Remove Virus Protector (Uninstall Guide)
Posted by Lawrence Abrams on February 19, 2010 @ 07:32 PM · Views: 64,348
What this infection does:
Virus Protector is a rogue anti-spyware program that is promoted
through malware. When the malware installs Virus Protector it will also create
hundreds of harmless files with random file names throughout your computer.
These files will then be detected as infections when Virus Protector scans your
computer. If you try to remove them, though, the program will state that you
must first purchase it before it will allow you to do so. This is a scam as
the files are created by the rogue in the first place and are harmless to your
system. Therefore, do no purchase this program for any of the reasons it may
give.
Virus Protector screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 5 images you can view.
While Virus Protector is running you will also see a constant display of security
warnings and alerts appear on your screen. These alerts will state that your
computer is under attack, infections have been found, or that your personal
data is at risk. Examples of the alerts you will see include:
Process Blocked!
Harmful memory infection was detected.
Process any.exe was terminate
Internet Attack Detected
Type: Land Attack
Risk: Medium
Spyware Alert!
Your computer is infected with spyware. It could damage your critical files
or expose your private data on the Internet. Click here to register your copy
of Virus Protector and remove spyware threats from your PC.
Just like the fake scan results, these security alerts are fake as well and
should be ignored.
As you can see, Virus Protector was created for one purpose; to scam you out
of your money by making you think you are infected. It goes without saying that
you should definitely not purchase this program, and if you already have, please
contact your credit card company to dispute the charges. To remove this infection
and any related malware, please use the removal guide below.
Threat Classification:
Advanced information:
View Virus Protector files.
View Virus Protector Registry Information.
Tools Needed for this fix:
Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Virus Protector] <Path to rogue>\<random>.exe
O20 - AppInit_DLLs: <random>.dll
Guide Updates:
02/19/10 - Initial guide creation.
02/20/10 - Updated removal instructions.
Automated Removal Instructions for Virus Protector 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
Virus Protector
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
Virus Protector
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 Virus Protector 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 Virus Protector Files:
c:\Documents and Settings\Bleeping\Application Data\<random>.exe
c:\Documents and Settings\Bleeping\Application Data\<random>.dll
c:\Documents and Settings\Bleeping\Local Settings\Temp\<random>.exe
c:\Documents and Settings\Bleeping\Local Settings\Temp\<random>.dll
c:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\<random>.exe
c:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\<random>.dll
c:\WINDOWS\<random>.exe
c:\WINDOWS\<random>.dll
c:\WINDOWS\system32\<random>.exe
c:\WINDOWS\system32\<random>.dll
c:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\<random>.exe
c:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\<random>.dll
Associated Virus Protector Windows Registry Information:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "Virus Protector"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows "LoadAppInit_DLLs" = "1"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows "AppInit_DLLs" = "<random>.dll"
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