Remove Windows Guard Pro (Uninstall Guide)

Posted by Lawrence Abrams on September 6, 2009 @ 08:50 PM · Views: 3,412

 

What this infection does:

Windows Guard Pro is a rogue anti-spyware program from the same family of rogues as Windows System Suite and Windows Additional Guard. Windows Guard Pro is classified as a rogue because it deliberately displays false scan results in order to make you think your computer is infected. When installed, this program will be configured to start automatically when a user logs into the computer. Once running it will perform a scan and then display a list of fake infections that it states won't be removed until you purchase the program. These infections, though, do not actually exist and are only being shown to scare you into thinking you are infected.

 

Windows Guard Pro screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 3 images you can view.

 

As you can see, Windows Guard Pro was created for one purpose; to scam you out of your money by making you think you are infected. Instead of purchasing this program, please use the guide below to remove this infection for free.

 

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

 

Advanced information:

View Windows Guard Pro files.
View Windows Guard Pro Registry Information.

 

Entries for this program found in the Add or Remove Programs control panel:

Windows Guard Pro

 

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

 

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O1 - Hosts: 74.125.45.100 4-open-davinci.com
O1 - Hosts: 74.125.45.100 securitysoftwarepayments.com
O1 - Hosts: 74.125.45.100 privatesecuredpayments.com
O1 - Hosts: 74.125.45.100 secure.privatesecuredpayments.com
O1 - Hosts: 74.125.45.100 getantivirusplusnow.com
O1 - Hosts: 74.125.45.100 secure-plus-payments.com
O1 - Hosts: 74.125.45.100 www.getantivirusplusnow.com
O1 - Hosts: 74.125.45.100 www.secure-plus-payments.com
O1 - Hosts: 74.125.45.100 www.getavplusnow.com
O1 - Hosts: 74.125.45.100 www.securesoftwarebill.com
O1 - Hosts: 74.125.45.100 secure.paysecuresystem.com
O1 - Hosts: 74.125.45.100 paysoftbillsolution.com
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Windows Guard Pro] "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\9201\WindowsGP.exe" /s

 

Guide Updates:

09/06/09 - Initial guide creation.

 

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Automated Removal Instructions for Windows Guard Pro 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 Windows Guard Pro 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 Windows Guard Pro 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 Windows Guard Pro 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 Windows Guard Pro Files:

c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\9201
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\9201\1527.mof
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\9201\mozcrt19.dll
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\9201\sqlite3.dll
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\9201\unins000.dat
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\9201\WindowsGP.exe
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\9201\WINGP.ico
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\9201\WINGPSys
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\9201\WINGPSys\vd952342.bd
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\WINGPSys
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\WINGPSys\winpg.cfg
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\Windows Guard Pro.lnk
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Windows Guard Pro
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Windows Guard Pro\cookies.sqlite
%UserProfile%\Desktop\Windows Guard Pro.lnk
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Windows Guard Pro.lnk
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Programs\Windows Guard Pro.lnk
c:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\searchplugins\search.xml

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, and c:\winnt\profiles\<Current User> for Windows NT.

 

Associated Windows Guard Pro Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Windows Guard Pro
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{3F2BBC05-40DF-11D2-9455-00104BC936FF}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\WindowsGP.DocHostUIHandler
HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes "URL" => "http://search-gala.com/?&uid=7&q={searchTerms}"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent\Post Platform "787917903"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "Windows Guard Pro"