Vista Antivirus Pro 2013 is a variant of the Rogue.FakeRean-Braviax family of name-changing rogue anti-spyware computer infections. This infection is typically spread using two methods. The first method is through web sites that are hacked to include malicious code that exploit vulnerabilities on your computer to install the infection. The other method is through Trojans that pretend to be legitimate programs required to view an online video or as updates to commonly used programs.

 

Vista Antivirus Pro 2013
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 5 images you can view.

 

Once the program is installed, it will be configured to start automatically when another executable, .exe file, is launched on your computer. Once started it will pretend to scan your computer and then state that there are numerous infections present. If you attempt to remove any of these supposed infections, it will prompt you to purchase it first. As all of the infections it displays are fake, please ignore the scan results and continue with the rest of the removal guide.

As a protection method and a scare tactic, Vista Antivirus Pro 2013 will also terminate any program you attempt to run and then state that it is infected. The message that it will display is:

Vista Antivirus Pro 2013 Firewall Alert
Vista Antivirus Pro 2013 has blocked a program from accessing the internet
Internet Explorer is infected with Trojan-BNK.Win32.Keylogger.gen
Private data can be stolen by third parties, including credit card details and passwords.

As your files are not infected, please ignore this message.

While running, this rogue will display alerts that are designed to scare you into thinking that your computer has a severe security problem or is under attack. Some of these messages include:

Tracking software found!
Your PC activity is being monitored. Possible spyware infection. Your data security may be compromised. Sensitive data can be stolen. Prevent damage now by completing a security scan.

Stealth intrusion!
Infection detected in the background. Your computer is now attacked by spyware and rogue software. Eliminate the infection safely, perform a security scan and deletion now.

Just like the scan results, these security warnings and alerts are all fake and should be ignored.

Without a doubt, Vista Antivirus Pro 2013 was created to scare you into thinking that your computer is infected so that you would then purchase the program. Please do not purchase this program , and if you already have, please contact your credit card company and dispute the charges stating that the program is a computer infection and a scam. To remove Vista Antivirus Pro 2013 and related malware please use the guide below.

 

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

 

Advanced information:

View Vista Antivirus Pro 2013 files.
View Vista Antivirus Pro 2013 Registry Information.

 

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

 

Guide Updates:

11/04/12 - Initial guide creation.

 

---

Automated Removal Instructions for Vista Antivirus Pro 2013 using Malwarebytes Anti-Malware:

 

1. Print out these instructions as we may need to close every window that is open later in the fix.
   
   
2. 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.
   
   
3. 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.
   
   
4. Before we can do anything we must first end the processes that belong to Vista Antivirus Pro 2013 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 Rkill.com. When you are prompted where to save it, please save it on your desktop.
   
   
5. Once it is downloaded, double-click on the Rkill.com icon in order to automatically attempt to stop any processes associated with Vista Antivirus Pro 2013 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 Vista Antivirus Pro 2013 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 Vista Antivirus Pro 2013 . 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. All 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.
   
   
6. As this infection is known to be bundled with the TDSS/Necurs rootkit infection, you should also run a program that can be used to scan for this infection. Please follow the steps in the following guide:
   

   How to remove Google Redirects or the TDSS, TDL3, or Alureon rootkit using TDSSKiller

   If after running TDSSKiller, you are unable to update Malwarebytes' Anti-malware or continue to have Google search result redirects, then you should post a virus removal request using the steps in the following topic rather than continuing with this guide:
   

   Preparation Guide For Use Before Using Malware Removal Tools and Requesting Help Topic

   If TDSSKiller requires you to reboot, please allow it to do so. After you reboot, reboot back into Safe Mode with Networking again.
   
   
7. 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)
   
8. Once downloaded, close all programs and Windows on your computer, including this one.
   
   
9. Double-click on the icon on your desktop named mbam-setup.exe. This will start the installation of MBAM onto your computer.
   
   
10. 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.
    
    
11. 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.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
12. 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 Vista Antivirus Pro 2013 related files.
    
    
13. 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.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
14. 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 Vista Antivirus Pro 2013 removal process.
    
    
15. You will now be back at the main Scanner screen. At this point you should click on the Show Results button.
    
    
16. 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.
    
    
17. 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.
    
    
18. You can now exit the MBAM program.
    
    
19. 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 Vista Antivirus Pro 2013 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 Vista Antivirus Pro 2013 Files:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\.exe "(Default)" = '<random>'
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\.exe\shell\open\command "(Default)" = "%LocalAppData%\<random 3 chars>.exe" -a "%1" %*
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\<random>
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\<random> "(Default)" = 'Application'
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\<random>\DefaultIcon "(Default)" = '%1'
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\<random>\shell\open\command "(Default)" = "%LocalAppData%\<random 3 chars>.exe" -a "%1" %*
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.exe\shell\open\command "(Default)" = "%LocalAppData%\<random 3 chars>.exe" -a "%1" %*
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ah\shell\open\command "(Default)" = "%LocalAppData%\<random 3 chars>.exe" -a "%1" %*
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ah\shell\open\command "IsolatedCommand"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Clients\StartMenuInternet\FIREFOX.EXE\shell\open\command "(Default)" = ""%LocalAppData%\<random 3 chars>.exe -a "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe""
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Clients\StartMenuInternet\FIREFOX.EXE\shell\safemode\command "(Default)" = ""%LocalAppData%\<random 3 chars>.exe" -a "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" -safe-mode"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Clients\StartMenuInternet\IEXPLORE.EXE\shell\open\command "(Default)" = ""%LocalAppData%\<random 3 chars>.exe" -a "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe""

File Location Notes:

%LocalAppData% refers to the current users Local settings Application Data folder. By default, this is C:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\Local Settings\Application Data for Windows 2000/XP. For Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 it is C:\Users\<Current User>\AppData\Local.

 

Associated Vista Antivirus Pro 2013 Windows Registry Information:

%CommonAppData%\<random characters and numbers>
%LocalAppData%\<random characters and numbers>
%LocalAppData%\<random 3 characters>.exe
%Temp%\<random characters and numbers>
%AppData%\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Templates\<random characters and numbers>

 

---

 

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.