Security•Software•Spyware, Malware, Browser Hijacking, etc.•Tips and Tricks

How to remove Antivirus Soft and how to fix the hijacking of Internet Explorer so that it is no longer forced to go to a major adult website

July 13, 2010 by Ian Brown No Comments

I just had a client who was infected by this nasty spyware. No, it was not a virus. It was spyware acting like an antivirus program.

First and foremost, never…

ever buy an antivirus program that pops up on your computer. Never will a legitimate antivirus program just appear on your screen and say, “Your computer is infected! Buy me!” That will ALWAYS be spyware that does that. So DO NOT fall for it. Buy nothing. Install nothing, and do what I suggest below IMMEDIATELY.

The first thing that you MUST do to fix this issue is to get your computer into Safe Mode. Why? Because as you probably know, if your computer is infected with this threat, you can’t execute any program. It disables the ability to do that. So, get your computer in Safe Mode and you will once again be able to run programs.

How do you get it into Safe Mode? Immediately upon rebooting (restarting) your computer, hit your F8 key (it’s at the top of your keyboard) repeatedly until a black screen with white text appears asking you to choose how you would like to boot up your computer. Choose “Safe Mode with Networking” so you can still access the Internet.

However, to get into Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking, there is one possible catch. If you are working with a desktop and you have a USB keyboard, it may or may not allow you to go into Safe Mode. Some USB keyboards will not work until the computer starts to boot up into Windows. So hitting the F8 key repeatedly may or may not register when using a USB keyboard. That’s why it is best to get your hands on an old school PS/2 keyboard (the kind that has a connection that is round with prongs) for this job.

The two programs that will remove this annoying and PINA spyware are the following:

1. Combofix – you can both download and be shown how to use this program with that link
2. AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition – this also includes an anti-spyware component, which is what will remove and fix this issue

You will need to install and run ComboFix in Safe Mode with Networking, since you will not be able to do anything with it in regular windows.

When you use Combofix, there is no need to post the results on a website like the instructions on the page that I link to above suggests. Just running it will fix the issue, at least it did for my client. So run that program first.

Then download, install, update, and run AVG, just to be sure. HOWEVER, you’ll need to UNINSTALL your current antivirus program to do that, if you have one installed. You can not have two or more antivirus programs installed on your computer at the same time. They will cancel each other out and you won’t be protected. It could also potentially harm your computer.

If you don’t want to remove your current antivirus program and install and run AVG FREE edition, that’s OK. But I highly suggest you do it if you want this threat to be GONE from your computer.

Good luck!

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Written by Ian Brown
Ian has been involved with computers since very young. He took his first computer class when he was just 8 years old. He always had an affinity for computers, but never really took it seriously. It was not until he graduated from college and experienced the real world for a while did he realize that computers may be where his talent and passion lie. He has since branched out into Internet marketing and LOVES it. He currently resides in Los Angeles where he services clients ranging from residential to small business to celebrities.