Home Malware Programs Rogue Anti-Virus Programs A-Secure 2015

A-Secure 2015

Posted: November 26, 2014

Threat Metric

Threat Level: 10/10
Infected PCs: 9
First Seen: November 26, 2014
OS(es) Affected: Windows

A-Secure 2015 is a rogue anti-virus product, most likely based on a branch of FakeRean, a wide-reaching family of Windows scamware. A-Secure 2015 may display a fake scanner that purport to have detected threats on your hard drive, create fake system alerts, hijack your browser, block other programs and attack some security settings. Based on the severity of its payload, A-Secure 2015 is classified as a threat, and, like most threatening software, should have its uninstall routine handled by a legitimate anti-malware scanner.

An Old Tactic Seen with Next Year's Label

A-Secure 2015 is a possible example of threat authors running out of ideas; with countless variations of FakeRean scamware in circulation, names for individual brands are difficult to avoid reusing. However, the year-based naming scheme, so common to FakeRean-based threats, can be seen recurring in A-Secure 2015, even if A-Secure 2015 is one year ahead of the usual schedule. A-Secure 2015 also may include other family traits that are identifiable on sight, such as its offers of 'proactive defense' and fake scanner results that closely resemble those of old FakeRean scanners.

A-Secure 2015 pretends to identify threats on your PC, including viruses, backdoor Trojans, rootkits, and spyware. However, its scanner 'detects' fraudulent threats, instead of real infections, to force you to pay a premium for their removal. Other, more significant attacks than the above that malware researchers recommend noting may include:

  • A-Secure 2015 may disable certain Windows features, particularly ones related to security, such as firewall alerts or update management.
  • A-Secure 2015 may block websites related to PC security, such as the McAfee domain. The type of browser in use isn't a determinant for the success of these attacks, which exploit general system settings.
  • A-Secure 2015 may use multiple methods to disable other programs unrelated to A-Secure 2015, including terminating their processes immediately or disabling Registry data required for them to launch.

Getting a PC Secure from an A-Secure 2015 Infection

The diversity of rogue anti-virus products from FakeRean also is reflected in their numerous install methods. These strategies include script-based installation attacks, support by other Trojans (including Bredolab and Rorpian) and Web pages that trick computer users into downloading fake security software. Conservative security settings can let your Web browser filter out many of these attacks while your anti-malware applications should be able to block the remainder. In all cases, you should use those same anti-malware tools for deleting A-Secure 2015 whenever their services are appropriate.

A-Secure 2015 shows insignificant differences from similar rogue AV programs but also displays the persistent of threat authors in delivering their threats over time. Other scamware conducting similar attacks include Antivirus 2008 Pro, Antivirus XP 2008, Windows Antivirus 2008, Vista Antivirus 2008, PC Clean Pro, Antivirus Pro 2009, Rogue.Vista Antivirus 2008, AntiSpy Safeguard, ThinkPoint, Spyware Protection 2010, Internet Antivirus 2011, Palladium Pro, XP Anti-Virus 2011, CleanThis, XP Security 2012, XP Home Security 2012 and AntiVirus PRO 2015. These are just a few examples of the countless samples analyzed by malware experts.

Technical Details

File System Modifications

Tutorials: If you wish to learn how to remove malware components manually, you can read the tutorials on how to find malware, kill unwanted processes, remove malicious DLLs and delete other harmful files. Always be sure to back up your PC before making any changes.

The following files were created in the system:



%LOCALAPPDATA%\lhwcswdg.exe File name: lhwcswdg.exe
Size: 82.94 KB (82944 bytes)
MD5: 375c8eafa0ab912070f7a5654142c631
Detection count: 5
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: %LOCALAPPDATA%
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: December 1, 2014
%LOCALAPPDATA%\file.exe File name: file.exe
Size: 82.94 KB (82944 bytes)
MD5: fab3405fd21390d48b27926b26b742d4
Detection count: 5
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: %LOCALAPPDATA%
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: November 27, 2014
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