Remove Windows Antivirus Pro (Removal Instructions )

By theboss on Apr 27, 2008 | Reply

I found winantiviruspro on my computer after i came back from a business trip. I have no ideas what the kids did to it. Please advise if I need to take it to GeekSquad. I hate to spend more money to make bestbuy rich.

By Nancy on Apr 27, 2008 | Reply

Don’t underestimate Winantiviruspro. I have been battling for 2 hours but still no avail.

By tommy on Apr 27, 2008 | Reply

This Winantivirus b*tch is nasty. Please leave me alone!!!

By william on Apr 27, 2008 | Reply

I cannot find winantivirus pro dll files. What’s next? I don’t mind to spend money to fix my laptop. I need it for my job.

By sandeep on Apr 29, 2008 | Reply

HI everybody
I solved my problem I got that WinAntiviruspro in internet that came and installed in my PC and continuous apear window to purchase the product by the help of this sight I completely removed the that antivirus with windows task manager.First I did process end of that Antivirus And searched in files and folder and deleted it there.

By dd on Jun 7, 2008 | Reply

what a load – you guys are stumbling – Task Manager won’t even fully appear – how can you stop processes you cannot get to. Remove the HD, connect it to another PC and delete ethe files. Re-install the HD. Then use your spyware utils to get rid of the rest of it.

By atek one on Jul 7, 2008 | Reply

about a month agò I was asked by the restaurant owner to clean the win antivirus from her machine. I was sucessful in cleaning the system. I followed the instructions given on this site and within a week eliminated the exe and dll files plaguing the computer. reinstalled the norton virus protection system and all was well.

on the 4th of july, the program reinstalled itself. this time much more malicious, it used to pop up ads to purchase the program every few minutes and reroute the web browser to a sell page, it housed itself in the task bar in the lower left corner and would pop up balloons saying you have viruses and need to buy this program.

this new version seems to eliminate all .exe files from programs that windows would use to combat this virus/worm. it shows a win32.dll file is not found when you attempt to ‘regedit’ from the run prompt. it inhibits you from being able to run norton, it also stops you from picking destination folders for downloads and doesn’t even download the file. (it opens a window with a :save as: or cancel prompt and shows the link and file name), I attempted to run spyhunter and that .exe file was not found either.

has anyone seen this version yet? if so, please share your experience and any possible remedies. I am baffled at this time.

By Rob on Jul 20, 2008 | Reply

Here is my experience with this so far and keep in mind I’m not a super tech person but an above average user level. First thing you have to realize is this IS NOT an antivirus program and it is lying about finding any viruses on your computer. It hijacks your web browser so sooner or later that stupid ad asking for your credit card will appear. That is this programs sole purpose, to get your credit card information!

Now, my experience to date:

A friend had WinAntiVirusPro ver 3.8 on her computer that I think has been rendered inoperable as of now. The following is what I did that seems to have worked for now (I’ll have to go back and manually make sure the files listed on this page are gone just to make sure):

Right after starting her computer the WinAntiVirusPro started up and pretended to be doing a scan, at that point (while it was still scanning Hah Hah) I right-clicked on the task bar to go to task manager and under the Applications tab WinAntiVirusPro was listed as a running application which I selected with the mouse and then I clicked on End Task and it disappeared. At that point I went to the C:/Program Files directory and found a folder listed as WinAntivirusPro and deleted it (On a previous attempt when I tried to delete this folder and WinAntiVirusPro was running on the computer I was told I didn’t have permission but this time, after stopping program via Task Manager, I had no problem deleting it). Once that was done I ran a free application called SuperAntiSpyware, installed it, and ran it (scanning all drives connected to her system) hoping it would delete the .dll files and registry values (I’m not a super geek and don’t know if it did, it looked like it found them but that’s what I’ll be checking on a follow-up visit). After running the SuperAntiSpyware program, deleting the threats it found, I restarted the computer and there was no sign of that irritating WinAntiVirusPro. Then we installed System Suite 8 (an ok collection of antivirus, antispyware, and tools program) since she had NO antivirus/antispyware type software on her system. I would have opted for Norton Internet Security but one of her friends convinced her that System Suite 8 was the one to get. Did a full system scan after installing and so far no sign of the WinAntiVirusPro. Like I said, now that I found the names of the .dll files and other program files on this board I’ll be going back to make sure they were found and removed. We left the SuperAntiSpyware on her system as a double layer of protection since it seemed to do a pretty good job so far. During installation it even had an option to keep her home page which I accepted (preventing it from being hijacked which this WinAntiVirusPro does do, that’s why you can’t do anything through your web browser without ending up at the $49.95 page).

WARNING: DO NOT go to the web site winantiviruspro.com (3 W’s in front of it) at all and don’t even think about typing it in just to check it out, it will attack your computer (and my Norton Internet Security on my own personal computer let me know it blocked it thank goodness). The web site winantiviruspro.net web site is just the same page that keeps popping up asking for your credit card. According to WhoIs Domain both these web sites are in Kiev, Ukraine which says a lot, like Russian Mob.

I hope this helps some of you. It irritated the heck out of me when I thought this was my friend’s antivirus software going bananas while I was thinking it was a real program and I was trying to find the makers of the program for a removal tool. That’s how I ended up at that web site that tried to attack my computer, I was looking for contact information. After I revisit my friend’s computer I’ll post a follow up in about a week to let y’all know if I find any remnants of the WinAntiVirusPro in the .dll files or registry.

By deeds_ on Jul 25, 2008 | Reply

ok soo from where i stand i got everything gone except shlwapi.dll and wininet.dll i could delete alot of them but there is still one of each left that i cannot delete it says make sure disc is not write protected or may still be in use or sumthing like that (keep in mind i am ok with computers nothing close to good)it seems that the problem with it hijacking my homepage and other pages is gone and it doesent boot up when i restart but i cant get rid of those files wut can i do i realize that this is an old forum so if someone reads this and can help me it is greatly appriciated because i have no clue wut to do. Do u think safe mode will help? please if anyone know just drop a line i will return to this site 1 a week to see thanks alot DEEDS

By Norm on Jul 22, 2009 | Reply

Windows Antivirus Pro is a mess. The creator should be burned and thrown to hell!

By DT on Jul 22, 2009 | Reply

Let me offer you an easy solution. Save the money and headache and do yourself a favor by buying a mac. My G4 is still running a like champ. No windows whatever antivirus and no blue screen.

By G on Jul 23, 2009 | Reply

Yes, DT. Thank you for such “helpful” advice. We all have the disposable income to buy $2000 Macs just because you say we should.

By springwater on Jul 23, 2009 | Reply

dt, thanks for the great advice. microsoft sucks. i will get a mac machine if i happen to win the lotto. thanks again! you are such a genius!

By matt on Jul 23, 2009 | Reply

Is Windows Antivirus Pro is the same as Antivirus Pro? I got the latter. I have tried everything you said, but no avail. Friends advised me to reformat hard drive but I am afraid of losing data and spend endless hours to reinstall all the programs. Some of the apps that I don’t even have the CD’s anymore. Please help. This thing is so annoying. It’s more annoying than my woman. Please help.

By Sori on Jul 23, 2009 | Reply

DT PUNK! If you are not trying to help, get the f* out of here.

By Henry on Jul 27, 2009 | Reply

Recently I was caught by this sickening winantiviruspro & wasted a few hours of my life.

Thanks to the blogs & I managed to clean it using the . But I still has a little problem. It somehow “stick” a long message with the “DANGER” heading on the desktop. I tried changing the wallpaper but it doesn’t work. I would need some advise on how to remove this message from the desktop. Thks.

By Shari on Jul 29, 2009 | Reply

My boyfriend just joined the wonderful world of computers, and internet. I should be shot for giving him a laptop for Christmas, becsuse it has become my biggest nightmare. He gets this stupid virus at least once a month, becasue he cannot sty off the PORN sites… Any suggestions on how to block these sites from his PC would be greatly appreciated.

By Melorrheia on Jul 30, 2009 | Reply

Don’t even think about disabling the shlwapi.dll and wininet.dll files in the Windows\System32 folder (Windows XP). They are essential system files. Losing these files will prevent you from logging into your computer. If you need “Windows Antivirus Pro” removal instructions, ignore this site and look elsewhere.

By cruella on Aug 2, 2009 | Reply

Hey DT… Macs get viruses/malware, too! And, the more popular Macs become, viruses/malware for the Mac will be come more and more commonplace. Get your head out of your a$$ and be a little more helpful to these poor folks.

By Joe on Aug 2, 2009 | Reply

Rob!!!!!! Rob is a genius to say the least! i tried many other methods and i was about to have a heart attack when i tried his method and tricked the windows anti virus pro! I was seriously gonna punch a hole in my wall until i read his post and tried it. Everyone out there should seriously give it a shot and see just how simple it is. Thanks again Rob u saved my computer and my wall.

By Neo on Aug 2, 2009 | Reply

Hi I am a A+ certified IT Destination Technician. You will not be able to fully remove this Rogue Anti-spyware Virus Infecting program with Windows loaded. This program resides in the memory and is loaded through the registry, like all programs. You will have to clean it out without loading windows. I will not tell give you technical support on what to do but I will tell you I used Mini pe to remove the folders, and clean it with antivirus/ antispyware software.

By grottess on Aug 3, 2009 | Reply

well done sir rob, so far have stopped the dodgy pop ups with your advice, thats a good start, cheers for the info. Does anyone else know if this bitch of a program will attach to other files such as word docs or others that i may want to transfer or email between coms???

By Dick on Aug 3, 2009 | Reply

It is sad that whoever created Windows Antivirus Pro didn’t get put in jail. They should be sentenced to death. Windows Antivirus Pro sneaked in my laptop. There’s no way I could get rid of it. Now I am using friend’s pc. This sucks!!!!!

By HeavyD on Aug 7, 2009 | Reply

I have gotten this virus a few times now. Now I am unable to open any programs in windows or run regedit. I’ve gotten rid of this program before using Rob’s method, but now I am afraid I am in too deep. Does anyone know how to get my computer to be able to open exe files again?

By Brian on Aug 8, 2009 | Reply

Excellent post! I followed the instructions plus removed it from c:\Program Files and I’m good to go. Rescanning with McAfee now to clear it all up for good. Really rotten virus…never had one that blocked McAfee from starting. Thanks again.

By Toa on Aug 10, 2009 | Reply

i made sure i used the eraser program to get rid of it. i hope this doesnt happen again. i am just glad i caught this before it was too late.

By Sean on Aug 10, 2009 | Reply

HeavyD i had the same thing and the way is to delete the dddesot.dll, and mainly the svchast.exe during safe mode. I don’t know if this will work for you but all i know is that i can run programs now. The only sad part is that i think i deleted some important files since although i can run internet explorer, when i go to controll pannel i can’t open the security center and something else plz help me on this.

By Al on Aug 12, 2009 | Reply

I have done all the steps manually from different websites and still I cannot completely finish downloading antivirus programs or anything! The ads stop popping up but my background is still missing and i cannot enter my local disk C or Add/Remove programs. I’ve tried downloading antivirus in safe mode, but even that is a complete failure. Somebody please help!

By Derf on Aug 14, 2009 | Reply

Im glad you have a mac with no windows virus problems, however you cant play alot of the pc games that i love and it is very expensive for us poor folk. good luck.

By Tom on Aug 16, 2009 | Reply

This is why people use linux…

By Joseph Dadey on Aug 17, 2009 | Reply

I encountered this malware on a friend’s computer last night. I’m not sure which variant it was, however it rendered the system unable to launch any .exe files, stating that they were infected with a “virus”, this left most options to remove the virus useless, as I could not run task manager, regedit, cmd, etc..
I was about to have him bring me the machine to format/reinstall, however being stubborn, I kept at it. I discovered that if you rename the executables you wish to run to .scr, and right click, and select “test” the application will run. I was able to rename the hijackthis installer to .scr, and install/run the program. Once this was done, it was fairly easy to remove this. I don’t know at this point, if the system is 100% asymptomatic, however the constant pop-ups and ads are removed at least for now.

By Gary on Aug 18, 2009 | Reply

We got the same “Windows Antivirus Pro” problem recently & knew instinctively it was a bogus program. We’ll try Rob’s solution tonight to see what happens. My other computer with my Word programs, projects, and pictures does NOT go onto the internet, hence, no problems. It’s more expensive to own two pieces of hardware, but it will save you lots of problems!!

By Carson on Aug 21, 2009 | Reply

Please I need help I got rid of the file and command prompt blocks me out of everything

Help

By Maurolv on Aug 21, 2009 | Reply

Read Rob’s post. So far it’s working for me. I was able to delete the “Windows Anti-virus pro” folder on C, and I finally could open Malwarebytes (which is now scanning, and based on what I’ve read during the past hour, it’s the one that get rids of it).

THANKS ROB!!!!!

By Maurolv on Aug 21, 2009 | Reply

Great post Rob, thanks for taking your time to write all that.

By Larry on Aug 21, 2009 | Reply

I just got this same version. None of the .exe files are functioning. I downloaded hijackthis onto a thumb drive from my laptop thnking I could install it on the desktop but it keeps going to the “open with” dialog box. Very very frustated..

By this is useless on Aug 23, 2009 | Reply

how can i remove this virus if i can’t even open a F* program i tried to open regedit it said “”open with” i downloaded malwarebytes and it didn’t opened just a window that said “”open with”"

By Mike Ray on Sep 1, 2009 | Reply

I got this virus and my system was totally hosed, I chose to download and purchase the Spy hunter software offered on this page and the virus was snuffed out in about 30 minutes, I highly recommend doing it this way, it costs $30 but is well worth it.

By WANDA on Sep 4, 2009 | Reply

HOW DO I GET RID OF THIS CRITICAL SYSTEM WARNING THAT KEEP POPPING UP ON MY COMPUTER?

By Jen on Sep 6, 2009 | Reply

i have the same problem that joseph dadley was describing but the renaming doesn’t work for me help

By Alicia on Sep 6, 2009 | Reply

ok its been a complete nightmare. my father told me to find an antivirus program on the computer. i thought i clicked into a program that will help delete my viruses that currently exist already. so like an idiot i thought the program was legit so i gave out my credit card information. I am beyond upset and it turned out to be my worst nightmare. its labor day tomorrow so i cant call the credit card company does anybody know what i can do>

By DUDE on Oct 16, 2009 | Reply

hey all this is a FAKE virus its not a antivirus, this is a virus threat dont install this in your computer.

By PRAVAR on Oct 22, 2009 | Reply

Great work ! very usuful ~!!

By Cheap Laptops on Oct 25, 2009 | Reply

Thank you for your help!