Total PC Defender 2010 is a rogue anti-spyware program that is
installed through the use of malware and Trojans. Once installed this rogue
will be configured to start automatically when Windows starts. Once started,
Total PC Defender will scan your computer and display numerous infections on
your computer, but will not remove them until you first purchase the program.
In reality, though, the infections this program states are present are either
legitimate programs or fake files that do not exist on your computer. They are
only showing you these files so that you will be scared into purchasing the
program. Therefore, please do not purchase this program.
Total PC Defender screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 4 images you can view.
While Total PC Defender is running you will also see numerous security alerts
appear on your computer. These alerts will state that malicious software is
running or that a program is trying to connect to the Internet. Just like the
scan results, these security warnings are all fake and are only being shown
to scare you into purchasing the program.
As you can see, Total PC Defender was created to scam you into thinking you
have a computer problem so that you will then purchase the program. Please do
not purchase this program, and if you already have, you should contact your
credit card company to dispute the charges. Please follow the steps in the removal
guide below to remove Total PC Defender and any related malware.
Threat Classification:
Advanced information:
View Total PC Defender 2010 files.
View Total PC Defender 2010 Registry Information.
Entries for this program found in the Uninstall Programs control panel:
Total PC Defender
Total PC Defender 2010
Tools Needed for this fix:
Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Total PC Defender] C:\Program Files\Total PC Defender\Total PC Defender.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Total PC Defender 2010] C:\Program Files\Total PC Defender 2010\Total PC Defender 2010.exe
Guide Updates:
12/28/09 - Initial guide creation.
03/31/10 - Updated for new version
Automated Removal Instructions for Total PC Defender 2010 using Malwarebytes Anti-Malware:
- Print out these instructions as we will 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.
- Download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, or MBAM, from the following location
and save it to your desktop:
http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/malwarebytes/mbam-setup.exe
- 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.
- 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
Total PC Defender 2010
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
Total PC Defender 2010
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 Total PC Defender 2010 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 Total PC Defender 2010 Files:
c:\Program Files\Total PC Defender
c:\Program Files\Total PC Defender\Total PC Defender.exe
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\Total PC Defender.lnk
%UserProfile%\Desktop\Total PC Defender.lnk
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Total PC Defender
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Total PC Defender\Total PC Defender.lnk
c:\Program Files\Total PC Defender 2010\
c:\Program Files\Total PC Defender 2010\Total PC Defender 2010.exe
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\Total PC Defender 2010.lnk
%UserProfile%\Desktop\Total PC Defender 2010.lnk
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Total PC Defender 2010
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Total PC Defender 2010\Total PC Defender 2010.lnk
File Location Notes:
%UserProfile% refers to the current user's profile folder. By default, this is C:\Documents and Settings\<Current User> for Windows 2000/XP, C:\Users\<Current User> for Windows Vista/7/8, and c:\winnt\profiles\<Current User> for Windows NT.
Associated Total PC Defender 2010 Windows Registry Information:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Total PC Defender
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Total PC Defender 2010
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "Total PC Defender 2010"
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.
