HELP! I HAVE A FAKE ANTI-VIRUS
PROGRAM ON MY COMPUTER!
There is a program that's popped up on my desktop telling me my computer is infected with lots of affected files. It looks real but I'm not sure. What do I do?
There has been a rash of fake antivirus programs that are actually malware. These so-called "rogues" use intentional false positives to convince users that their systems have been compromised. Then they try to sell you their software, claiming it will remove these threats. In extreme cases the false threats are actually the very trojans that advertise or even directly install the rogue. Do not buy these products!!
At the first sign of being infected, shut down your browser immediately. Better yet, restart your computer immediately. When you reboot, if you still have the malware, download "Malwarebytes", a free spyware removal program from the internet. Follow these instructions:
Please download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware to your desktop. Double-click mbam-setup.exe and follow the prompts to install the program. At the end, be sure a check-mark is placed next to the following:
Then click Finish. If an update is found, it will download and install the latest version. Once the program has loaded, select Perform quick scan, then click Scan. When the scan is complete, click OK, then Show Results to view the results. Be sure that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected. Reboot your computer if prompted. When completed, a log will open in Notepad. The rogue application should now be gone.
There has been a rash of fake antivirus programs that are actually malware. These so-called "rogues" use intentional false positives to convince users that their systems have been compromised. Then they try to sell you their software, claiming it will remove these threats. In extreme cases the false threats are actually the very trojans that advertise or even directly install the rogue. Do not buy these products!!
At the first sign of being infected, shut down your browser immediately. Better yet, restart your computer immediately. When you reboot, if you still have the malware, download "Malwarebytes", a free spyware removal program from the internet. Follow these instructions:
- Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
- Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware