Related to the well-known fake antivirus application known as Antivirus Soft, Antivirus Suite uses the same methods as its relative to trick users in to purchasing its license. Antivirus Suite reaches a user’s system via Trojan viruses that get downloaded from websites promoting fake virus scanners and along with fake video codec packs, as well as other malicious software. Once installed, Antivirus Suite disables any legitimate security software that may be installed on the system and then proceeds to perform endless fake scans on the computer, reporting that the user’s system is dangerously infected with viruses and other malware. It also generates fake warning pop-ups from the Windows taskbar. Antivirus Suite also installs some fake proxy settings on Internet Explorer, redirecting the user to the malware’s website whenever the user attempts to browse the internet. The aim of all this activity is to try and induce the user into paying for a software license to the ‘full’ version of Antivirus Suite, as it claims that the currently installed ‘trial’ version is incapable of properly cleaning out the detected ‘threats’. However, Antivirus Suite is a fake application and therefore none of its versions can clean your computer no matter how much you pay for it.
As soon as you find a copy of this malicious program on your system, you should take steps to immediately delete Antivirus Suite. In order to accomplish this, it is necessary to stop processes, delete files and folders and remove registry entries.
File Removal Procedures
The first step you must take in order to delete Antivirus Suite is to stop the following process:
- [random characters]tssd.exe
Next, it is necessary to delete the following files and folders:
- %UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\[random characters]\
- %UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\[random characters]\[random characters]tssd.exe
After the above steps have been completed, Antivirus Suite no longer resides on your hard disk.
Registry Removal Procedures
Removing files and folders is not enough to ensure completely delete Antivirus Suite. To completely delete Antivirus Suite, you need to remove the following keys and settings from the Windows Registry:
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\avsuite
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\avsuite
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Download “RunInvalidSignatures” = “1″
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings “ProxyOverride” = “
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings “ProxyServer” = “http=127.0.0.1:5555″
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Associations “LowRiskFileTypes” = “.exe”
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Attachments “SaveZoneInformation” = “1″
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “”
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “”
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Download “CheckExeSignatures” = “no”
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings “ProxyEnable” = “1″
Now it is prudent to say that you have completely removed Antivirus Suite from your computer. Even if this is true, in most cases Antivirus Suite is installed by other auxiliary malware. For this reason, it is recommended to scan the entire PC using genuine antivirus software such as Spyware Doctor with Antivirus.
Conclusion
It is not recommended for inexperienced users to attempt to manually delete Antivirus Suite, as any mistake on your part could cause damage to the operating system. Therefore inexperienced users are advised to use an online repair service such as www.onlinecomputerrepair.org or legitimate antivirus software such as Spyware Doctor with Antivirus to completely and safely delete Antivirus Suite.