.exe or 51231676.exe.
This process is the main System Security process, which is blocking access
to our programs. A further way to identify the process is that there will
be a small picture of a shield
next to the process in question. When you have identified this process, select
it by left-clicking on it once so it becomes highlighted. Then click on the
red X button as shown in the image below.
When you click on the red X to kill the process, Process
Explorer will ask you to confirm if you are sure you want to terminate it
as shown in the image below.
At this point you should press the Yes button in order to
kill the process.
Download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, or MBAM, from the following location
and save it to your desktop:
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
quick scan option is selected and then click on the Scan
button to start scanning your computer for
System Security
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
SystemSecurity
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.
Your computer should now be free of the SystemSecurity 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:
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 post a HijackThis log in our HijackThis Logs and Analysis forum.
Have a problem and would like to ask us for help? To learn how to ask your question Click Here!
Do you have popups or other malware infecting your computer? If so, Start Here!
Are you having trouble using this site? Then you should visit the New User Orientation Center!
next to the process in question. When you have identified this process, select
it by left-clicking on it once so it becomes highlighted. Then click on the
red X button as shown in the image below.
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