Within the last 2 months I have had to remove about half a dozen instances of malware called XP Antivirus 2009.  Other variations include XP Antivirus and XP Antivirus 2008.  If properly protected, you really don’t have to worry.  Most Joe Six Packs are susceptible because they do not follow the golden rule of email–NEVER OPEN AN ATTACHMENT FROM SOMEONE YOU DO NOT KNOW.  As you can see from the screen shot below, my copy of ESET NOD32 Antivirus was able to block two malicious emails from spammers.

FAQ
Q: Why would someone send me an antivirus as malware?
A: Money! Your computer basically gets hijacked until you purchase their software that helps you “remove” unwanted malware and viruses. How ironic.

Q: How do I know if I have this form of malware?
A: 3 main symptoms are: 1) a pop-up on the lower right corner of your task bar (red circle w/ an X) that says your computer is infected, 2) It looks like this when maximized and shows fake viruses insisting that you purchase their software, and 3) after right clicking on your desktop and choosing properties you will be missing several tabs (probably Screen Saver and Settings).

Removal Instructions

1) Download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware from Majorgeeks. I ran into a problem where I was not able to access the Malwarebytes.org site directly because it was being blocked by this particular piece malicious software.

2) After installing Malwarebytes, you should close all programs, launch Malwarebytes, and run the update.

3) When the update is complete click the “scanner” tab and “perform quick scan.”

4) After your quick scan is complete, click the “show results” button, then click “remove selected.”  This should remove all of the malware that was found.  You should see a log of the removed files.

5) Exit Malwarebytes and reboot your computer. Hopefully this should do the trick and you should be feeling so fresh and so clean.

Malwarebytes.org
Digital Drake