XP Antivirus 2008, XP Antivirus 2009, and XPAntiVirus are
rogue antivirus programs that, when run, display false results as a tactic to
scare you into purchasing the software. Older versions of XP Antivirus would
create 9 entries in your Windows Registry that impersonate infections on your
machine. In reality, though, these registry entries were harmless and had absolutely
no effect on your computer. Instead, these entries were set so that XP AntiVirus
can find them when scanning your computer and report them as infections. The
newer of versions of the program , such as XP Antivirus 2008 and XP Antivirus
2009, instead just display false results when scanning your computer that state
infections were found. In order to remove these fake infections, though, you
would first need to purchase the software as the trial does not allow you to
remove them.
While running, XP Antivirus will also display fake alerts stating that you
are infected or under attack from some type of threat. These alerts are fake
and can be ignored. If you do click on the alert, though, it will prompt you
to purchase the software. Examples of text contained in these alerts can be
found below.
Privacy Violation alert!
XP antivirus detected Privacy Violation. Some program is secretly sending
your private data to untrusted internet host. Click here to block this activity
by removing threats (Recommended).
or
System files modification alert!
Some critical system files of your computer were modified by malicious program.
It may cause system instability and data loss. Click here to block unathorised
<sic> modification by removing threats
(Recommended).
As you can see these programs are fraudware because they make changes to your
computer and then state these changes are infections as a scare tactic to have
you purchase the software. It goes without saying that under no circumstances
should you buy it. The older program, XPAntivirus, does come with a removal
option in the computer's Add or Remove Programs list, but when you attempt to
uninstall it, all that happens is the entry is removed from the list and program's
process is terminated. Next time you reboot, XP AntiVirus will start up again.
The newer versions of the program do not contain an entry in the Add or Remove
Programs list at all.
XP Antivirus 2008 screenshot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 7 images you can view.
The guide below will walk you through the steps necessary to remove this software
and any entries it installed in your Windows Registry for free.
Threat Classification:
Advanced information:
View XP Antivirus 2008, XP Antivirus 2009, and XPAntivirus files.
View XP Antivirus 2008, XP Antivirus 2009, and XPAntivirus Registry Information.
Entries for this program found in the Uninstall Programs control panel:
XP antivirus 1.0.1
Tools Needed for this fix:
Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {4e7bd74f-2b8d-469e-dcf7-f96da086b434} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {6C6B8C69-9285-4D94-8492-9E920C8C2B65} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {74f25a2c-22b3-4023-8f1a-ca616c30a8b5} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {9a19966f-ae0e-4699-8cce-9b6f5f1c352c} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {D714A94F-123A-45CC-8F03-040BCAF82AD6} - (no file)
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [System] C:\WINDOWS\krln32.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Windows Framework] C:\WINDOWS\system32\scvh0st.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [mmnext06] C:\Program Files\Common Files\trjdwnl.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [shellbn] C:\WINDOWS\shlext32.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [XP Antivirus] C:\Program Files\XPAntivirus\XPAntivirus.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [10181281926292389167514053783761] C:\Program Files\XP Antivirus\xpa.exe
Guide Updates:
10/10/07 - Initial guide creation.
07/22/08 - Updated with information on new variants
Automated Removal Instructions for XP Antivirus 2008, XP Antivirus 2009, and XPAntivirus using Malwarebytes Anti-Malware:
- Print out these instructions as we will need to close every window that
is open later in the fix.
- 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)
- Once downloaded, close all programs and Windows on your computer, including
this one.
- Double-click on the icon on your desktop named mbam-setup.exe.
This will start the installation of MBAM onto your computer.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
XP Antivirus 2008, XP Antivirus 2009, and XPAntivirus
related files.
- 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.
- 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 XP Antivirus 2008, XP Antivirus 2009, and XPAntivirus removal process.
- You will now be back at the main Scanner screen. At this point you should
click on the Show Results button.
- 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.
- 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.
- You can now exit the MBAM program.
Your computer should now be free of the XP Antivirus 2008, XP Antivirus 2009, and XPAntivirus 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 XP Antivirus 2008, XP Antivirus 2009, and XPAntivirus Files:
c:\Program Files\XP Antivirus
c:\Program Files\XP Antivirus\xpa.exe
C:\Program Files\XPAntivirus\
C:\Program Files\XPAntivirus\XPAntivirus.exe
c:\WINDOWS\system32\scui.cpl
%UserProfile%\Desktop\XP Antivirus 2008.lnk
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\XP Antivirus 2008
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\XP Antivirus 2008\Uninstall XP Antivirus 2008.lnk
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\XP Antivirus 2008\XP Antivirus 2008.lnk
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\XP Antivirus 2008.lnk
C:\WINDOWS\krln32.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\scvh0st.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\trjdwnl.dll
C:\WINDOWS\shlext32.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/7/8, and c:\winnt\profiles\<Current User> for Windows NT.
Associated XP Antivirus 2008, XP Antivirus 2009, and XPAntivirus Windows Registry Information:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\XP antivirus
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\<random numeric string>
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\XPAntivirusFilter
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\XPAntivirusFilter
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{4e7bd74f-2b8d-469e-dcf7-f96da086b434}\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{6C6B8C69-9285-4D94-8492-9E920C8C2B65}\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{74f25a2c-22b3-4023-8f1a-ca616c30a8b5}\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{9a19966f-ae0e-4699-8cce-9b6f5f1c352c}\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{D714A94F-123A-45CC-8F03-040BCAF82AD6}\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\XP antivirus_is1\
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "XP Antivirus"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "mmnext06"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "shellbn"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "System"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "Windows Framework"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "<random numeric string>"
This is a self-help guide. Use at your own risk.
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.
