RST Antivirus 2010, which appears to be a legitimate antivirus software application at first glance, is a rogue anti-malware program. RST Antivirus 2010 uses scare tactics the same as any other rogue security program to trick users into purchasing a license to its full version. This malicious application reaches the user’s computer via Trojans that get downloaded from malicious websites which promote fake online virus scanners. Once established on the user’s system, RST Antivirus 2010 loads itself as a startup service at boot time. RST Antivirus 2010 proceeds to perform a large number of fake security scans on the system, returning results that state that the computer is dangerously infected with a number of non-existent viruses. It also generates fake warning pop-ups from the Windows taskbar. Finally RST Antivirus 2010 urges the user to purchase a license to the ‘full’ version of the software, claiming that the currently installed ‘trial’ version is incapable of cleaning the detected false ‘threats’. However, all users should be aware that this is a trick aimed at swindling users.
The following sections systematically discuss how to remove RST Antivirus 2010. In order to accomplish this, you need to stop its running processes, unregister its DLL files, delete its files and folders and remove its registry entries.
File Removal Procedures
The first step in RST Antivirus 2010 removal is to kill the following processes after seeking them out in the Task Manager:
- alggui.exe
- svchost.exe
- rst antivirus 2010.exe
- The next step in RST Antivirus 2010 removal is to unregister the following DLL files:
- adc32.dll
- comdlg32.dll
- dwmapi.dll
- libclamav.dll
- oledlg.dll
- pthreadvc2.dll
- wininet.dll
Next, it is necessary to delete the following files and folders:
Windows XP:
- %ProgramFiles%\adc32.dll
- %ProgramFiles%\alggui.exe
- %ProgramFiles%\nuar.old
- %ProgramFiles%\skynet.dat
- %ProgramFiles%\svchost.exe
- %ProgramFiles%\wp3.dat
- %ProgramFiles%\wp4.dat
- %ProgramFiles%\rst antivirus 2010\rst antivirus 2010.exe
- %ProgramFiles%\rst antivirus 2010\comdlg32.dll
- %ProgramFiles%\rst antivirus 2010\dwmapi.dll
- %ProgramFiles%\rst antivirus 2010\libclamav.dll
- %ProgramFiles%\rst antivirus 2010\oledlg.dll
- %ProgramFiles%\rst antivirus 2010\pthreadvc2.dll
- %ProgramFiles%\rst antivirus 2010\uninstall.bat
- %ProgramFiles%\rst antivirus 2010\wininet.dll
- %Programs%\RTS Antivirus 2010.lnk
- %Desktop%\RTS Antivirus 2010.lnk
Windows Vista/7:
- %ProgramFiles%\adc32.dll
- %ProgramFiles%\alggui.exe
- %ProgramFiles%\nuar.old
- %ProgramFiles%\skynet.dat
- %ProgramFiles%\svchost.exe
- %ProgramFiles%\wp3.dat
- %ProgramFiles%\wp4.dat
- %ProgramFiles%\rst antivirus 2010\rst antivirus 2010.exe
- %ProgramFiles%\rst antivirus 2010\comdlg32.dll
- %ProgramFiles%\rst antivirus 2010\dwmapi.dll
- %ProgramFiles%\rst antivirus 2010\libclamav.dll
- %ProgramFiles%\rst antivirus 2010\oledlg.dll
- %ProgramFiles%\rst antivirus 2010\pthreadvc2.dll
- %ProgramFiles%\rst antivirus 2010\uninstall.bat
- %ProgramFiles%\rst antivirus 2010\wininet.dll
- %Programs%\RTS Antivirus 2010.lnk
- %Desktop%\RTS Antivirus 2010.lnk
After the above steps have been completed, RST Antivirus 2010 no longer resides on your hard disk. In order to make sure of this fact it is recommended to scan the entire PC using genuine antivirus software such as Spyware Doctor with Antivirus.
Registry Removal Procedures
File and folder deletion alone is not sufficient to completely remove RST Antivirus 2010 from your computer. For complete RST Antivirus 2010 removal, the following registry keys and settings should also be deleted:
- HKCU\Software\RTS Antivirus 2010
- HKCR\CLSID\{77DC0Baa-3235-4ba9-8BE8-aa9EB678FA02}
- HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{77DC0Baa-3235-4ba9-8BE8-aa9EB678FA02}
- HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\AdbUpd
After this final step has been completed, your computer is completely safe from RST Antivirus 2010.
Conclusion
Even though an inexperienced computer user may have full knowledge on how to remove RST Antivirus 2010, it is not recommended that they attempt it as any mistake made during removal could cause damage to the system. Therefore inexperienced users are advised to make use of a web-based malware scanning/cleaning service such as www.onlinecomputerrepair.org or legitimate antivirus software such as Spyware Doctor with Antivirus to properly and efficiently remove RST Antivirus 2010.