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Published May 13, 2010 | Updated Sep 15, 2017

Win32/FakeVimes

Detected by Microsoft Defender Antivirus

Aliases: FakeAlert-CQ (McAfee) Extra Antivirus (other) Ultra Antivirus 2009 (other) Malware Catcher 2009 (other) Virus Melt (other) Windows PC Defender (other) Live PC Care (other) Security Antivirus (other) Cleanup Antivirus (other) My Security Wall (other) Security Guard (other) My Security Engine (other) Paladin Antivirus (other) Security Master AV (other) My Security Shield (other) Smart Engine (other) Best Malware Protection (other) Home Safety Essentials (other)

Summary

This family of rogue security programs pretend to scan your PC for malware, and often report lots of infections. The program will say you have to pay for it before it can fully clean your PC.

However, the program hasn't really detected any malware at all and isn't really an antivirus or antimalware scanner. It just looks like one so you'll send money to the people who made the program. Some of these programs use product names or logos that unlawfully impersonate Microsoft products.

Even if you do pay to "unlock" the app, it won't do anything because your PC isn't actually infected with all that malware it "found".

Different brands of the rogues may modify various settings on your computer, end or close programs or system services, or block access to websites.

We've seen the rogues use the following names: 

  • Advanced Antispyware Solution
  • Antimalware PC Safety
  • Antivirus Smart Protection
  • AV Security Essentials
  • Best Antivirus Software
  • Best Virus Protection
  • Home Malware Cleaner
  • Home Security Solutions
  • Internet Security Guard
  • Malware Protection Center
  • Smart Anti-Malware Protection
  • Strong Malware Defender
  • System Protection Tools
  • Total Anti Malware Protection

The following free Microsoft software detects and removes this threat:

Even if we've already detected and removed this particular threat, running a full scan might find other malware that is hiding on your PC.

Remove programs

You might need to manually remove this program:

Reset the Hosts file

This threat might change the contents of your Hosts file. You can reset it to the default:

Get more help

You can also visit our advanced troubleshooting page or search the Microsoft virus and malware community for more help.

If you’re using Windows XP, see our Windows XP end of support page.

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