Tuesday, March 2, 2010

XP Internet Security 2010

Last week I had an encounter with “XP Internet Security 2010” malware. This is considered to be a “Rogue Security Software”. It is built to deceive users into paying for fake malware removal. It looks very much like the real thing. Here are some screenshots:

Screenshot - 2_24_2010 , 8_34_06 PM

Looks real and official doesn’t it?  This just pulls up random files in your PC and warns about a malware infection. These are just listed to scare you. Well you are infected with this malware of course.

Screenshot - 2_24_2010 , 8_14_58 PMYou’ll also get pop-up warnings in the corner of your taskbar.  Of course by this time your probably already suspecting a malware attack  as these pop up almost constantly at this point.

Screenshot - 2_24_2010 , 8_33_57 PMOf course they want you to register. They want your money and information. The only course you should take here is the “X” on the top right corner.

At first I did run a scan  with my Panda antivirus which showed up nothing. I scanned with Spybot:Search and Destroy which did find some spyware. It did not solve the problem even after two scans. I realized I had to get some extra help. One that came highly recommended was MalwareBytes:Screenshot - 2_24_2010 , 9_20_25 PM

I downloaded the software and ran a full scan. The only downside was that the scan last almost 3 hours. After  it rebooted the infection was gone.  I was very relieved and happy. The version I got was free but, there is a pay version also.  I highly recommend this software if your running into this problem too. It can be found here at Malware Bytes website. For more information you can check out this helpful guide by BleepingComputer.com.