Windows Protection Maintenance

Posted: November 2, 2012

Threat Metric

The Threat Meter is a malware assessment that SpywareRemove.com's research team is able to give every identifiable malware threat. Our Threat Meter includes several criteria based off of specific malware threats to value their severity, reach and volume. The Threat Meter is able to give you a numerical breakdown of each threat's initial Threat Level, Detection Count, Volume Count, Trend Path and Percentage Impact. The overall ranking of each threat in the Threat Meter is a basic breakdown of how all threats are ranked within our own extensive malware database. The scoring for each specific malware threat can be easily compared to other emerging threats to draw a contrast in its particular severity. The Threat Meter is a useful tool in the endeavor of seeking a solution to remove a threat or pursue additional analytical research for all types of computer users.

The following fields listed on the Threat Meter containing a specific value, are explained in detail below:

Threat Level: The threat level scale goes from 1 to 10 where 10 is the highest level of severity and 1 is the lowest level of severity. Each specific level is relative to the threat's consistent assessed behaviors collected from SpyHunter's risk assessment model.

Detection Count: The collective number of confirmed and suspected cases of a particular malware threat. The detection count is calculated from infected PCs retrieved from diagnostic and scan log reports generated by SpyHunter.

Volume Count: Similar to the detection count, the Volume Count is specifically based on the number of confirmed and suspected threats infecting systems on a daily basis. High volume counts usually represent a popular threat but may or may not have infected a large number of systems. High detection count threats could lay dormant and have a low volume count. Criteria for Volume Count is relative to a daily detection count.

Trend Path: The Trend Path, utilizing an up arrow, down arrow or equal symbol, represents the level of recent movement of a particular threat. Up arrows represent an increase, down arrows represent a decline and the equal symbol represent no change to a threat's recent movement.

% Impact (Last 7 Days): This demonstrates a 7-day period change in the frequency of a malware threat infecting PCs. The percentage impact correlates directly to the current Trend Path to determine a rise or decline in the percentage.

Threat Level:	2/10
Infected PCs:	45

First Seen:	November 2, 2012
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Although, when it comes to 2012 digital scams, the family of Win32/FakeVimes scamware has been taking a backseat to FakeRean-based fake anti-malware scanners, the emergence of Windows Protection Maintenance is evidence that FakeVimes rogue anti-malware products are still in distribution and can threaten your PC even to this day. Windows Protection Maintenance pretends to be an anti-malware program and even will display scanner results and pop-up alerts for malware, but the results that Windows Protection Maintenance includes in these features are inaccurate. SpywareRemove.com malware researchers heavily advise against buying Windows Protection Maintenance, which has a strong possibility of endangering your PC with browser hijacks, negative settings changes and other issues that are characteristic for FakeVimes scamware. Thankfully, a strong anti-malware application should be able to remove all of Windows Protection Maintenance's components without any hindrance.

Windows Protection Maintenance and the Age-Old PC Scam that's Still Alive

Windows Protection Maintenance may market itself with a different brand name, but in terms of its appearance and attacks, Windows Protection Maintenance is an obvious clone of preexisting fake anti-malware scanners like Privacy Guard Pro, PrivacyGuard Pro 2.0, Extra Antivirus, Fast Antivirus 2009, Presto TuneUp, Windows Security Suite, Smart Virus Eliminator, Packed.Generic.245, Volcano Security Suite, Windows Enterprise Suite, Enterprise Suite, Additional Guard, Live PC Care, PC Live Guard, Live Enterprise Suite, Security Antivirus, My Security Wall, CleanUp Antivirus and Smart Security. Like its cousins, Windows Protection Maintenance pretends to be able to resolve malware infections and detect security vulnerabilities – even though SpywareRemove.com malware experts have confirmed that Windows Protection Maintenance can't find or delete any type of PC threat.

Windows Protection Maintenance can't distribute itself and requires fellow Trojans (such as Trojan droppers), browser exploits like Blacole or social engineering tricks to be installed on your computer. After being installed, Windows Protection Maintenance launches with Windows so that Windows Protection Maintenance can display its various pop-up alerts and other fake security features, which always will detect nonexistent infections.

SpywareRemove.com malware experts can't think of any reason why you'd want to purchase Windows Protection Maintenance, which is the main drive behind these attacks. However, faking Windows Protection Maintenance's registration (with freely-circulated codes that are applicable to many members of FakeVimes) may be helpful for easing the process of removing a Windows Protection Maintenance infection.

Why a PC Tuneup with Windows Protection Maintenance Will Cost You

Additional attacks and security hazards related to Windows Protection Maintenance also should be considered when dealing with any Windows Protection Maintenance infection. As far as SpywareRemove.com malware researchers are concerned, the following list includes some of the most damaging functions that are at Windows Protection Maintenance's disposal:

Windows Protection Maintenance can hijack your browser for the purpose of redirecting you to hostile sites or blocking safe sites. Your default homepage or search engine also may be changed.
Security features related to your browser may be disabled, which can allow online attacks to compromise your PC even more than Windows Protection Maintenance already has accomplished. Drive-by-download exploits are a particular risk.
Windows Protection Maintenance and other FakeVimes-based fake anti-malware scanners also have histories of blocking other programs, especially applications related to anti-virus scans or other anti-malware solutions.

Given all of the above, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers are confident in labeling Windows Protection Maintenance a danger to your computer that should be deleted with appropriate anti-malware software as soon as it's manageable.

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:

%AppData%/Protector-[RANDOM CHARACTERS].exe

File name: %AppData%/Protector-[RANDOM CHARACTERS].exe
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file

Registry Modifications

The following newly produced Registry Values are:

HKEY..\..\{Value}HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\Inspector = %AppData%\Protector-[RANDOM CHARACTERS].exeHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\a.exe\Debugger = svchost.exe

Additional Information

The following messages's were detected:

#	Message
1	Error There's a suspicious software running on your PC. For more details, run a system file check.
2	Security Warning! Your computer is not checked for viruses! System scan is recommended. Press "scan" to check.
3	Win32/Exploit.CVE-2010-3333.0 Win32/Exploit.CVE-2010-3333.0 is a malicious Trojan virus created by cyber-criminals to install and initiate other versions of malicious information on the victim’s PC. Win32/Exploit.CVE-2010-3333.0 will be included into a list of programs which will run automatically when Windows operating system starts up. Therefore, it is very difficult to detect manually and remove Win32/Exploit.CVE-2010-3333.0. However, it is strongly recommended to remove Win32/Exploit.CVE-2010-3333.0 immediately because Win32/Exploit.CVE-2010-3333.0is able to cause additional damages to your infected Windows system.