Also known as PersonalAntiMalware, Personal Anti Malware is a fake anti-spyware that uses scare tactics to try and convince users to purchase a software license. This rogue program gets installed on a user’s computer via Trojan viruses that get downloaded from websites that promote fake system scanners and through social engineering methods as well as spam email. Once installed, Personal Anti Malware starts to perform a large number of fake scans on the system, coming up with results that state that the computer is infected with a myriad of viruses. It also generates fake pop-ups from the Windows taskbar. Meanwhile it constantly insists that the user should pay for the license to the ‘full’ version of Personal Anti Malware, claiming that the currently installed ‘trial’ version is insufficient to remove the fake ‘threats’. If the user pays for the license, this rogue software will change its name to Personal Anti Malware Center. However, as this is a fake application its so-called ‘full’ version is just as incapable of scanning the user’s system as the ‘trial’ version is.
Personal Anti Malware removal involves the killing of processes, deletion of files and folders and removal of registry entries.
File Removal Procedures
The first step in Personal Anti Malware removal is to stop the following processes:
- SysShield.exe
- add.exe
- AVP_Update.exe
- PAM.exe
Next, it is necessary to delete the following files and folders:
- c:\Program Files\Personal Anti Malware
- c:\Program Files\Personal Anti Malware\add.exe
- c:\Program Files\Personal Anti Malware\AVP_Update.exe
- c:\Program Files\Personal Anti Malware\PAM.exe
- c:\Program Files\Personal Anti Malware\scanopt.sys
- c:\Program Files\Personal Anti Malware\Support.url
- c:\Program Files\Personal Anti Malware\svo.scf
- c:\Program Files\Personal Anti Malware\sysdata.sys
- c:\Program Files\Personal Anti Malware\SysShield.exe
- c:\Program Files\Personal Anti Malware\Uninstall.exe
- c:\Program Files\Personal Anti Malware\vlist
- c:\Program Files\Personal Anti Malware\warning.mht
- c:\Program Files\Personal Anti Malware\bitmaps
- c:\Program Files\Personal Anti Malware\bitmaps\nagsr
- c:\Program Files\Personal Anti Malware\bitmaps\payment
- c:\Program Files\Personal Anti Malware\bitmaps\tray
- c:\Program Files\Personal Anti Malware\bitmaps\windows
- c:\Program Files\Personal Anti Malware\bitmaps\windows\options
- c:\Program Files\Personal Anti Malware\bitmaps\windows\Recover
- c:\Program Files\Personal Anti Malware\bitmaps\windows\Security
- c:\Program Files\Personal Anti Malware\bitmaps\windows\sustemscan
- c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Personal Anti Malware
- c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Personal Anti Malware\Personal Anti Malware.lnk
- c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Personal Anti Malware\Support.lnk
Once these steps have been completed, Personal Anti Malware no longer resides on your file system. In order to make sure of this fact it is recommended to conduct a full system scan using genuine antivirus software such as Spyware Doctor with Antivirus.
Registry Removal Procedures
The final step in Personal Anti Malware removal is to delete the following keys and setting from the Windows registry:
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AV2009
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AVP09
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “Personal Anti Malware”
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “Windows applications server”
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\User Agent\Post Platform “AVP09″
Now your computer is completely safe from Personal Anti Malware.
Conclusion
Manual Personal Anti Malware removal is not recommended for inexperienced users, as any wrong move during the removal process could result in damaging the system. Inexperienced users are advised to use a web based virus scanning/cleaning service such as www.onlinecomputerrepair.org or legitimate antivirus software for Personal Anti Malware removal.