How to remove XP Protector 2009 (Uninstall Instructions)

Posted by Grinler on September 9, 2008 @ 01:45 PM · Views: 9,669

Add to Favorites!    Print Guide!

What this programs does:

XP Protector 2009 is a rogue anti-spyware program from the same family as Antivirus XP 2008. This software is propagated through a variety of attack vectors that include SPAM emails that contain a link to the download, Trojans that install and advertise the software, and misleading web sites that display fake online anti-malware scanners. Regardless of the method that XP Protector 2009 is promoted to you, the ultimate goal is to use scare tactics and tricks to convince you to download and install the software on your computer. Once that has been accomplished, XP Protector 2009 uses a variety of methods to make it difficult to uninstall the software. These tactics are described below.

If you chose to download and install XP Protector 2009 then the program will be configured to run automatically when your computer starts. Once started the program will scan your computer and state that you have thousands of malware infections that cannot be removed unless you first purchase the software. These infections have names including Win32/PSW.OnLineGames, Win32/Adware.SearchAid, Win32/IRCBot.AAH. What you do not know, though, is that these results are fake and that these infections do not exist on your computer. Instead they are only being shown to scare you into purchasing the software. While the program is running you will also find that when you attempt to connect to various web sites a screen will be shown stating "Insecure Internet activity. Threat of virus attack". You will then have the option to click on a link to connect to the XP Protector 2009 purchase page or continue to the page you attempted to visit. Regardless of which option you choose, you will be sent to the XP Protector page. The program also makes it difficult to uninstall by having two processes monitor each other so that if you kill one process, the other process restarts the other one.

Screen shot of XP Protector 2009
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 XPProtector 2009 program and its associated malware for free.

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

Advanced information:

View XP Protector 2009 files.
View XP Protector 2009 Registry Information.

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

XPProtector09

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

This entry consists of random names:

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SMthcrkrj0etfg] C:\Program Files\thcrkrj0etfg\thcrkrj0etfg.exe

Guide Updates:

09/09/08 - Initial guide creation.

Automated Removal Instructions for XP Protector 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
   
   


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 XP Protector 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 XPProtector 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 XPProtector 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 Posting A Hijackthis Log

Associated XP Protector 2009 Files:

Some of these files have random names:

c:\Program Files\thcrkrj0etfg
c:\Program Files\thcrkrj0etfg\database.dat
c:\Program Files\thcrkrj0etfg\ForceUninstall.exe
c:\Program Files\thcrkrj0etfg\license.txt
c:\Program Files\thcrkrj0etfg\MFC71.dll
c:\Program Files\thcrkrj0etfg\MFC71ENU.DLL
c:\Program Files\thcrkrj0etfg\msvcp71.dll
c:\Program Files\thcrkrj0etfg\msvcr71.dll
c:\Program Files\thcrkrj0etfg\thcrkrj0etfg.exe
c:\Program Files\thcrkrj0etfg\thcrkrj0etfg.exe.local
c:\Program Files\thcrkrj0etfg\uninstall.exe
c:\WINDOWS\system32\pphcjkrj0etfg.exe
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop\XP Protector 2009.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\XP Protector 2009.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\XP Protector 2009
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\XP Protector 2009\How to Register XP Protector 2009.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\XP Protector 2009\License Agreement.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\XP Protector 2009\Register XP Protector 2009.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\XP Protector 2009\Uninstall.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\XP Protector 2009\XP Protector 2009.lnk
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\XP Protector 2009.lnk
%UserProfile%\Application Data\thcrkrj0etfg
%UserProfile%\Application Data\thcrkrj0etfg\Quarantine
%UserProfile%\Application Data\thcrkrj0etfg\Quarantine\Autorun
%UserProfile%\Application Data\thcrkrj0etfg\Quarantine\Autorun\HKCU
%UserProfile%\Application Data\thcrkrj0etfg\Quarantine\Autorun\HKCU\RunOnce
%UserProfile%\Application Data\thcrkrj0etfg\Quarantine\Autorun\HKLM
%UserProfile%\Application Data\thcrkrj0etfg\Quarantine\Autorun\HKLM\RunOnce
%UserProfile%\Application Data\thcrkrj0etfg\Quarantine\Autorun\StartMenuAllUsers
%UserProfile%\Application Data\thcrkrj0etfg\Quarantine\Autorun\StartMenuCurrentUser
%UserProfile%\Application Data\thcrkrj0etfg\Quarantine\BrowserObjects
%UserProfile%\Application Data\thcrkrj0etfg\Quarantine\Packages

Associated XP Protector 2009 Windows Registry Information:

Some of these keys have random names:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\thcrkrj0etfg
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\thcrkrj0etfg
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\User Agent\Post Platform "XPProtector09"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "SMthcrkrj0etfg"