A local musician friend of mine, Jim Cope, who is a reasonably computer savvy user, was commenting this morning on the avalanche of rogue security software currently descending on unaware Internet users.
We happened to be discussing one of the most recent and sophisticated rogue security applications we are now forced to deal with – SysAntivirus 2009. As Jim so succinctly put it “It’s easy to be bitten by a dog like that”.
He’s right – unfortunately. SysAntivirus 2009 can be installed on a computer system without any action on the part of the user.
Delivery methods used by this parasite include Trojans, and Internet Browser security holes. It can also be downloaded voluntarily, from rogue security software websites from “adult” websites.
Once installed this parasite can impact a computer in a number of ways including changing Internet browser settings, connecting to the internet, delivering adware, disguising itself to remain hidden from the user, and running as a background process.
The objective of SysAntivirus 2009, which is the objective of all Rogue Security Software, is to convince the victim to pay for the “full” version of the application in order to remove what are, in fact, false positives that this program is designed to display on the infected computer in various ways, including fake scan results, pop-ups and system tray notifications.
Rogue Security Software unfortunately, is generally very sophisticated and can write itself into multiple parts of the operating system, and in many cases, it can hide its files, registry entries, running process and services, making the infection difficult to find, and extremely difficult to remove.
If you are a victim of SysAntivirus 2009, or other Rogue Security Software, the following removal solutions will be invaluable.
Removal Solutions:
Bleeping Computer is a web site where help is available for many computer related problems, including the removal of this particular rogue software.
Malwarebytes, a very reliable anti-malware company, has created a free application to help keep you safe and secure. RogueRemover will safely remove a number of rogue security applications.
You will also have the option of downloading the free version of Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware, (I recommend that you do so), a highly rated anti-malware application which is capable of removing many newer rogue applications, including SysAntivirus 2009.
SmitFraudFix, available for download at Geekstogo is a free tool that is continuously updated to assist victims of rogue security applications including the removal of SysAntivirus 2009.
Please note: A high degree of computer operating system knowledge is a prerequisite to the successful removal of SysAntivirus 2009, as it is with the removal of any Rogue Security Software. If you lack this experience, it would be preferable that you enlist the aid of a computer savvy friend, or a professional.
Despite using any, or all, of the recommended tools, you may find that SysAntivirus 2009 is still resident on your system. This is possible due to the number of variations involved with this malware. In such a case, reformatting of the Hard Drive and a clean installation of the operating system may be the only alternative.
Bill Mullins' Weblog - Tech Thoughts 