Antivirus 2009, Antivirus 2008, XP Antivirus, XP Antivirus 2008 and XP Antivirus 2009 are all part of the same family of rogue anti-spyware programs that perform devious tactics when run or executed to get you to purchase the rogue anti-spyware programs. An abundance of SpywareRemove readers have complained of Trojan infections that are related to the XP Antivirus or Antivirus 2009 family. Our Threat Research Team has found that these Trojan infections have the ability to infect the winlogon.exe system file where it can initiate the download of rogue anti-spyware programs such as XP Antivirus and Antivirus 2008. Because the winlogon.exe is an essential Windows file for operation it makes removal of these Trojans very difficult to accomplish.

Antivirus 2008 or Antivirus 2009 Trojan Family Removal Difficulties

Many people who have attempted to remove the Antivirus 2009 family of rogue anti-spyware programs have been successful but some have had difficulties. The Antivirus 2009 trojan family may be difficult to remove because of the nature of the Trojan infections such as Zlob, Vundo or other Trojan Downloaders.

The Trojans have acquired rootkit-like capabilities which allows them to hide various files within the system and be able to avoid detection from spyware removal programs. The worst case scenario is when the infection reaches the Winlogon, where it can disable key functions from a user’s computer, leaving the user unable to even log in as an administrator. As for protection, Antivirus 2009 infection takes care of disabling security programs and blocking security websites so the user’s only avenue is to purchase whatever rogue anti-spyware program is continuously popping up on the computer. Even if you terminate the running processes of the Antivirus 2009 infections, it may start up again the next time you reboot your computer. It requires a deep and careful removal procedure to completely remove Antivirus 2009 infections. This is definitely a problem that our Threat Research Team is highly aware of and its main priority is to have a seamless solution for Antivirus 2009 infections in the Winlogon and other parts of the system.

Signs of Antivirus 2009 Trojan Family Infection

• Each of the Antivirus 2009 variations will display popups or alerts stating that it has detected a violation or security issue within your computer. Of course this type of notification is fake and should not be clicked on or it may prompt you to purchase one of the Antivirus 2009 variations. XP Antivirus, XP Antivirus 2008 or XP Antivirus 2009 alert messages appear, for example:
  1. System files modification alert!
     Some critical system files of your computer were modified by malicious program. It may cause system instability and data loss. Click here to block unathorised modification by removing threats (Recommended).
  2. Privacy Violation alert!
     XP antivirus detected Privacy Violation. Some program is secretly sending your private data to untrusted internet host. Click here to block this activity by removing threats (Recommended).
• You notice that your desktop has unknown or new desktop icons or desktop shortcut icons.
• C: Drive icon in the “My Computer” disappears.
• The Windows Start Menu no longer displays the normal items of “My Documents”, “My Computer”, “Search”, “Help” and other items that are normally found in the start menu.
• Desktop background switches to a red background that has an image set out to look like a toxic logo in the middle with the text “Privacy is in Danger! Download Privacy Protection Software Now” beneath it.
• Your screensaver settings are changed to display black bugs crawling on your screen or to an image of the infamous “Blue Screen of Death”.
• “VIRUS ALERT!” text on the system tray.
• Administrative privileges are removed or limited from the default administrator account.
• The performance of your computer is very slow or crashes during common operations.

The following links provide information for Antivirus 2009, Antivirus 2008, XP Antivirus, XP Antivirus 2008 and XP Antivirus 2009.

• Antivirus 2008 or Antivirus2008 Removal Instructions
• Antivirus 2009 or Antivirus2009 Removal Instructions
• XP Antivirus or XPAntivirus Removal Instructions
• XP Antivirus 2008 or XPAntivirus 2008 Removal Instructions
• XP Antivirus 2009 or XPAntivirus 2009 Removal Instructions

Has this article assisted you in better understanding the Antivirus 2009 family of rogue anti-spyware programs? Are you able to better identify and remove Antivirus 2009, XP Antivirus, XP Antivirus 2008 or XP Antivirus 2009?

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 24th, 2008 at 1:42 pm and is filed under Antivirus2008. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.