Windows Vista Blog

Related to the well-known fake anti-spyware programs Antivir and Alpha Antivirus, Antivir 2010 uses the same tactics as its predecessors to try and lure users into paying for a software license. Antivir 2010 gets installed by Trojan viruses that get downloaded from fake websites and through the exploits of online scammers who user social engineering methods to trick users into installing it. Once installed, Antivir 2010 will load at startup, blocking any legitimate antivirus software that is already installed along with the Windows Firewall. It will perform a large number of fake scans on the system and scare the user with falsely-generated virus warnings. Antivir 2010 will then ask the user to upgrade to the ‘full’ version of the software, claiming that the currently installed ‘trial’ version is incapable of cleaning out the false ‘threats’. It is important to remember that the ‘full’ version of Antivir 2010 is just as incapable of scanning or cleaning your computer as the ‘trial’ version, and you should never allow yourself to be tricked into paying for this fake software.

As soon as you find a copy of Antivir 2010 on your system, you should take steps to remove it. The process of Antivir 2010 removal is outlined below.

File Removal Procedures

The first step in Antivir 2010 removal is to kill the following process:

antivir2010.exe

Next, unregister the following DLL file which is related to Antivir 2010:

UpdateCheck.dll

The next step is to remove the following files and folders:

%Documents and Settings%\All Users\Start Menu\AV
%Documents and Settings%\All Users\Start Menu\AV\Antivir 2010.lnk
%Documents and Settings%\All Users\Start Menu\AV\Uninstall.lnk
%Program Files%\AV
%Program Files%\AV\antivir2010.exe
%Program Files%\Common Files\Uninstall
%Program Files%\Common Files\Uninstall\AV
%Program Files%\Common Files\Uninstall\AV\Uninstall.lnk
%WINDOWS%\system32\UpdateCheck.dll
%UserProfile%\Desktop\Antivir 2010.lnk

Once these steps have been completed, your file system is safe from Antivir 2010.

Registry Removal Procedures

The final step in Antivir 2010 removal is to remove the following keys and settings from the registry:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\EVAACD
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Antivir 2010
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{35A5B43B-CB8A-49CA-A9F4-D3B308D2E3CC}
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Run “AV”

Once these steps have been completed, Antivir 2010 removal is complete. However, since the fake security applications contains a lot of self-defense features it is recommended to scan the entire system using Spyware Doctor with Antivirus in order to make sure that no malware related files are left behind.

Conclusion

Manual Antivir 2010 removal is not recommended for inexperienced users, as any mistake you make due to inexperience could result in the system being damaged. Malware like Antivir 2010 are designed to repair themselves if not removed properly, reason why expert knowledge is required if you wish to remove Antivir 2010 properly. Inexperienced users are advised to use a web-based virus cleaning/repair service such as www.onlinecomputerrepair.org in order to avoid any risk of loosing data in the process.