Remove System Defender (Uninstall Guide)
How to remove SystemDefender (Removal Instructions)
When infected you will also see an alert icon, which looks like the following
Windows has detected spyware infection!and title of the second alert is Windows Security Alert and contains the following text, including their misspellings:
It is recomended to use special antispyware tools to prevent data loss. Windows will now download and install the most up-to-date antispyware for you
Click here to protect your computer from spyware!
Warning! Potential Spyware Operation!A screenshot of SystemDefender and the fake security alerts can be found below.
Your computer is making unauthorized copies of your system and Internet files. Run full scan now to prevent any unathorised access to your files! Click here to download spyware remover ...
SystemDefender Screenshot
SystemDefender Fake Taskbar Security Alerts #1
SystemDefender Fake Taskbar Security Alerts #2
This guide will walk you through removing the SystemDefender program and malware that may typically be installed with it.
Tools Needed for this fix: Symptoms in a HijackThis Log:
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SystemDefender] "C:\Program Files\SystemDefender\SystemDefender.exe" hide
Add/Remove Programs control panel entry:
SystemDefender
Guide Updates: 02/15/08 - Initial guide creation.
Automated Removal Instructions for SystemDefender:
- Print out these instructions as we will need to close every window that is open later in the fix.
- Download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, or MBAM, from the following location and save it to your desktop:
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware Download Link
- Once downloaded, close all programs and Windows on your computer, including this one.
- Double-click on the icon on your desktop named Download_mbam-setup.exe. This will start the installation of MBAM onto your computer.
- When the installation begins, keep following the prompts in order to continue with the installation process. Do not make any changes to default settings and when the program has finished installing, make sure you leave both the Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware checked. Then click on the Finish button.
- MBAM will now automatically start and you will see a message stating that you should update the program before performing a scan. As MBAM will automatically update itself after the install, you can press the OK button to close that box and you will now be at the main program as shown below.
- On the Scanner tab, make sure the the Perform quick scan option is selected and then click on the Scan button to start scanning your computer for SystemDefender related files.
- MBAM will now start scanning your computer for malware. This process can take quite a while, so we suggest you go and do something else and periodically check on the status of the scan. When MBAM is scanning it will look like the image below.
- When the scan is finished a message box will appear as shown in the image below.
You should click on the OK button to close the message box and continue with the SystemDefender removal process.
- You will now be back at the main Scanner screen. At this point you should click on the Show Results button.
- A screen displaying all the malware that the program found will be shown as seen in the image below. Please note that the results shown in the image below will be different depending on the infection you are removing.
You should now click on the Remove Selected button to remove all the listed malware. MBAM will now delete all of the files and registry keys and add them to the programs quarantine.
- When MBAM has finished removing the malware, it will open the scan log and display it in Notepad. Review the log as desired, and then close the Notepad window.
- You can now exit the MBAM program.
Preparation Guide For Use Before Posting A Hijackthis Log
This is a self-help guide. Use at your own risk.
BleepingComputer.com can not be held responsible for problems that may occur by using this information. If you would like help with any of these fixes, you can post a HijackThis log in our HijackThis Logs and Analysis forum.
If you have any questions about this self-help guide then please post those questions in our AntiVirus, Firewall and Privacy Products and Protection Methods forum and someone will help you.
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