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How to remove Scareware like Antivirus Pro or XP Antivirus
Lately I have been getting a lot of customers asking for help with removing fake security software called "Scareware", such as Antivirus System Pro, XP Antivirus 2008, 2009 or 2010 or other variations of it. It is becoming more and more prolific these days and is unfortunately the most widely circulating type of malware to date.
Personally I compare it to an online protection racket. It is Malware and after installing itself, it keeps on generating warnings and errors in order to scare you into paying the company to "fix" the problems it has caused by itself!
If this software tries to install during your online browsing, the only way to stop it is by clicking the "X" on the top right corner of the window. Keep clicking this until it goes away.
If you are infected already, then install a good anti-malware programme & I recommend that you download and install the free "Microsoft Security Essentials" aka MSE which you can download directly from Microsoft by clicking on the URL link below
http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials
Before you install MSE you must first uninstall any anti-malware software that you have running on your confuser. Reboot your computer after you finish so that you are starting afresh,
Finally I am asked the best way to protect a computer from getting compromised in the first place and I would like to recommend my "triple play attack" which is:
- Make sure you are running a secure Web Browser and I highly recommend Internet Explorer 8.
- Turn on your Windows firewall.
- Install MSE and do weekly anti-malware scans.
Finally, and something that many people overlook is, always install all of the Windows updates that are released for your operating system. This normally occurs on the second Tuesday of every month.