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View Full Version : Manual Removal Guide for AntiSpywareMaster



Friday
2008-11-28, 17:59
The following instructions have been created to help you to get rid of "AntiSpywareMaster" manually.
Use this guide at your own risk; software should usually be better suited to remove malware, since it is able to look deeper.

If this guide was helpful to you, please consider donating towards this site (http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=donate).

Threat Details:

Categories:
malware

Description:
AntiSpywareMaster is a group of rogue antispy-software. The product is installed into a separate program folder and scans the system. It displays several system files as malicious objects in order to lure the user into buying the application.
Removal Instructions:

Desktop:

Please remove the following files from your desktop.
To check where they are pointing to, right-click them and choose "Properties" from the context menu appearing.

Shortcuts named "SecureExpertCleaner.lnk" and pointing to "<$PROGRAMFILES>\SecureExpertCleaner\SEC.exe".
Shortcuts named "AntiSpywareExpert.lnk" and pointing to "<$PROGRAMFILES>\AntiSpywareExpert\ase*.exe".
Shortcuts named "VirusRemover2008.lnk" and pointing to "<$PROGRAMFILES>\VirusRemover2008\VRM*.exe".

Quicklaunch area:

Please remove the following items from your start quick launch area text to the "Start" button in the taskbar at the bottom.
To check where they are pointing to, right-click them and choose "Properties" from the context menu appearing.

Quicklaunch symbols named "SecureExpertCleaner.lnk" and pointing to "<$PROGRAMFILES>\SecureExpertCleaner\SEC.exe".
Quicklaunch symbols named "VirusRemover2008.lnk" and pointing to "<$PROGRAMFILES>\VirusRemover2008\VRM*.exe".

Autorun:

Please use Spybot-S&D (http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=spybotsd), RunAlyzer (http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=runalyzer) or msconfig.exe to remove the following autorun entries.

Entries named "Reminder" and pointing to "<$PROGRAMFILES>\SecureExpertCleaner\Reminder.exe".
Entries named "SecureExpertCleaner" and pointing to "<$PROGRAMFILES>\SecureExpertCleaner\sec.exe".
Entries named "AntiSpywareExpert" and pointing to "*".
Entries named "VirusRemover2008" and pointing to "*".

Installed Software List:

You can try to uninstall products with the names listed below; for items identified by other properties or to avoid malware getting active again on uninstallation, use Spybot-S&D (http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=spybotsd) or RunAlyzer (http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=runalyzer) to locate and get rid of these entries.

Products that have a key or property named "3P_USEC_is1".
Products that have a key or property named "VirusRemover2008".

Files:

Please use Windows Explorer or another file manager of your choice to locate and delete these files.

The file at "<$DESKTOP>\Antivirus Master.lnk".
The file at "<$SYSDIR>\avm.cpl".
The file at "<$COMMONAPPDATA>\SEC\schedule.dat".
The file at "<$PROGRAMFILES>\SecureExpertCleaner\base.dat".
The file at "<$PROGRAMFILES>\SecureExpertCleaner\Reminder.exe".
The file at "<$PROGRAMFILES>\SecureExpertCleaner\SEC.exe".
The file at "<$PROGRAMFILES>\SecureExpertCleaner\SEC.xml".
The file at "<$PROGRAMFILES>\SecureExpertCleaner\Viruses.bdt".
The file at "<$COMMONDESKTOP>\Secure ExpertCleaner.lnk".
The file at "<$PROGRAMFILES>\AntiSpywareExpert\Viruses.bdt".
The file at "<$PROGRAMFILES>\VirusRemover2008\Viruses.bdt".
The file at "<$PROGRAMFILES>\VirusRemover2008\VRM2008.exe".
Make sure you set your file manager to display hidden and system files. If AntiSpywareMaster uses rootkit technologies, use our RootAlyzer (http://forums.spybot.info/downloads.php?id=8) or our Total Commander anti-rootkit plugins (http://forums.spybot.info/downloads.php?id=3).
You will have to use a global search for files without a name specified. Be extra careful, because just the name might not be enough to identify files!

Important: There are more files that cannot be safely described in simple words. Please use Spybot-S&D (http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=spybotsd) to remove them.

Folders:

Please use Windows Explorer or another file manager of your choice to locate and delete these folders.

The directory at "<$COMMONAPPDATA>\SEC".
The directory at "<$COMMONPROGRAMS>\SecureExpertCleaner".
The directory at "<$APPDATA>\SecureExpertCleaner\Logs".
The directory at "<$APPDATA>\SecureExpertCleaner".
The directory at "<$PROGRAMFILES>\SecureExpertCleaner\Download".
The directory at "<$PROGRAMFILES>\SecureExpertCleaner".
The directory at "<$COMMONPROGRAMS>\AntiSpywareExpert".
The directory at "<$PROGRAMFILES>\AntiSpywareExpert".
The directory at "<$COMMONPROGRAMS>\VirusRemover2008".
The directory at "<$PROGRAMFILES>\VirusRemover2008".
Make sure you set your file manager to display hidden and system files. If AntiSpywareMaster uses rootkit technologies, use our RootAlyzer (http://forums.spybot.info/downloads.php?id=8) or our Total Commander anti-rootkit plugins (http://forums.spybot.info/downloads.php?id=3).
You will have to use a global search for files without a name specified. Be extra careful, because just the name might not be enough to identify folders!

Registry:

You can use regedit.exe (included in Windows) to locate and delete these registry entries.

Delete the registry key "SecureExpertCleaner" at "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\".
Delete the registry key "AntiSpywareExpert" at "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\".
Delete the registry key "{5222008A-DD62-49c7-A735-7BD18ECC7350}" at "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\".
Delete the registry key "VirusRemover2008" at "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\".
Delete the registry key "{5222008A-DD62-49c7-A735-7BD18ECC7350}" at "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\".
Delete the registry key "VirusRemover2008" at "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\".
If AntiSpywareMaster uses rootkit technologies, use our RegAlyzer (http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=regalyzer), RootAlyzer (http://forums.spybot.info/downloads.php?id=8) or our Total Commander anti-rootkit plugins (http://forums.spybot.info/downloads.php?id=3).

Final Words:

If neither Spybot-S&D nor self help did resolve the issue or you would prefer one on one help,
Please read these instructions (http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=288) before requesting assistance,
Then start your own thread in the Malware Removal Forum (http://forums.spybot.info/forumdisplay.php?f=22) where a volunteer analyst will advise you as soon as available.