antivirxp08 Infection even with Avast installed

[netorius77]

My wife managed to open a file that has corrupted the system with the antivirxp08 virus. It gost past my installation of Avast and now I am at a loss of how to get rid of it. How did it escape the Avast "net" anyway???

Any step by step help will be appreciated.

Thanks

[Jtaylor83]

Hi there, I suggest the suggest the following antispyware, antimalware, and rogue software removal programs:

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
RogueRemover
SuperAntiSpyware Free
Spybot - Search & Destroy
Spyware Terminator (exclude the crawler toolbar, add ons, and ClamAV)

[DavidR]

It isn't a virus as such so you aren't actually infected. It is scum/scamware a rogue program trying to trick you into buying a solution that isn't required or have you visit a website, etc. where you will probably become infected.

The tools listed by Jtaylor83 are more specialist in this rogueware detection and removal.

[netorius77]

Thanks for this. I followed the step by step instructions from here:
<http://www.removeonline.com/remove-antivirus-xp-2008-antivirusxp2008-removal-instructions/>
which helped as I did not want to connect to the internet until this was resolved. File names were not exactly the same, but I located the specific names by right clicking the shortcut that was installed on my desktop and finding the directory it was located in. The directory in program files (in my case: rhctrlj0eve5) I then deleted and modified the regstry files that had the same prefix.
Two things:
1. Is there any reason that I should not have used the uninstall option in the Programme directory to remove it?
2. I have now lost the screensaver option in my control panel/display settings - any suggestions on how to recover this tab?

Thanks for the help

[DavidR]

1. It is frequently not enough to just use the add remove programs for scumware like this, why would rogue/scumware comply with your wishes, they are notorious at being a pig to remove, hence manual instructions or specialist tools.

2. I don't know what your OS is but having a look round this site might be worthwhile or try a google search 'restore screen saver tab' without the quotes or wording like that and see what it brings.

[netorius77]

Sorry - I am using XP. I found the following link that resolved the problem. Scroll down to item 51 and click "Tab missing". Worked like a dream - didn't even have to reboot,

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

[Maxx_original]

new versions of xp antivirus are a bit harder to detect... they brought different obfuscation scheme.. anyway, the detection should be updated soon (maybe today)..

[netorius77]

Thanks for all the assistance - really just added the "missing tab" note in case someone else became exposed to the same scumware and wanted a tested solution. It is always hard to know what to trust on the www, especially when working through virus/spyware issues! This is a really useful forum. Thanks again.

[DavidR]

No problem, glad I could help.

A belated welcome to the forums.