Spyware Techie

Do you know what Antivirus 2008 is?

DESCRIPTION

Antivirus 2008 or Antivirus2008, is a rogue anti-virus program that is falsely advertised as a tool that assists computer users with security scans for parasites. Antivirus 2008 also known as Antivirus2008 may be distributed through Trojan infections or malicious websites. Antivirus 2008 is cleverly designed to resemble a normal Windows program as to not bring attention to the fact that Antivirus 2008 is a scam.

Antivirus 2008 or Antivirus2008 may run a scan on your system displaying several parasites that it found. The lists of parasites that Antivirus 2008 finds are totally erroneous. Once installed onto your system, Antivirus 2008 may start displaying popup alerts that warn you of dangerous files that you could be infected with. Alerts like this are usually fake and do not mean that you are infected. The only infection that you may have is the actual Antivirus 2008 program which should be removed immediately.

In non-techie terms: Antivirus 2008 is similar to many other rogue applications such as XP Antivirus only it goes a step further by tricking users into purchasing additional fake software programs. Antivirus 2008 cannot be trusted even though it looks like a program that is part of the Windows family. Antivirus 2008 has the possibility of rendering your computer useless if it is not removed. Do not confuse the fake Antivirus2008 for Norton Antivirus2008. Norton Antivirus2008 is a popular and legitimate Anti-Virus program. Hackers used the name “Antivirus2008″ to confuse computer users so they may waste their money on the fake Antivirus2008 program. Do not download or purchase Antivirus 2008 under any circumstances.

Aliases: Antivirus 2008, Antivirus2008
Known on the Web as: FraudTool.Win32.AntiVirus2008.j (Kaspersky), Downloader.MisleadApp (Symantec), Win32/SillyDl.EMX (CA AV), , Antivirus2008, Rogue.Antivirus2008.

Antivirus 2008 Automatic Removal Instructions

This automatic removal method is for non-techie computer users. If you’re too lazy to learn about spyware removal or how to access sensitive files in your computer, then this is the method for you.
Before you start: Print or bookmark these instructions because you’ll have to reboot into Safe Mode. Also back up your computer in case you make a mistake.

1. Download and save SmitFraudFix to your desktop.
2. Restart your computer in Safe Mode (how to do safe mode). Once the
   desktop appears, double click on the SmitfraudFix.exe on your desktop.
3. After the credits screen, you’ll see a menu. Select the option number 2, which is ‘Clean (safe mode recommended)’, and then
   press Enter to delete infect files.
4. SmitFraudFix will begin cleaning your computer and take a series of cleanup processes. When the process is over, it will automatically begin the Disk Cleanup program.
5. Once the Disk Cleanup program is complete, you will be prompted with the message ‘Registry cleaning - Do you want to clean the registry’. Answer Y (Yes) and hit Enter. Reboot your computer.
6. SmitFraudFix will now check if wininet.dll is infected. SmitFraudFix will ask you whether to replace the infected file (if there’s any) ‘Replace infected
   file?’ Answer by typing Y (Yes) and hit Enter.
7. Reboot your computer to complete the cleaning process.
8. After reboot, a Notepad screen may appear containing a log of all the files
   removed from your computer. If it doesn’t appear, a file will be created called
   rapport.txt in the root of your drive, (Local Disk C:).
9. Restart your computer in Safe Mode (how to do safe mode).
10. Go to C:\Windows\Temp, click Edit, click Select All, press DELETE, and then
    click Yes to confirm that you want all the items to go to the Recycle Bin.
11. Go to C:\Documents and Settings\[LISTED USER]\Local Settings\Temp, click Edit, click Select All, press DELETE, and then click Yes to confirm that
    you want all the items to go to the Recycle Bin.
12. Reboot your computer back to normal mode. Go to Windows Update and download all critical updates.

Antivirus 2008 Manual Removal Instructions

This manual removal method is for techie computer users. Antivirus 2008 manual removal may be difficult and time consuming to remove. There’s no guarantee that Antivirus 2008 will be removed completely. So read the Antivirus 2008 removal steps carefully and good luck.
Before you start: Close all programs and Internet browsers. Also back up your computer in case you make a mistake and your computer stops working.

1. Uninstall Antivirus 2008 Program
   Click on Start > Settings > Control Panel > Double-click on Add/Remove Programs. Search for and uninstall Antivirus 2008 if found.
2. To stop Antivirus 2008 processes (view process removal steps)
   Go to Start > Run > type taskmgr. The click the Processes tab and you’ll see a list of running processes.
   Search and stop these Antivirus 2008 processes:
   AntiVirus2008.exe
   For each unwanted process, right-click on it and then select “End task”.
3. To Unregister Antivirus 2008 DLLs (view DLL removal steps)
   Search and unregister these Antivirus 2008 DLLs:
   wininet.dll
   shlwapi.dll
   
   To locate the Antivirus 2008 DLL path, go to Start > Search > All Files or Folders. Type Antivirus 2008 and in the Look in: select either My Computer or Local Hard Drives. Click the Search button.
   Once you have the Antivirus 2008 DLL path, go to Start and then click on Run. In the Run command box, type cmd, and then click on OK.
   To locate the exact DLL path, type cd in order to change the current directory. To display the contents of the directory, use the dir command. To remove the DLL file type regsvr32 /u FILENAME.dll (FILENAME is the name of the file that you want to unregister).
4. To unregister Antivirus 2008 registry keys (view registry keys removal steps)
   Go to Start > Run > type regedit > press OK.
   Edit the value (on the right pane) by right-clicking on it and selecting the Modify option. Select the Delete option.
   Search and delete these Antivirus 2008 registry keys:

   HKEY_USERS\Software\antivirus 2008
   

5. If your homepage has been changed, go to Start > Control Panel > Internet Options > click on the General > click Use Default under Home Page. Add the your desired default homepage, then click Apply > click OK. Open a new web browser to check that you have your desired default homepage.
6. Remove Antivirus 2008 Directories.
   To find Antivirus 2008 directories, go to Start > My Computer > Local Disk (C:) > Program Files > Show the contents of this folder.
   Search and delete the following Antivirus 2008 directories:
   C:\ProgramFiles\Antivirus2008
   
   Right-click on the Antivirus 2008 folder and select Delete.
   A message will appear saying ‘Are you sure you want to remove the folder Antivirus 2008 and move all its contents to the Recycle Bin?’, click Yes.
   Another message will appear saying ‘Renaming, moving or deleting Antivirus 2008 could make some programs not work. Are you sure you want to do this?’, click Yes.
7. To remove Antivirus 2008 icons on your Desktop, drag and drop them to the Recycle Bin.

You’ve completed the Antivirus 2008 manual removal instructions!
I hope this article has helped you solve your Antivirus 2008 problems. If you want to contribute to this article, post your comment below.

Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes. By using this information you agree to be bound by the disclaimer. There’s no guarantee that Antivirus 2008 will be completely removed from your computer. Seek professional help if your computer continues to experience problems.

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