WinDefender 2009 is the successor to to rogue anti-spyware program named WinDefender 2008. WinDefender is advertised through the use of Trojans that display fake security alerts stating that your computer is infected or being attacked. These alerts then state that you should download and install WinDefender 2009 in order to protect yourself. Once WinDefender is installed, the program will be configured to start automatically when the computer starts. Once running, WinDefender 2009 will scan your computer and display a variety of malware that cannot be removed unless you first purchase the software. The funny thing is that most of the files that WinDefender finds will actually be the Trojans that installed it in the first place.

While running, WinDefender will also display pop-ups stating that your computer is infected and if you would like to purchase a program that can help you. This is just an advertisement that is currently promoting Total Secure 2009. This pop-up should be closed, and ignored, as it is just a further tactic to try and take your hard earned money.

 

WinDefender 2009 screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 2 images you can view.

 

The below guides will walk you through removing WinDefender 2009 and any associated malware that may have been installed with it.

 

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

 

Advanced information:

View WinDefender 2009 files.
View WinDefender 2009 Registry Information.

 

Entries for this program found in the Uninstall Programs control panel:

WinDefender 2009

 

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

 

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [WinDefender2009] C:\Program Files\WinDefender\windef.exe

 

Guide Updates:

10/30/08 - Initial guide creation.

 

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Automated Removal Instructions for WinDefender 2009 using Malwarebytes Anti-Malware:

 

1. Print out these instructions as we will need to close every window that is open later in the fix.
   
   
2. 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)
   
   


3. Once downloaded, close all programs and Windows on your computer, including this one.
   
   
4. Double-click on the icon on your desktop named mbam-setup.exe. This will start the installation of MBAM onto your computer.
   
   
5. 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.
   
   
6. 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.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. 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 WinDefender 2009 related files.
   
   
8. 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.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
9. 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 Win Defender 2009 removal process.
   
   
10. You will now be back at the main Scanner screen. At this point you should click on the Show Results button.
    
    
11. 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.
    
    
12. 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.
    
    
13. You can now exit the MBAM program.
    

Your computer should now be free of the Win Defender 2009 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

 

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Associated WinDefender 2009 Files:

c:\WINDOWS\k.txt
c:\Program Files\WinDefender
c:\Program Files\WinDefender\uninstall.exe
c:\Program Files\WinDefender\windef.exe
c:\Program Files\WinDefender\WinDefender.s1
c:\Program Files\WinDefender\WinDefender.s2
c:\Program Files\WinDefender\WinDefender.s3
c:\Program Files\WinDefender\WinDefender.s4
c:\Program Files\WinDefender\WinDefender.s5
c:\Program Files\WinDefender\WinDefender.s6
%UserProfile%\Desktop\WinDefender 2009.lnk
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Programs\WinDefender 2009.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 WinDefender 2009 Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\WinDefender2009
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\WinDefender 2009
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "WinDefender2009"

 

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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.