Remove WiniFighter (Uninstall Guide)

Posted by Grinler on July 8, 2009 @ 11:01 PM · Views: 14,055

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What this programs does:

WiniFighter is a rogue anti-spyware program that creates fake infection files on your computer in order to find something during its anti-malware scans. When installed, WiniFighter will create a variety of harmless files that will then be used by the program to be detected as infections. It does this to scare you into thinking that you have infections installed on your computer in the hopes that you will then purchase WiniFighter. In reality, though, these files are all harmless and have no effect on your computer. WiniFighter will also be configured to start automatically when you boot up your computer. Once started it will scan your computer and then list the files it created in the first place as infections, but will not allow you to remove them until you purchase the program.

WiniFighter screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 4 images you can view.

When WiniFighter is running you will also see a constant stream of nag screens and security alerts. These alerts will contain messages stating that your computer is under attack or that you have a dire security problem. It will then suggest you purchase the program in order to rectify these problems. Last, but not least, WiniFighter will also create a window that impersonates the Windows Security Center that is part of Windows. This fake security center, though, will contain a message stating that Windows recommends that you register WiniFighter to protect your computer. As you can see, everything that WiniFighter shows you is designed for one purpose; to scare you into thinking you are infected and to convince you to purchase the program. Instead of doing so, please use the free removal guide below to remove this infection from your computer.

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

Advanced information:

View WiniFighter files.
View WiniFighter Registry Information.

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

WiniFighter

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [WiniFighter] C:\Program Files\WiniFighter Software\WiniFighter\WiniFighter.exe -min
O23 - Service: WiniFighter Security Service (WiniFighterSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\WiniFighter Software\WiniFighter\WiniFighterSvc.exe

Guide Updates:

07/07/09 - Initial guide creation.

Automated Removal Instructions for WiniFighter 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
   
   


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 quick scan option is selected and then click on the Scan button to start scanning your computer for WiniFighter 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 WiniFighter 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 WiniFighter 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 Posting A Hijackthis Log

Associated WiniFighter Files:

c:\Program Files\WiniFighter Software
c:\Program Files\WiniFighter Software\WiniFighter
c:\Program Files\WiniFighter Software\WiniFighter\data.bin
c:\Program Files\WiniFighter Software\WiniFighter\license.txt
c:\Program Files\WiniFighter Software\WiniFighter\uninstall.exe
c:\Program Files\WiniFighter Software\WiniFighter\WiniFighter.exe
c:\Program Files\WiniFighter Software\WiniFighter\WiniFighterSvc.exe
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop\WiniFighter.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\WiniFighter
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\WiniFighter\1 WiniFighter.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\WiniFighter\2 Homepage.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\WiniFighter\3 Uninstall.lnk

Associated WiniFighter Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\WiniFighter
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\WiniFighter
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WiniFighter
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Enum\Root\LEGACY_WINIFIGHTERSVC
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\WiniFighterSvc
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\Root\LEGACY_WINIFIGHTERSVC
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WiniFighterSvc
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "WiniFighter"