How to remove WinSpywareProtect (Removal Instructions)

Posted by Lawrence Abrams on June 17, 2008 @ 04:27 PM · Views: 22,317

 

What this infection does:

WinSpywareProtect is a rogue anti-spyware program, that once installed, will automatically scan your computer and list a variety of fake results and false positives that cannot be removed unless you first purchase the software. The tactic of showing supposed infections and requiring you to purchase the software in order to remove them is simply a scare tactic and should be ignored. Instead use a legitimate program, like the one below, to clean your computer of this software and any related malware that may have been installed with it. While WinSpywareProtect is running, you may also see fake Windows Security Center alerts and warnings stating that your computer has an active infection or that you are being attacked. These too can be ignored as they are just another scare tactic.

 

 

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

 

This guide will walk you through removing the WinSpywareProtect program and any related malware.

 

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

 

Advanced information:

View WinSpywareProtect files.
View WinSpywareProtect Registry Information.

 

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

LabelCommand

 

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

 

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O2 - BHO: LabelCommand module - {18CB1A7B-94CD-4582-8022-ADA16851E44B} - C:\Program Files\LabelCommand\LabelCommand.dll
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ADSL Software Limited\WinSpywareProtect\winspywareprotect.exe] "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ADSL Software Limited\WinSpywareProtect\winspywareprotect.exe" /autorun

 

Guide Updates:

06/17/08 - Initial guide creation.
04/14/09 - Updated for new files.

 

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Automated Removal Instructions for WinSpywareProtect 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 WinSpywareProtect 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 WinSpywareProtect 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 WinSpywareProtect 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 WinSpywareProtect Files:

c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ADSL Software Limited
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ADSL Software Limited\WinSpywareProtect
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ADSL Software Limited\WinSpywareProtect\winspywareprotect.exe
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ADSL Software Limited\WinSpywareProtect\BASE
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ADSL Software Limited\WinSpywareProtect\DELETED
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ADSL Software Limited\WinSpywareProtect\LOG
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ADSL Software Limited\WinSpywareProtect\LOG\20080617111154889.log
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ADSL Software Limited\WinSpywareProtect\SAVED
%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Temp\_addon.exe
%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Temp\temp.dll
c:\Program Files\LabelCommand
c:\Program Files\LabelCommand\LabelCommand.dll
c:\Program Files\LabelCommand\uninstall.dat
c:\Program Files\LabelCommand\Uninstall.exe
C:\Windows\System32\W3asbas.exe

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 WinSpywareProtect Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ADSL Software Limited
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\LabelCommand
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{18CB1A7B-94CD-4582-8022-ADA16851E44B}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib\{8B8DF25F-2C47-4473-8E1C-7F54AC7EF481}\
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\LabelCommand.LabelCommand
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\LabelCommand.LabelCommand.1
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{18CB1A7B-94CD-4582-8022-ADA16851E44B}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{7C4BCD17-BDBA-4078-9D8C-8CA8B7EABE77}
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ADSL Software Limited\WinSpywareProtect\winspywareprotect.exe"