Total Virus Scanner

Total Virus Scanner is the latest spin-off of a group of rogue anti-virus programs that tend to use the names of operating systems, such as XP Anti-Spyware or Vista Antivirus 2010. Aside from a new naming scheme and a slight change in appearance, Total Virus Scanner is very similar to these older threats. Total Virus Scanner and its relatives have a reputation for hijacking web browsers and disabling critical programs while they present you with inaccurate security-related information. You should never purchase the 'full' version of Total Virus Scanner; instead, delete Total Virus Scanner through the same means you'd use against a common Trojan or virus.

Total Virus Scanner is a Program That's More 'Total Virus' Than 'Scanner'

Infections by Total Virus Scanner tend to be acquired when you accidentally download Total Virus Scanner through a fake online system scan or infection warning. Disabling JavaScript and Flash for untrustworthy websites will protect you from most, but not all of these kinds of attacks.

Total Virus Scanner does an excellent job of looking like the real thing, but, unfortunately, doesn't follow up its looks with functionality. Total Virus Scanner will pretend to offer comprehensive system protection, updates and system analysis, but all information Total Virus Scanner provides is fake. In addition to bad scan results, Total Virus Scanner will also create error popups like the ones below:

System danger!
Your system security is in danger. Privacy threats detected. Spyware, keyloggers or Trojans may be working the background right now. Perform an in-depth scan and removal now, click here.

Attention: DANGER!
ALERT! System scan for spyware, adware, trojans and viruses is complete.
Total Virus Scanner detected 30 critical system objects.

Stealth intrusion!
Infection detected in the background. Your computer is now attacked by spyware and rogue software. Eliminate the infection safely, perform a security scan and deletion now.

Privacy threat!
Spyware intrusion detected. Your system is infected. System integrity is at risk. Private data can be stolen by third parties, including credit card details and passwords. Click here to perform a security repair.

System Hijack!
System security threat was detected. Viruses and/or spyware may be damaging your system now. Prevent infection and data loss or stealing by running a free security scan.

Some related threats that share harmful behavior with Total Virus Scanner include XP Anti-Spyware, Win 7 Anti-Spyware 2010, Vista Antivirus 2010, Vista Anti-Spyware and Registry Virus Scanner. Since the names are semi-interchangeable, it's a good policy to treat any strange software using a similar naming scheme as a threat until you've verified its good reputation from other sources.

Attacking the Total Virus Scanner Threat in Turn

Once you learn to ignore Total Virus Scanner's bad advice and avoid purchasing Total Virus Scanner, you'll have other problems to deal with that make removing Total Virus Scanner an arduous task. Other significant attacks that Total Virus Scanner is known to include:

• Web browser hijacks. These attacks force your homepage to change, alter your search results, and generally direct you to harmful websites like Total Virus Scanner's own homepage. These Total Virus Scanner hijacks can also stop you from visiting websites that could help you – the standard routine is to block off the site with a fake warning telling you that the site is unsafe.
• Total Virus Scanner will make additions to your Registry that allow Total Virus Scanner to do a number of unpleasant things, such as creating popups or starting whenever Windows starts. Manually removing these entries is possible, but it should be noted that removing the wrong entries could permanently damage your operating system.
• A wide range of applications may be stopped from running, both to make your PC generally more unstable and to keep you from deleting Total Virus Scanner. This is often done along with an error about the program being corrupted, so don't be fooled by Total Virus Scanner's bad information.

Getting the upper hand on Total Virus Scanner requires that you stop Total Virus Scanner from running. This can usually be done by switching to Safe Mode. After that, you can run any scan you like to remove Total Virus Scanner and any other malware. It's recommended that you do use a scanner instead of manual removal methods to get rid of Total Virus Scanner, since the former is more likely to succeed than the latter.