Manual Removal Guide for Desktop Spy

The following instructions have been created to help you to get rid of "Desktop Spy" manually.
Use this guide at your own risk; software should usually be better suited to remove malware, since it is able to look deeper.

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Threat Details:

Categories:

• keylogger

Description:

Password protected, stealth mode.

Supposed Functionality:

Monitors applications, internet activity, makes desktop screenshots.

Links (be careful!):

Website: http://www.alpinesnow.com/
Product: http://www.alpinesnow.com/dspy.shtml

Removal Instructions:

Start Menu:

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

• Groups that have "Desktop Spy" in their name.

Autorun:

Please use Spybot-S&D, RunAlyzer or msconfig.exe to remove the following autorun entries.

• Entries named "DSPY".

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 or RunAlyzer to locate and get rid of these entries.

• Products with a key that includes "Desktop Spy" in its name or properties.

Files:

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

• A file with an unknown location named "DSPY_demo.exe".

Make sure you set your file manager to display hidden and system files. If Desktop Spy uses rootkit technologies, use our RootAlyzer or our Total Commander anti-rootkit plugins.
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!

Folders:

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

• The directory at "<$PROGRAMFILES>\DSPY".
• The directory at "<$WINDIR>\DSPY".

Make sure you set your file manager to display hidden and system files. If Desktop Spy uses rootkit technologies, use our RootAlyzer or our Total Commander anti-rootkit plugins.
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 value "NGBDefault" at "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\".
• Delete the registry key "DNCSpn" at "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\".

If Desktop Spy uses rootkit technologies, use our RegAlyzer, RootAlyzer or our Total Commander anti-rootkit plugins.

Final Words:

If neither Spybot-S&D nor self help did resolve the issue or you would prefer one on one help,

1. Please read these instructions before requesting assistance,
2. Then start your own thread in the Malware Removal Forum where a volunteer analyst will advise you as soon as available.