Antivirus Center

What is Antivirus Center?

Antivirus Center is an imitation of a genuine security program. This fake software is distributed by Internet criminals who use various misleading methods to install this rogue program on users' PCs.

The bogus software is distributed through infected websites. Usually, an ad appears on your screen purporting to scan your computer.

After the 'scan', the ad informs you that your computer is infected and you are advised to download Antivirus Center in order to remove these infections.

Another way in which this bogus antivirus infiltrates your computer is by a fake Flash update. For example, when you enter a website, a video screen appears and when you click 'Play' to see the video, a pop-up appears stating that your Flash player is out of date.

You will be asked to update the Flash software in order to play the video. If you agree, you are presented with a fake antivirus program called Antivirus Center.

This program self-installs on your system and performs a fake security scan on system start-up (it configures itself to run automatically on every system start-up without your permission).

After the fake scan, a list of infections is displayed, and to remove these, you are asked to purchase (activate) this fake security software. This  bogus scanner also displays various security warning messages in order to further scare you into purchasing a fake license.

Ignore the warning messages and the fake scans.

This program is useless and created with one purpose - to steal money from your credit card account. If by mistake you have already bought this fake antivirus program, you should contact your credit card company and explain that you have been tricked into purchasing a fake computer security program.

You should dispute the charges and consult your banking security information. Often, it is advisable to change your credit card number in order to be safe.

The distributors of fake programs such as Antivirus Center, not only trick people into purchasing fake licenses, but are also known to sell users' banking information to other Cyber criminals. This leads to a situation whereby further funds are stolen from your account.

The following fake security warning messages will be displayed by Antivirus Center:

"Antivirus Center. Firewall Alert. Your computer is being attacked from a remote machine! Block Internet access to your computer to prevent system infection. Attacker IP: Attack type: RCPT exploit."

Ignore these fake alerts and remove this rogue scanner from your PC as soon as possible.

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Quick menu:

• What is Antivirus Center?
• STEP 1. Remove Antivirus Center using a registration key.
• STEP 2. Remove Antivirus Center using Safe Mode with Networking.
• STEP 3. Remove Antivirus Center manually by deleting files and registry entries.

Automatic Antivirus Center Removal:

Before downloading and running Spyware remover, enter the Antivirus Center license key: D13F-3B7D-B3C5-BD84  It will not remove the infection, but will enable you to install spyware remover to remove Antivirus Center.

Antivirus Center manual removal instructions:

1. Start your computer in Safe Mode. Click Start, click Shut Down, click Restart, click OK.

During your computer starting process press the F8 key on your keyboard multiple times until you see the Windows Advanced Option menu, then select Safe Mode with Networking from the list.

Video showing how to start Windows in "Safe Mode with Networking":

Windows XP:

Windows 7:

Windows 8:

2. Open Internet Explorer, click Tools and select Internet Options. Select "Connections".

 

 

3.Click LAN settings, if 'Use a proxy server for your LAN' is checked, uncheck it and press OK.

 

 

 

 

 3. Download legitimate anti-spyware software to fully remove Antivirus Center from your computer. Download remover for Antivirus Center

If you are unable to remove Antivirus Center, you can use these manual removal instructions. Use them at your own risk, since if you do not have strong computer knowledge, you could harm your operating system.

Use them only if you are an experienced computer user. (Instructions on how to end processes, remove registry entries...)

End these Antivirus Center processes:

[random].exe

Remove these Antivirus Center registry entries:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SharedAccess\Parameters\FirewallPolicy\StandardProfile\AuthorizedApplications\List "C:\WINDOWS\system32\rundll32.exe" = 'C:\WINDOWS\system32\rundll32.exe:*:Enabled:Antivirus Center'
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "[random numbers and characters]"

Delete these Antivirus Center files:

C:\ProgramData\[random].dat
C:\ProgramData\[random].ico
%AppData%\[random].dat
%AppData%\[random].ico
%Temp%\ins2.tmp
%Temp%\mv3.tmp
%Temp%\wrk4.tmp

Summary:

The fake antivirus programs (also known as "rogue antivirus programs" or "scareware") are applications that tries to lure computer users into paying for their non-existent full versions to remove the supposedly detected security infections (although the computer is actually clean). These bogus programs are created by cyber criminals who design them to look as legitimate antivirus software. Most commonly rogue antivirus programs infiltrate user's computer using poop-up windows or alerts which appear when users surf the Internet. These deceptive messages trick users into downloading a rogue antivirus program on their computers. Other known tactics used to spread scareware include exploit kits, infected email messages, online ad networks, drive-by downloads, or even direct calls to user's offering free support.

A computer that is infected with a fake antivirus program might also have other malware installed on it as rogue antivirus programs often are bundled with Trojans and exploit kits. Noteworthy that additional malware that infiltrates user's operating system remains on victim's computer regardless of whether a payment for a non-existent full version of a fake antivirus program is made. Here are some examples of fake security warning messages that are used in fake antivirus distribution:

Computer users who are dealing with a rogue security software shouldn't buy it's full version. By paying for a license key of a fake antivirus program users would send their money and banking information to cyber criminals. Users who have already entered their credit card number (or other sensitive information) when asked by such bogus software should inform their credit card company that they have been tricked into buying a rogue security software. Screenshot of a web page used to lure computer users into paying for a non-existent full version of antivirus center rogue and other rogue antivirus programs:

To protect your computer from antivirus center rogue and other rogue antivirus programs users should:

• Keep their operating system and all of the installed programs up-to-date.
• Use legitimate antivirus and anti-spyware programs.
• Use caution when clicking on links in social networking websites and email messages.
• Don't trust online pop-up messages which state that your computer is infected and offers you to download security software.

Symptoms indicating that your operating system is infected with a fake antivirus program:

• Intrusive security warning pop-up messages.
• Alerts asking to upgrade to a paid version of a program to remove the supposedly detected malware.
• Slow computer performance.
• Disabled Windows updates.
• Blocked Task Manager.
• Blocked Internet browsers or inability to visit legitimate antivirus vendor websites.

If you have additional information on antivirus center rogue or it's removal please share your knowledge in the comments section below.

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