System Cleaner

19 March 2011 Rogue 0 Comment

System Cleaner virus will disguise as a legitimate security program for Windows operating system. In fact, System Cleaner is nothing but rogue security software that was made to spread via the Internet. It usually infects users with the help of a Trojan. The virus can be installed on the computer without user’s permission though security breaches. When inside the PC, System Cleaner will modify system settings to let itself run when Windows starts. It also provides fake virus scan results and force users to obtain the licensed copy before it can remove detected threats. Aside from that System Cleaner will also issue various fake alerts and warning messages and one of those is:

Your system has not passed the cybercriminal activity test and cannot be considered safe.
You might be a victim of cybercriminals.
Click here to learn more.

As you can see, the main motive of this rogue software is to market itself. It never considers the current PC status. This only means that System Cleaner is not capable of finding threats. In fact, an incomplete module sitting on its folder confirms that it is fake. Database and virus definition files are missing. These are the main components of a valid security program.

Instead of buying this useless product, download and install genuine anti-malware software. Run a full scan on the computer to remove System Cleaner together with its entire module. A separate scan using your own anti-virus software is also advised to find and eliminate other harmful files that were not spotted on the previous scan.

Screen Shot Images:

Technical Details and Additional Information:

Damage Level: Medium

Systems Affected: Windows 9x, 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7

Malware Behavior
Once inside the computer, System Cleaner will pretend as a useful security tool. It provides virus scanning even without user’s command. Then, it shows fake scan result that advises the purchase of System Cleaner full version.

Added Registry Entries:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “System Cleaner”

Associated Files and Folders:

%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Programs\SystemCleaner
%UserProfile%\Desktop\SystemCleaner.exe
%Program Files%\Common Files\System\Uninstall\SystemCleaner.lnk

1. Reboot your computer in Safe Mode with Networking.
- Continue tapping F8 on your keyboard after turning on the computer.
- From the selections menu, select Safe Mode with Networking.

2. Connect to Internet and download SuperAntiSpyware here.
3. Install SAS with default configuration. It will prompt for update when installation has completed.
4. After installation and update, SuperAntiSpyware will open.
5. On main window, select Scan Type, choose Complete Scan.
6. Click on Scan your Computer…, this will give you options on which drive to scan.
7. On Scan Location, select c:\Fixed Drive.
8. Click on Start Complete Scan. This will begin the scanning process.
9. Scanning will take some time. Please be patient.8. When scanning is done it will display the Scan Summary.
10. On scanning Window, items detected are marked in check.
11. Click Next to remove infected items.
12. It will prompt you to reboot your computer. Click Yes to reboot.
13. After reboot. Open SuperAntiSpyware again. Go to the Main Menu and click Manage Quarantine.
14. Select all items that were quarantined and click Remove. This will completely remove all detected items on your computer.
15. Close the Window to exit SuperAntiSpyware.