Antivirus XP 2008 Removal Instructions (XP or Vista Antivirus XP 2008)

September 20th, 2008 | by Alex |

Antivirus XP 2008 (Vista Antivirus 2008) Descriptions:

Antivirus XP 2008, or Vista Antivirus 2008, or XP Antivirus 2008, is one of the latest counterfeit antispyware that devastates the wolrd wide web. Antivirus XP 2008 usually come up after you installed a video codec or software patch that come with Trojan, malware and virus. All of these variants are from the same virus family and they are created to make our life miserable. In short, Antivirus XP 2008 normally generates fake and misleading system popup error messages so end-users will be tricked into purchase XP Antivirus 2008, Antivirus 2008 or Vista Antivirus 2008.

Antivirus XP 2008 image:
antivirus 2008

Antivirus 2008 image:
antivirus 2008

Vista Antivirus 2008 image:
antivirus 2008

It is very important to remove all the components of of the XP Antivirus 2008 and all the malware and trojans that it might have come bundle with (such as zlob.trojan, trojan.vundo and Trojan.Downloader). To effectively remove XP Antivirus 2008, we have created a manual removal instructions which is easy to understand. As always, make sure you back up the data before proceeding. Good luck!

Download SpyHunter* Spyware Detection Utility

Manual Antivirus XP 2008 Removal Instructions:

Unregister XP Antivirus 2008 DLL Files:
(Learn how to do this)
%ProgramFiles%\[RANDOM NAME]\MFC71.dll
%ProgramFiles%\[RANDOM NAME]\MFC71ENU.DLL
%ProgramFiles%\[RANDOM NAME]\msvcp71.dll
%ProgramFiles%\[RANDOM NAME]\msvcr71.dll
%ProgramFiles%\[RANDOM NAME]\shlwapi.dll
%ProgramFiles%\[RANDOM NAME]\wininet.dll

Stop Antivirus XP 2008 Processes:
(Learn how to do this)
vav.exe
XPAntivirus.exe
XPAntivirusUpdate.exe
xpa.exe
xpa2008.exe
braviax.exe

Find and Delete these Antivirus XP 2008:
(Learn how to do this)
xpa.exe
vav.exe
xpa2008.exe
xpa_2008.exe
XPAntivirus.exe
braviax.exe
XPAntivirusUpdate.exe
XPAntivirus.lnk
Uninstall XPAntivirus.lnk
XPAntivirus on the Web.lnk
XP Antivirus 2008.lnk
Uninstall XP Antivirus 2008.lnk
%ProgramFiles%\[RANDOM NAME]\MFC71.dll
%ProgramFiles%\[RANDOM NAME]\MFC71ENU.DLL
%ProgramFiles%\[RANDOM NAME]\msvcp71.dll
%ProgramFiles%\[RANDOM NAME]\msvcr71.dll
%ProgramFiles%\[RANDOM NAME]\shlwapi.dll
%ProgramFiles%\[RANDOM NAME]\wininet.dll
%program_files%\rhc7nsj0e57c\mfc71.dll
%program_files%\rhc7nsj0e57c\mfc71enu.dll
%program_files%\rhc7nsj0e57c\msvcp71.dll
antivirusxp2008installer.exe
rhc7nsj0e57c.exe
%common_desktopdirectory%\antivirus xp 2008.lnk
%common_programs%\antivirus xp 2008.lnk
%common_programs%\antivirus xp 2008\antivirus xp 2008.lnk
%common_programs%\antivirus xp 2008\how to register antivirus xp 2008.lnk
%common_programs%\antivirus xp 2008\license agreement.lnk
%common_programs%\antivirus xp 2008\register antivirus xp 2008.lnk
%common_programs%\antivirus xp 2008\uninstall.lnk
%profile%\application data\microsoft\internet explorer\quick launch\antivirus xp 2008.lnk
%program_files%\rhc7nsj0e57c\database.dat
%program_files%\rhc7nsj0e57c\license.txt
%program_files%\rhc7nsj0e57c\uninstall.exe
%program_files%\rhc7nsj0e57c\msvcr71.dll
%program_files%\rhc7nsj0e57c\rhc7nsj0e57c.exe
%program_files%\rhc7nsj0e57c\rhc7nsj0e57c.exe.local
antivirusxp2008installer.exe
%program_files%\rhc7nsj0e57c\uninstall.exe
%program_files%\rhc7nsj0e57c\rhc7nsj0e57c.exe
%program_files%\rhc7nsj0e57c\mfc71.dll
%program_files%\rhc7nsj0e57c\msvcr71.dll
%program_files%\rhc7nsj0e57c\msvcp71.dll
%program_files%\rhc7nsj0e57c\mfc71enu.dll

Remove Antivirus XP 2008 Registry Values:
(Learn how to do this)
HKEY_USERS\Software\XP antivirus
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\run smrhc7nsj0e57c
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\uninstall\rhc7nsj0e57c
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\uninstall\rhc7nsj0e57c displayname
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\uninstall\rhc7nsj0e57c uninstallstring
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\rhc7nsj0e57c
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\rhc7nsj0e57c advid
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\rhc7nsj0e57c automaticallyupdates
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\rhc7nsj0e57c backgroundscan
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\rhc7nsj0e57c backgroundscantimeout
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\rhc7nsj0e57c databaseversion
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\rhc7nsj0e57c daysinterval
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\rhc7nsj0e57c domain
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\rhc7nsj0e57c engineversion
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\rhc7nsj0e57c guiversion
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\rhc7nsj0e57c installdir
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\rhc7nsj0e57c minimizeonstart
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\rhc7nsj0e57c programversion
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\rhc7nsj0e57c proxyname
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\rhc7nsj0e57c proxyport
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\rhc7nsj0e57c registrationdiscurl
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\run smrhc7nsj0e57c
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\rhc7nsj0e57c registrationurl
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\rhc7nsj0e57c scandepth
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\rhc7nsj0e57c scanpriority
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\rhc7nsj0e57c scansystemonstartup
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\rhc7nsj0e57c softid

Download SpyHunter* Spyware Detection Utility

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  1. 609 Responses to “Antivirus XP 2008 Removal Instructions (XP or Vista Antivirus XP 2008)”

  2. By Ko on Feb 17, 2008 | Reply

    XP Antivirus 2008 is a piece of sh*t.

  3. By Shawn on Feb 17, 2008 | Reply

    Haha.. get a new pc! It’s not worth the headache.

  4. By Mary on Feb 17, 2008 | Reply

    I can’t uninstall XP Antivirus 2008

  5. By T on Feb 19, 2008 | Reply

    Okay, so I’ve got this xp antivirus 2008 deal and its driving me crazy. I’ve tried what mark suggested, but it still gives me the same error as before. And, every time I try to move those .dll’s to the desktop, another comes right back into my system32! I’ve tried ending the process first and this did not help.
    If anyone out there still checks these, can you offer any advice?

    Oh, and Ben, if you haven’t already, try what Mark or Kevin Binkly suggested; it might help you.

  6. By Andrew on Feb 27, 2008 | Reply

    Did you guys try to uninstall XP Antivirus 2008 from the control panel? That’s normally how I uninstall a program. Good luck ya’ll!

  7. By stephy on Feb 27, 2008 | Reply

    I downloaded XP Antivirus 2008 by accident. Can anybody help me removing it? Please email me.

  8. By mer on Feb 28, 2008 | Reply

    hello. i got a call about xp anti virus 2008 a while ago and customer said she cant remove that pop up and i just learned from this website that xp anti virus is actually not an anti-virus program,just a counterfeit. thanks for the info!

  9. By ruth m witte on Feb 28, 2008 | Reply

    I cannot rid of XP Antivirus..with help of tech..

  10. By Rhonda on Mar 1, 2008 | Reply

    I’ve tried everything to remove this stupid xp antivirus 2008…….Can someone please help me, I read where it’s a rogue and my computer is new so I don’t want it to crash. Is there a safe way to get it off?

  11. By TomT on Mar 2, 2008 | Reply

    Rhonda, this ‘virus’ showed up on my PC today 3/2/08 and it was obviously not something I wanted on my PC. To get rid of it I typed ‘regedit’ at the run command, then opened ‘hkey current user, software and deleted ‘xpantivirus’. Then typed msconfig at the run command. Went to startup and unchecked ‘xpa’. Then went to C:\program files and found xpantivirus and deleted it. This took care of it for me. Give this a try.

  12. By Beverly on Mar 3, 2008 | Reply

    I just got my computer back. And I got a warning. Since I run xp I thought I needed to click on the warning. Doing so downloaded XP Antivirus 2008. What a bummer. Now I can not get rid of it any suggestions Thank you for your timew!

  13. By Beverly on Mar 3, 2008 | Reply

    TOMT you are the best. It’s all gone. God Bless YOU!!!
    It was driving me nuts. I am going to email an alert to all my friends of that crap. Thank again

  14. By swagsx on Mar 3, 2008 | Reply

    cheers tom t it worked for me

  15. By stephon on Mar 4, 2008 | Reply

    It’s weird. I didn’t install XP Antivirus 2008. How can I uninstall it?

  16. By Ryan on Mar 4, 2008 | Reply

    Tom,

    Thanks for your suggestions, I did exactly as you said and was able to delete it. I now have the user who had this issue running a full scan with REAL AV software, NIS2007.

    Ryan

  17. By Brian on Mar 4, 2008 | Reply

    Many thanks to TOMT - restored my sanity!

  18. By Rose Diaz on Mar 4, 2008 | Reply

    I downloaded XP Antivirus by accident.Can anybody help me removing it? Please e-mail me. Thanks

  19. By Cheryl on Mar 4, 2008 | Reply

    Hi TomT.
    I’ve gotten to msconfig at the run command. Went to startup BUT can’t find the XPA.
    Any thoughts?
    Desperate.
    Thank you.

  20. By MARY on Mar 7, 2008 | Reply

    CAN ANY BODY HELP ME PLEASE? I DO THE SAME MISTAKE DOWNLODED XP ANTIVIRUS BY ACCIDENT.
    THANKS..

  21. By Michael B. on Mar 8, 2008 | Reply

    Tom T’s removal of xpantivirus worked great. One thing to add, I could not delete the xp antivirus file until I dragged it from the hidden files to my desk top and then put the computer in safe mode. Then it allowed me to delete it from my desk top.

    Thanks Tom

  22. By Tammy on Mar 9, 2008 | Reply

    Please help me Micheal B. I’m almost there…i’ve been following the directions to a “t”. However, i get an error msg when i try to delete it from the program file and now my desk top. How did you get ur computer in safe mode?

    Thanks a million

    Tammy

  23. By Juan on Mar 9, 2008 | Reply

    TomT thanks for the advice it really helped and I was also able to get rid of Malware. Thanks alot becuase that virus was starting to bug me.

  24. By shaz on Mar 9, 2008 | Reply

    TomT you are an absolute star, if i could give you some sort of good karma for this i would….thankyou ever so much

    shaz

  25. By Tammy on Mar 9, 2008 | Reply

    Hey TomT………I finally got it!! ur a cyber saint I tell you! God Bless you! Keep up the good work!

    Another thankful person!

    Tammy

  26. By Jimbo on Mar 9, 2008 | Reply

    Tom T is “TOM TERRIFIC’. His instructions on removal of this pest were TERRIFIC. One additional thing tho…… you should do a FULL SYSTEM SCAN with your Anti-Virus tool (McAfee/Norton) to remove any residuals on your system. KUDO’s to Tom T. You are the greatest!!!!!!!

  27. By Marsha on Mar 10, 2008 | Reply

    Somebody Plz help…trying to get rid of that XPAntivirus. I have tried going to the run command and tpye in regedit and then select hkey current user . but did not find the XP there so i have not gone any further

  28. By Marsha on Mar 10, 2008 | Reply

    OK every body needing to uninstall XP Antivirus. I was so frustrated I went to the XPAnti website and asked for the removal software. It is gone now and I hope it stays gone and is not hiding on my computer.

  29. By willem on Mar 10, 2008 | Reply

    this xp antivirus like a predator in my notebook
    i’ve tired and stressed coz i can’t removed it from my pc. i’ve already remove it from control panel>>add/remove program but doesn’t work.
    anybody can help me solve this problem?
    Thanks before..

  30. By Spataru Florin on Mar 10, 2008 | Reply

    what is the registration key and e-mail,please.I d’ont know

  31. By Justin on Mar 10, 2008 | Reply

    Um, two of the dll’s these instructions tell you to remove are Windows files:

    shlwapi.dll
    wininet.dll

    Granted, they might have been replaced by contaminated versions, but don’t just read these instructions and start deleting those files willy nilly.

  32. By Richard Cunningham on Mar 11, 2008 | Reply

    Your unwanted pop ups are unsolicited and I don’t want them. I had absolutely no problems whatsoever until you came along and all you’ve done is slow down my computer. I have appropriate protection and there is no way I would now buy your product. Since I’ve found it impossible to delete your garbabe I want you to get it off NOW! You have caused a great inconvenience and it’s an invasion of privacy.

  33. By Elba on Mar 12, 2008 | Reply

    I got this virus too and it was almost impossible to get rid of it until I found this post, it really worked.

  34. By Elba on Mar 12, 2008 | Reply

    Juan, how did you get rid of the Malware?

  35. By frndlyplady on Mar 12, 2008 | Reply

    TomT is THE MAN!!!! it is finally gone..yippee…what a nasty viral program that xp antivirus 2008 WAS! and was is the operative word thanks to TomT, whoever and wherever you are..i think I love you.

  36. By Kevin on Mar 12, 2008 | Reply

    Marsha, my situation is like yours. I followed the instructions suggested, but there was no ‘xpantivirus” listed to select. I will go to the XP Antivirus website to get removal software. Thanks to ALL of you. I hope this works.

  37. By Sue on Mar 12, 2008 | Reply

    I too have xp antivirus BUT I do not find it in the HKEY Current User file. I have looked everywher.What now?

  38. By alberto on Mar 12, 2008 | Reply

    Your xp antivirus trial is popping up in my computer every thirty seconds I can’t remove it. The xp antivirus trial is telling me to buy it I tried deleting it and I can’t I need you guy’s to tell me how to erase it. Give me your phone number so I can contact you.

  39. By Vivienne Darden on Mar 14, 2008 | Reply

    XP Virus 2008 has attached itself to my computer and I don’t know how to get rid of it. HEEEELP!!!

  40. By Willie Germishuizen on Mar 16, 2008 | Reply

    Please help me to get rid of XP Antivirus.It interferes and pops up all of the time even as Iam typing this letter. 16 march 2008

  41. By Marsha on Mar 17, 2008 | Reply

    Go to the XP website and get the removal soft ware they really arent a Virus I guest they are just trying to get you to buy the full version of there software. I dont have the problem any more. Like I said got to the website and follow the removal instruction.

  42. By Dickson on Mar 17, 2008 | Reply

    We just got rid of this “program”. We went into task manager on Windows XP and clicked on processes and deleted xpa.1501.exe, and the program disappeared. We hope it is gone for good. It took us around 5-10 minutes to figure this out using this site!!

  43. By CHRIS on Mar 17, 2008 | Reply

    TOM T YOU SEEM TO BEE THE PERSON TO TALK TO.
    I HAVE THIS XP 2008 ANTIVIRUS, HOW DO I REMOVE IT?

  44. By Guy on Mar 17, 2008 | Reply

    DO WHAT TomT says at the third or fourth post. It worked beautifully. Thanks Tom

    repost
    Rhonda, this ‘virus’ showed up on my PC today 3/2/08 and it was obviously not something I wanted on my PC. To get rid of it I typed ‘regedit’ at the run command, then opened ‘hkey current user, software and deleted ‘xpantivirus’. Then typed msconfig at the run command. Went to startup and unchecked ‘xpa’. Then went to C:\program files and found xpantivirus and deleted it. This took care of it for me. Give this a try.

  45. By jackie on Mar 17, 2008 | Reply

    to dickson-I am a novice with this. can you be more specific as to how to get into task master on windows XP. I certainly would appreciate it. Thank you in advance.

    I tried Tom’s approach but could find no xpanti in the software. Anybbody any suggestion?

  46. By Jessica on Mar 20, 2008 | Reply

    Tom Said
    “Rhonda, this ‘virus’ showed up on my PC today 3/2/08 and it was obviously not something I wanted on my PC. To get rid of it I typed ‘regedit’ at the run command, then opened ‘hkey current user, software and deleted ‘xpantivirus’. Then typed msconfig at the run command. Went to startup and unchecked ‘xpa’. Then went to C:\program files and found xpantivirus and deleted it. This took care of it for me. Give this a try.”

    I tried that,i got to the ‘hkey current user’ but it didn’t say ‘xpantivirus’ it says default…okay i have no idea what i’m doing and this stupid thing is driving me crazy..anyone have any suggestions? seriously i need help..i’m about to kill someone.

  47. By casey on Mar 21, 2008 | Reply

    I downloaded a codec program from CNET site…
    and guess what…?
    got the XP Antivirus 2008 bug…
    tried to get rid of it…ha ha…
    i couldnt.
    all the “free” virus killers…you have to pay ….
    i think this is all a scam…
    anyhow…
    i found altools.co.kr
    got rid of it…cleanly…and free..
    (only in korean)…

  48. By Jessica on Mar 21, 2008 | Reply

    I think i finally got rid of this stupid thing.After reading through all the adive and tips everyone gave,i do believe it is finally gone..well we can hope anyway.For those that still have it on your computer these are all the things i did..i hope they work for you..

    I went to start, then search, then i typed in Xpantivirus, and don’t forget to check hidden folders.Basically got rid of anything and everything in every file and folder than said pantivirus, and i also restored my computer a couple times. The first time i restored it,i restored it to march 16, i thought i got hit with the virus on march 19th so i figured that would be good.But it didn’t work so i restored it to march 15th the second time and i thought it worked but then i saw that the XP Antivirus 2008 was now on my desktop which i had deleted off of there like yesturday and then when i couldnt get it off my computer that’s when i realized it was a scam.So then i went into start and saw XP Anti Virus 2008 and it had an uninstall option and i uninstalled it and it is now gone from my desktop and the stupid icon that was on my taskbar is gone…so i think it did work..so i thank anyone and everyone who put there advice on here..i very much appreciated it.
    I hope the rest of you are able to get this nasty thing off your computers…i was ready to kill someone yesturday…so i know how you feel…i know that was all a long ramble but i hope my advice works for the rest you..

  49. By hozefa on Mar 24, 2008 | Reply

    alt ctrl delete go to processes and end process the xpscaner program then go to C drive program files and delet the xpscaner folder ok…….

  50. By Tina on Mar 26, 2008 | Reply

    Tom T…..I love you!!!! It worked it worked….and I’m a dumb blonde. But one question…internet connection is still running slow…cable internet and it is usually BAM right there when I try to get on here….Thanks for any help.

  51. By Ripley on Mar 27, 2008 | Reply

    Tom, if you’re still reading these, thanks for your help. Thanks to your advice I have now removed the “XP Antivirus 2008.” I have one more question which I hope someone can answer. I keep getting a System Configuration Utlity message prompting me to launch the restore on the startup as I am now running in a selective startup mode. Is this a problem? Or should I simply ignore it? Thanks to everyone. Rip

  52. By Tina on Mar 27, 2008 | Reply

    Rip-I’m getting the same thing on my computer too…the system config thingy….I’m sure that happened when we took the xpa off but I don’t know how to fix it.

    Also thought I’d share exactly how to do Tom T’s directions:
    1. type regedit in the run command
    2. open hkey current user and look for xpantivirus, it you don’t see it go to edit and to find and type it in. It was hidden in this area so that is the best way to find the dirty little sucker. then delete that file
    3. type msconfig in the run command, then go to startup tab and uncheck ‘xpa’. only thing is when you do this it brings up the system config thing when computer starts up and I don’t know how to fix that.
    4. type C:/program files and find xpantivirus and delete it there.
    Now that is where Tom leaves it but I wanted to make sure I got it all….go to the search engine in start and look in all files (hidden especially). I found one last xpanitvirus hidden in there and deleted that one.

    the only thing that I have left is the xp antivirus in the start and the system config.

    If anyone knows how to get that off let me know.

    And Tom and Jessica you don’t know how much I apprciate your help. I hope you read these.

  53. By josephnikolai on Mar 28, 2008 | Reply

    hey that xp antivirus SUCKS!!!

  54. By Malene on Mar 29, 2008 | Reply

    I cant delet the last xpantivirus that whas in C:/program files :( how do I put my computer in safemode?

  55. By chris on Mar 30, 2008 | Reply

    I recently ran into this issue on my Vista based machine. I got this random pop up and couldn’t ignore it and used the X to close it and next thing i know its installed and telling me i have a virus. i searched through the registry and couldn’t find it, even after searching through hidden files. so what i did was go into task manager and end the process then went to program files and deleted the program. ran a mcafee virus scan and all came back clear on that, so hopefully this thing is gone

  56. By Tiffanee on Mar 31, 2008 | Reply

    Thanks TomT, I followed your instructions and I got rid of the annoyance after failure upon failure. Once I found the XPA I unchecked the box then rebooted my laptop then deleted the file folder. ^__^

  57. By Ripley on Apr 1, 2008 | Reply

    Malene, to get your computer into the “safe mode:”
    –Restart your computer and tap the F-8 key a few times when the Windows screen appears. When you get to the startup menu select “safe mode” and hit log in to your username. Then follow instructions after the black desktop loads.
    ————————————————————Has anyone (Tina?) figured out whether we should ignore the selective startup warnings or launch the restore? Thanks. Rip

  58. By Lynna B on Apr 1, 2008 | Reply

    Tom’s directions seem to work for mostly everyone, but I am still not able to find “XP Antivirus” under my software tab. I noticed other people had the same issue and no one has really answered that. Can anyone help me ? Thanks.

  59. By Dallas on Apr 2, 2008 | Reply

    Using the maual instructions provided go to start/run and type regedit. Once in the registry press F3/type in the first file referenced in the list e.g., type xpa.exe and hit enter. The registry will reveal if that file is in your registry. If it is delete it. I then exited registry and started the process over for each of the files listed. After completing the list the xp antivirus program still existed. I then went back into registry and went into HKEY_USERS/once there I checked each entry S-1-5-18-, S-1-1-5-19-, S-1-5-20-, and S-1-5-21-with a bunch of numbers following each. When I clicked on S-1-5-21-1176—–/software/microsoft/windows/current version/run, I noticed in the right window a series of files with one of them having …xpa_eng… in the string. I deleted that file and XP Antivirus is now completely removed from my system. Hope this helps.

  60. By Realname on Apr 3, 2008 | Reply

    Hey you know what, I have Yahoo! Anti-Spy and when I ran it, it showed XP”ANTIVIRUS”2008 AS A VIRUS! so I try removing it from yahoo antispy, and it’s gone forever. wow that’s easy

  61. By SumGuy on Apr 3, 2008 | Reply

    i was just mindin my own busyness when xp antivirus popped up on my screen sayin i hav tons of viri(plural virus?) spy ware, trojans, and crap so i ran another antivirus program (norton internet security system) and it sad i had 1 infected program out of over 200k. then 1 infected was xp antivirus. i also just downloaded spyhunter spyware detector and it found xp antivirus and 2 cookies. anyways…

    xp anti virus is not made buy xp. its a fake that gives fake virus reports so that ppl will buy it. its a scam. u can tell its fake because real antivirus programs pick up on it. also there is no icon in the start menu and u cant right click the icon in the tool bar. because u cant right click it u can enable it. its a scam……. no du

  62. By Taneshia on Apr 3, 2008 | Reply

    I am tryin to get this XP” Antivirus 2008 off and I went to Run typed in “regedit” but I did not locate the xp antivirus….. what do I do….

  63. By ellie on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    I’m having the same troubles as everyone else.

    TomT, where is the Startup located? No clue whatsoever!

    Thanks.

  64. By Marie on Apr 5, 2008 | Reply

    why not reformat your computer to get rid of that viruses

  65. By ellie on Apr 5, 2008 | Reply

    decided to run hitman pro 2, worked like a charm, then ran smit fraud fix and that cleared it up.

    followed to steps on what to remove and I think it’s all gone?

    woo.

  66. By Jack on Apr 5, 2008 | Reply

    The XP Antivirus 2008 website’s support page has a FAQ indicating you can get rid of this software at the following link: xpantivirus .com/uninstall2008.exe. I ran this program exe and XP Antivirus 2008 was successfully uninstalled. I then ran a full NAV system scan to be safe. This appears to have worked. I am among those above who tried TOM T’s suggestions and did not find the specified files at regedit or ms config.

  67. By Danny W on Apr 7, 2008 | Reply

    I just spent the 29 bucks on SpyHunter, and it took care of that XP crap. I look at it this way, now I have protection from future spyware/malware that I am sure will happen again!! They are getting better at pissing us off.

  68. By Octavice on Apr 7, 2008 | Reply

    What you all can do to get rid of the headache is to go to yahoo antispy and detect it and it will deleted it like 90% of the chance

    Good luck!

  69. By Nashey on Apr 9, 2008 | Reply

    Wow.. I am SO Glad I found this page! Lost net last night 3-8-08 round 10:30pm (due to my service people errors) teh same day this XP AntiVirus appeared on my computer..(I swear I downloaded NOTHING it was just there!) and I though ‘XP’ was sending me this alert cause something suddenly WAS trying to harm my computer… Well, After getting the net activated again I could not view ANY pages on the net, so I go to the library and look up XP antivirus and find nothing in results EXCEPT “How to remove”. I did not dare, personally, try the instructions on this page.. just seemed too much (for me, as I don’t know the technical stuff of comps at all) so I tried what TOMT said (Mar 2nd, 2008) and so far so good! I had to reboot the computer though, BEFORE it would let me remove XPAntiVirus from Program Files but still it seems to be gone! THANK YOU SO MUUUCH!

  70. By aLI on Apr 10, 2008 | Reply

    OK

  71. By Mia on Apr 12, 2008 | Reply

    HELP!! I have done everything that is suggested the dll files do not exist according to what I keep getting, also there are no .exe processes either. I am about to go nuts. I do not want to have to take this thing into a computer shop and pay big bucks. I downloaded the “free” spyware but to remove it ya have to pay for it. Don’t know how that is “free”

    Someone please help me.

  72. By Dracul on Apr 12, 2008 | Reply

    Phanx TomT!

  73. By Kayla on Apr 16, 2008 | Reply

    okay!!! just like alot of others…i have tried everything and this is about to drive me crazy!!! PLEASE HELP ME!!!!

  74. By patrick on Apr 18, 2008 | Reply

    Hi,
    What I did was use system restore. I restored my system to an earlier date, about one month before this malicious program appeared on my computer. Guess what? It worked–no more xp antivirus popups!!

  75. By ice on Apr 18, 2008 | Reply

    please help me to uninstall the XP antivirus because i can’t uninstall it in my computer .. it has some problem and I really need to uninstall it ..i was tried to uninstall it from the control panel but it don’t have in control panel….

  76. By Mannix on Apr 19, 2008 | Reply

    Man i need some help. i cant get Xp Antivirus 2008 to stop popping up on my laptop. It interfears with my World of Warcraft game play. Could somebody pleeez help me, if you do i will love you for the rest of my life.

  77. By shel on Apr 20, 2008 | Reply

    hey m stuck wit tis damn anti virus 2008 plz help me to get rid of this sumhw

  78. By T on Apr 21, 2008 | Reply

    I did what Patrick said and did a system restore. It has worked so far. Thank you Patrick.

  79. By Grant on Apr 22, 2008 | Reply

    My other spyware/antivirus found it and quarrantened it. I am following these instructions and removing the files listed. We’ll see how it goes.

  80. By BamaBright on Apr 28, 2008 | Reply

    With all this aggravation we’ve all been through to get rid of this XP Anti-Virus 2008, the solution was right under our noses. When that program opens up click on the “Help” button and after that pops up and you scroll down a bit you will see where it asks if you want to uninstall the program. Where it says “download” in the sentence (thats a link to click on)..it will uninstall it if you install the uninstaller. Hope this helps others like it finally did me. God Bless.

  81. By VinZ on Apr 30, 2008 | Reply

    thank you very much 4 d help… wtf wrong with that. i ddnt install it .. it suddenly appeard on my pc… errr!!

  82. By Kev-O on May 1, 2008 | Reply

    Just uninstalled with their software. Seemed to work. Took a lot of searching and reading to find it. Here is the link. Good luck! http:// xpantivirus .com

  83. By savannah on May 1, 2008 | Reply

    i did the thing tomt said but i have a question, i can’t find it after i go into because i get all the way to current user but i can’t find where it says the xp to delete it, can someone please instruct me what to do next?

  84. By winsome on May 5, 2008 | Reply

    i tried to uninstall XPA from the control panel, yet it doesnt work. everytime i turn on my pc, XPA will pop-up then start scanning automatically. ;(

  85. By r0n1n1d0 on May 6, 2008 | Reply

    To Ripley and Tina (and anyone else),

    To disable the “System Config” message at startup, next time you get the message, look in the lower left corner of the message window. There should be a check-box that says something like “Do not run the system configuration utility or show this screen at startup”. Just check that box and click “Yes” or “Apply” or whatever it says, and you won’t see that at startup anymore.

  86. By Nick on May 6, 2008 | Reply

    r0n1n1d0,

    Yes, so it doesn’t display on the startup, but it is still an option on the system config. Even though I have deleted everything it still displays as an option. I want to get rid of that option, though I do not know how. If I do get rid of that option, there won’t be any trace of Anti-virus 2008 on my computer, which is what I desire.

    Any help?

  87. By TTT on May 6, 2008 | Reply

    what if i have something called antivirus 2008

  88. By Alex on May 6, 2008 | Reply

    TTT, Antivirus 2008 is a variant of XP Antivirus 2008. They are both fake anti-spyware/anti-virus software.

  89. By Sam on May 7, 2008 | Reply

    I found the xp antivirus 2008 in my program files and i did all of toms steps and cant delete the damn thing help please!!!!!!

  90. By Oogii on May 7, 2008 | Reply

    Hello? I`m greeting from MONGOLIA which is located between the CHINA and RUSSIA.I`ve run the XP Antivirus 2008 and scan my PC. but i couldn`t remove that all virus.it wants Registration number but i dont have that number. Please mail me!!!! pls! HElP ME.

  91. By Holly on May 7, 2008 | Reply

    Just follow Tom’s instructions above–it just worked for me.

  92. By Allison on May 8, 2008 | Reply

    Umm… Hi people um…. Tom T when I tried deleting it and I’m almost in the Brink of deleting it a pop up suddenly came out and said “cannot delete close the file something blah blah blah” can somebody please help with this piece of crap!

  93. By Michelle on May 9, 2008 | Reply

    I need help getting rid of this antivirus 2008 thing!! Help me

  94. By angel on May 10, 2008 | Reply

    o.k. i need magore help PLEASE someone i havnt downloaded the virus but i cant rid the pop up. my whole family is sleeping and if my bro thinks i downloaded a virus on his pc he’ll kill me. so PLEASE help i just need to get rid of the pop up befor my bro wakes.

  95. By mike w. on May 10, 2008 | Reply

    I was able to remove anti virus 2008 by restarting my computer in safe mode.Press f8 several times while the computer is restarting,use arrows to select safe mode press enter. After your in safe mode go to (my computer)select c drive and then program files. You can now delete the 2008 antivirus file.Restart your computer in normal mode. Hope this helps…….. Mike.

  96. By jm on May 10, 2008 | Reply

    try system restore

  97. By rove on May 11, 2008 | Reply

    please can somebody help me removing this ……..xp antivirus 2008.it drives me crazy.please wright to me…thanks

  98. By matt on May 13, 2008 | Reply

    Go to START, PROGRAMS, ASSESSORIES, SYSTEM TOOLS, SYSTEM RESTORE. If fixed it for me!

  99. By bill merkel on May 14, 2008 | Reply

    i DON’T KNOW HOW THIS STUPID ANTIVIRUS2008 GOT INTO MY COMPUTER. i WOULD SURE LIKE TO GET RID OF IT.

  100. By Shane on May 14, 2008 | Reply

    This Antivirus 2008 WON’T GO AWAY!! everytime i go to youtube and search a video it says that it unprotected, and it gives me the option to “continue unprotected” and it does nothing when i click on it. its annoying the s**t out of me!! i now that its fake and im not going to buy into it, i got Norton anyway. SOMBODY HELP ME!

  101. By leec on May 14, 2008 | Reply

    go 2 control panel then select change start up program.then you should be able 2 delete the dam thing.leecc@live.co.uk. be happy 2 help

  102. By Collin on May 18, 2008 | Reply

    I uninstalled XPantivirus on my PC by searching for the “Uninstall XP Antivirus 2008.lnk” file and opended it then it was uninstalled successfully. Thanks to the one who post that instruction. GOD BLESS!

  103. By Darrel on May 19, 2008 | Reply

    Idid the above it said it was removed Time will tell
    it seens to easy and file size was small was it only short cut?

  104. By Lt Llama on May 24, 2008 | Reply

    I followed Tom T:s instructions but it seems the developers of the malware have renamed it to something called “Antivirus” instead of “XP Antivirus” sinc he posted his info. The uninstall instructions have to be updated according to this. So follow Tom T:s instructions.

    But I started by pressing ctrl alt delete and stopped the “antivir” something process before going on to regedit, msconfig and deleting the folder.

  105. By sick of this on May 24, 2008 | Reply

    i accidently downloaded the XP Anitvirus 2008 and it was one of the worst mistakes i’ve ever made. i’ve even tries to remove it and i cannot get rid of it and it’s driving me insane! what is the most effective way to get rid of this counterfit??? any tips or instructions??? thanks!!

  106. By robin on May 24, 2008 | Reply

    I’ve got a virus that I can’t find with McAfee. It keeps yahoo and google from loading and activates a host of pop-ups all leading to antispywareexpert.com. Can anyone help me with getting rid of it

  107. By warren on May 24, 2008 | Reply

    26th May 2008. Tom’s instructions worked for me. Recommend if you have the same problem give it a go.

  108. By Reyinn on May 26, 2008 | Reply

    Robin,

    Your problem sounds like either spyware or pop-up. There’s a virus that you can recieve by either 1) Going ot sites that endorse many companies, or have many pop-ups, or 2) Not going to those sites, so your computer becomes a target.

    While I’m sure that problem is pretty bad for you, I advise looking that up under “pop-ups”. XP Antivirus does not specifically cause your problem.

    Also: From what I’ve read and done, this was the way that saved me.

    1. Open “run”.
    2. Type “regedit”in the command box.
    3. Open H_KEY_USER

  109. By auntie15 on May 26, 2008 | Reply

    Got to the end of TomT’s instructions, so far so good, then in the C: it states “Cannot delete Antvrs.exe: Access denied. Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and …” How do I get it out of the read only stage? Thanks for any help!

  110. By MS on May 27, 2008 | Reply

    TomT THANK YOU!!! I was working on a project when the blasted program showed up and installed itself after I had tried to close out of the window.

    THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

  111. By memyselfandi on May 27, 2008 | Reply

    i followed april 28, 2008 by bamabright and it worked like magic! so easy just click on help and then on uninstall abit further down in the write up. no luck needed, it really worked. thanks bama bright for your info!

  112. By Mar on May 27, 2008 | Reply

    Tom T.
    Thank you so much! We had just reformatted our computer a month ago, then this awful XP antivirus showed up a few days ao. Your advice worked like a charm..those annoying pop ups are gone. Thanks for your help!

  113. By MW on May 28, 2008 | Reply

    I was enjoying internet time and suddenly i got this load of shit on my computer without any warning it just started loading. i went to task manager and found it on process and clicked end process. im asking can i be sure that its off my computer or should i be worried?

  114. By KH25 on May 31, 2008 | Reply

    do u have to pay for it??????????? and how can i call the XP antivirus company????????/

  115. By al ameen on May 31, 2008 | Reply

    i want remove antivorus 2008 from my pc, when i wen for down load thats time its loded

  116. By nathan on Jun 1, 2008 | Reply

    i deleted all of the xpantivirus software but i can go to the websites it keep saying “your computer probably has spyware,….. i need help how do u get the pop up away, plzz someone

  117. By Sandra on Jun 2, 2008 | Reply

    I followed BamaBright’s instructions, easy as….and I’m computer illiterate.U have to download the uninstaller from the help menu in the program,sounds scary to think u have to download something else from that crap but it worked instantly, no more probs. I tried to follow Tom’s advice, it’s a little complicated, It didn’t get rid of every little hidden file and I had to download the whole piece of shit again to get to the “help” menu, then scrolled down and found the download for the uninstaller…BINGO! worked instantly.Thank you everyone for ur advice

  118. By sai on Jun 3, 2008 | Reply

    Stop the activity of antivirus 2008 by killing the process with taskmanager( its an antv…exe), then using regedit navigate to antivirus, under software and remove the corresponding antivirus entries, there are written ant… something, then go to c drive then program files and delete the folder antivirus 2008, then you wont have problems again, email me if you face any difficulty with this.

  119. By susie on Jun 3, 2008 | Reply

    ok I am a real computer illiterate here. I got the antivirus pop up I did not download I don’t think or at least when it asked for money i hit cancel. However I can not make it stop with the pop up. I read the directions on how to take it off by Tom and I can not find it when I get to hkey current user there is no xpantivirus there. I went to msconfig to see if I could find there and no go. I tried Marks but when I get to the command all I see is my documents and it will not go any further. I am at my wits end and I did not have too many to start with….HELP save my sanity.

  120. By Crystal on Jun 6, 2008 | Reply

    This xp virus protector is a total rip off i want my money back, but u can’t get though to customer service i wanta call the better business bureua

  121. By Crystal on Jun 6, 2008 | Reply

    This xp virus protector is a total rip off i want my money back, but u can’t get though to customer service i wanta call the better business bureua

  122. By Bronagh on Jun 7, 2008 | Reply

    AHH! It Win’t Lewt Me On Anything It Says EVERYTHING I Go on oint the internet it says its BLOCKED! >:[ Help!

  123. By j dawg on Jun 8, 2008 | Reply

    Tom is right it worked in five minuts for me because i too am challanged by computers. I wrote it down step by step and used copy/paste, the things i would add is that the list i got ofter `hkey current user’ was very long and found it toward the end. The msconfig thing startup is a tab at the top. I pasted that c:program thing because i can’t find forward slash. also my bug was antivirus2008 with no xp on it but it worked
    thanks tom

  124. By BETH on Jun 9, 2008 | Reply

    how in the world do i get rid of this antivirus thing, i tried the contral/alt thing and it didnt work, it is messing everything up on my computer, i cant get into my yahoo games or anything and its making me mad please respond and/or remove it from my computer at home. not the computer i am on if you can just email me instructions that is fine…thank you

  125. By abc on Jun 10, 2008 | Reply

    hey this proggrames are fucking shit in the internet world its just like piece of shit

  126. By GertBTrobe on Jun 10, 2008 | Reply

    Has anyone got there money back on this shit. I got it at the bargain price of: Antivirus 2008 - 49.95 USD
    AlphaWipe Tracks Cleaner 2008 - 34.95 USD
    Premium support - 24.95 USD problem is, I was only buying the $49.95 piece of shit. The other pieces of shit where never mentioned, but damn sure showed up in the email. Reporting to BBB won’t do any good, the neglegent company has to be a member of BBB before reporting it means anything.

  127. By greg on Jun 11, 2008 | Reply

    i deleted xp antivirus pro 2008 =p
    now this is how i did it
    1.open any file
    2.on the top of the file it should say C:\”fileyouopen now you delete that out and type in this C:\Program Files
    3.look for the program and delete it
    might not work because the program is open so what you do is restart the pc
    and then onces the pc starts open the file and do what i write and it should come off.
    now i dont know about the little red x sign i still having problems with that im workig on it now
    hope it works for ya!=p
    =x
    =]

  128. By keii on Jun 12, 2008 | Reply

    i d.l this one by accident too and deleted the files but the antivirus sign still comes up and blocked my IE too T___T any help?

  129. By chris on Jun 12, 2008 | Reply

    TomT’s advice works fine. If u don’t see xpa when u go to msconfig, startup, don’t worry, just go to c:\program files and delete the xpantivirus folder. u may need to go to ctrl-alt-delete, task manager, application and or processes to be sure the program is stopped before u can delete that folder. worked for me.

  130. By Ray on Jun 15, 2008 | Reply

    BamaBright is Right!!!!
    The unistaller is built into the Help info if you scroll down far enough. Click link to install the unistaller and Hey presto! no more shit on the screen.

  131. By Rich on Jun 15, 2008 | Reply

    This horrific virus has hijacked my desktop and locked me out of such functions as Task Manager, Registry Editing and Search.

    Any suggestions for removal around these constraints?

  132. By Rick on Jun 16, 2008 | Reply

    Where is the “help” menu in the Antivirus 2008 xp?

  133. By Mad Shade on Jun 16, 2008 | Reply

    PLEASE PLEASE ANYONE OUT THERE HELP ME GET RID OF VISTA ANTI VIRUS FROM MY COMPUTER

  134. By marvin pledgerantivi on Jun 17, 2008 | Reply

    I WONT YOU SON OF BITHES TO STAY OFF MY COMPUTER IF YOU DONT I WILL SUE .I HAVE DONE THAT TO 2 OTHER SITES .SO KEEP YOUR SHIT OFF MY COMPUTER OR YOU WILL PAY .I BOUGHT ME A HOUSE AND A CAR FROMTHE OTHER

  135. By Maria on Jun 17, 2008 | Reply

    I opened the task manager and then removed antivirus.exe. This worked for me.

  136. By Kelsey on Jun 20, 2008 | Reply

    i accidently installed this thinking that i needed it for security reasons. boy was i wrong. now i cant seem to get it gone. when i go to remove programs its not there. this is the ONLY way i know to get rid of stuff like that. it is driving me crazy that i cant get rid of it. so PLEASE someone who knows exactly how to get rid of it HELP ME! i am by no means computer savvy so i would need detailed step by stpe instructions. any help would be greatly appreciated!!

  137. By Kristen on Jun 21, 2008 | Reply

    Eff my life. This is a new labtop and I can’t open my control panel now.

  138. By Damien on Jun 22, 2008 | Reply

    Thank-you so much, I’ve been trying to get rid of XP Antivirus for ages, and I even tried the “Uninstall” option that this program provides witch doesn’t work.

  139. By T on Jun 22, 2008 | Reply

    i was able to remove antivirus xp 2008 but im unable to change the desktop background that it placed
    when i go to display properties the Backround option isnt even available

    anyone else have this problem or know how to fix it
    ty

  140. By Terri on Jun 22, 2008 | Reply

    This xp antivirus popped up and said I have 68 infected items. So I went to download this and now my other antivirus says it found a infected file on xp? I spent money on this damn antivirus and this is the shit I pay for? Why can we live in a safe world?

  141. By allen_gurl on Jun 23, 2008 | Reply

    i love you tom. u r such an angel. keep up the good work and god bless u always!!!

  142. By John on Jun 23, 2008 | Reply

    This is how I got rid of Antivirus XP 2008. It is different than the XP Antivirus 2008 most sites refer to.

    First you need to stop the program from loading on startup. This is what you do to stop it:

    Start, run

    Type msconfig

    Go to Startup tab

    Uncheck lphc35dj0e1an
    Uncheck rhc75dj0e1an

    Click apply, then ok
    Restart computer

    Then you need to delete the main files this program uses. Delete the following files:

    C:\windows\system32\lphc35dj0e1an.exe
    C:\program files\rhc75dj0e1an\rhc75dj0e1an.exe

    This should remove the program from your system but you probably still have a warning message displayed as your wallpaper in Windows and the virus removed the ability to change the wallpaper or your desktop settings.

    To restore ability to change your desktop settings and select a different wallpaper and screen saver do the following:

    Start, run

    type Gpedit.msc

    Navigate to User configuration, Administrative Templates, Control Panel, Display

    Right click on Remove Display in Control Panel
    Click on Properties and select Disabled

    Do the same steps to change the following attributes to disabled:

    Hide Desktop Tab
    Prevent changing wallpaper
    Hide Apperance and Themes tab
    Hide Settings tab
    Hide Screen Saver tab

    You should now be able to use your computer normally and change the wallpaper to

    something other than the warning message Antivirus XP 2008 set it to.

  143. By Allen on Jun 23, 2008 | Reply

    OK. I’ve followed every step on every post. Ive got Ultimate Antivirus 2008. thats what the shortcut said. I deleted that. And by doing other things ive gotten everything but the pop up at the bottom deleted. However, my computer just shuts off if im not under safe mode, and even when I am under safe mode, it still does when i use the search feature or a few other things. Also, i did delete antivirus2008 and antvrs unde HKEY CURRENT USER. I cant find the program in the process menu, and i cant find it in the program files. i also can not find anything under msconfig. I am thinkin i have a new version with different naming. im going to mess around with the start up config. any help anyone..if you need any advice i can only tell you what ive done but thanks to everyone so far!

    allen

  144. By May on Jun 23, 2008 | Reply

    hey john, I did what you did… and it looked like it worked (it stopped popping up when I restarted) but I can’t revert my desktop background/screen saver… etc with your Gpedit.msc.. any ideas?

    Oh, and one more thing,
    the lph_____j0e file changes its name (it might be different for every computer) so I found the two files through looking at my task manager’s processes… (the names are really obvious)

    but I was wondering, because I got lazy and only typed in the first few letters (like lph3fs) and it gave me a few files, I deleted the exe files and then I saw the unknown files and screen saver files.. should i delete those as well?

  145. By Billy Jr. on Jun 24, 2008 | Reply

    The file names were a little different on mine as well, but similar. The first part of each, lphc and rhc were the same but the rest of it was different. The gpedit.msc did not work for me either. I found some files and was able to delete them and got rid of the warning message wallpaper but I just have a blue screen background. If I try to set an image as background, its just a little pic in the center of the screen!?

  146. By Alice on Jun 24, 2008 | Reply

    I did exactly as John advised and got rid of it!!! Thanks John

  147. By Christine on Jun 24, 2008 | Reply

    I’m pretty sure I managed to remove this wonderful little bug through a series of chants and various voodoo rituals before I finally found John’s advice… I got to the part where I type in “Gpedit.msc” and I get an error box telling me it can’t find it. I tried it on my office computer and it pulls up fine… is that another side effect of infection? How can I get my screen saver & background back without Gpedit.msc?
    Thanks for any help!

  148. By Matt on Jun 24, 2008 | Reply

    John, thank you so much, your steps were the final ones I needed to completely rid my computer of this virus. I’d get pretty far on my own finding everything and deleting them, but you helped me get the last few files. And nowhere else could I figure out how to fix my desktop background but it works. Thanks again, you’re the man.

  149. By Kim on Jun 24, 2008 | Reply

    I got the virus the other night. After reading through the entire blog I believe I wiped out all the files thanks to everyone’s input. However, it is still blocking me from IE.I attempted to run a few so called FREE downloads, however when I run them they find some of the hidden lingering virus files but then wants me to register and purchase to continue to remove the dirty B’s. Knowing my computer is infected I am hesitant to do so. Has anyone else had this experience? I’m running XP on a Lenova lap top.

  150. By Kunal on Jun 24, 2008 | Reply

    I started my net and guess what ????? antivirus infected my comp

  151. By Jacob on Jun 25, 2008 | Reply

    Ahhh… when I deleted the lphc file, it was an application and not an exe file…. I can not find it anywhere else on my computer.

    What should I do? Leave it?
    I can’t find anything else that is similar in name.

  152. By Adam on Jun 25, 2008 | Reply

    Likewise, I appreciate everyone’s input. I have successfully rid my PC of everything but the Internet Explorer message. Please let me know if you have figured out what file this is. Thanks.

  153. By Wayne on Jun 25, 2008 | Reply

    THANK GOD I FOUND THIS PAGE. following john’s steps removed the virus. hopefully this nightmare will be gone for good.

  154. By Adam on Jun 25, 2008 | Reply

    Whole new set of issues this morning. Logged in and had 3 new antivirus icons on desktop. Same shield as the antivirus XP 2008. My programs had shutdown b/c a virus had been detected, ran ad aware and it deleted some worm virus. Anyone else run into this issue? What can I get to delete this thing completely? Badly in need of advise.

  155. By bunky on Jun 25, 2008 | Reply

    followed TomT’s suggestions and worked great. Had to do an addtional search on regedit using xpa and found the vav.exe file and the uninstall xp antivirus.lnk files in another folder. Once I deleted these addtional files computer back to normal.

  156. By tyrt on Jun 25, 2008 | Reply

    gtyuhyjytjyrt

  157. By sns on Jun 25, 2008 | Reply

    John I desperately need your help. I dont know if the virus is still on there. super anti spyware deleted most of the stuff. I also manually deleted the files out of my program. I couldnt find the .dll files or the ini files in the command prompt so i figured they are deleted. my main problem is I dont have the option to get my backround back. WHEN I RUN Gpedit.msc it says it can not be found. Is there a manuall way to get the this administrative option to get my backround and desktop options back.

    Thanks

  158. By todd on Jun 25, 2008 | Reply

    I tried John’s tip for getting rid of the wallpaper, but the only thing I have under admin templates is windows media player. any ideas? Everything else worked, though. Seems great.

    By the way, in my startup, should the virus names still be there?

  159. By Miss on Jun 25, 2008 | Reply

    I had to go to regedit under the run command then delete vav and antivirus from the software under hkey current user. In addition I deleted vav under the window task manager and typed msconfig in the run command but the file was vav. I then was able to delete the vav file in the program files.

    I pretty much used a combination of Tom T and John’s advice. I believe the names may be different for some.

  160. By DAN M on Jun 25, 2008 | Reply

    IF

  161. By Mamy on Jun 25, 2008 | Reply

    The new name for this virus is now Antivirus XP 2008!

  162. By scott t on Jun 26, 2008 | Reply

    WOW, none of this is working for me. No files in regedit, searched for all the file names associated in the C:, tried to find the .dll’s. NOTHING. I know i got it, i see it! Anyone know? I have the Shield Deluxe 2008 program and it dont even see it.

  163. By chloe babe. on Jun 26, 2008 | Reply

    Iv Tried Everything Iv Seen On Here And Nothing Has Worked. And it Has Muffed Up My Computer Big Time i Cant Get On Bebo Or Even The School Sitee For Homework.

    SomeOne Please Help My Get Rid Of This Thingg !! x

  164. By osama net on Jun 26, 2008 | Reply

    thanks

  165. By Win Pet on Jun 26, 2008 | Reply

    Yes, this virus is now named Antivirus XP 2008. It’s even worst that it crashes my computer with blue screen after few seconds or few minutes from startup. I got no chance to do what suggested here. Has to start in Safe Mode, but what you can do in safe mode is minimal. The system restore files are also removed by the virus. Related filenames are name rhceba*. I removed them all from C: and from registry. Still no hope. Help please.

  166. By Mike on Jun 26, 2008 | Reply

    Dear all,

    this is what I did,

    Go into safe mode,

    I clicked its icon on desk top(right click), and click on property—-click on find target—then you will find whatever its newest name now, mine is named by some kind of number, I guess they change the name so often so you can’t find it.

    anyway, I delet the whole folder and restore my computer to a earlier time, I choosed 10 days earlier, then restart…………it is fixed.

  167. By phil on Jun 26, 2008 | Reply

    microsoft is pathetic. the best they could come up with was “it’s not our fault” my buddy was right, get a mac! meanwhile mircosoft has offered very little in constructive ways to deal with this virus. i am going to try many of the suggestions given here, and hopefully i will get free of vista antivirus 2008….

  168. By nzdans on Jun 26, 2008 | Reply

    Justin has a very good point regarding the likes of shlwapi.dll. I picked up this virus yesterday and with the help of this page and a few real anti spyware tools appeared to have it sorted. Unfortunately I did not read down to Justins post until now and removed (actually relocated and renamed as XP would not let me remove) shlwapi.dll and wininet.dll, after this the PC would no longer boot. I had 2 WD raptor drives configured in RAID 0 for my system drive which I have had to replace as I could not reinstall windows onto them even when installed sol(no RAID). Oh well, they were about 3 years old so probably time for them to go anyway.

  169. By Win Pet on Jun 26, 2008 | Reply

    I got BSOD a few minute after the reboot. Is this just a coincidence that something wrong with my system or caused/damaged by the virus?

  170. By denny on Jun 27, 2008 | Reply

    I can’t delete antivirus xp 2008, and I have no ideas what to do anymore. I am going to bring it to the FireDogs tomorrow.

  171. By Kevin on Jun 27, 2008 | Reply

    It would help if the instructions were for computer illiterates like myself. Where’s the run command? I’m reading all of these tip and I don’t even know where to start!

    Damn this Antivirus XP.

  172. By Donal on Jun 27, 2008 | Reply

    Ok i did not download antivirus XP 2008. But i am getting the popups to download it and my desktop background has been changed to “Warning Spyware detected on your computer!” This happened me last week and i was able to remove it through system restore, but this time i have no restore points. System Restore should work for most people. Anyone able to help me? I tried to follow Tom T advice but i cant find the file in the hkey current user, software to deleted ‘xpantivirus’.
    Help Please.

  173. By Raewyn on Jun 28, 2008 | Reply

    Thank you so much TOMT,
    I had tried many a suggesions on thi site, it’s taken me 4hours to fully delete everything to do with that stupid xp antivirus crap, if only i had of read your comment first.
    Hopefully these directions help people, as TOM T yours would be hard to understand for someone not use to comp talk.
    Step 1:
    Click on start button, select Run and enter “regedit” and press ok, this should open a box named “Registry Editor”
    Step 2:
    On the left hand side find under the computer section a file named “HKEY_CURRENT_USER” In here you should find a file called “Software”, click on it, find folder called “XPantivirus”, then right click on it and delete.
    Step 3:
    Click on Start button, select Run and enter “msconfig” which will bring up a box called “System Configuration Utility” On the top tabs click on “Startup” go down the list and un-tick “Xpa” Do not re-start till the end.
    Step 4:
    Go to start button, go to “Search”
    Click on “All files and folders”
    enter “Program files” click on the folder, scroll down the list till you find “XPantirus”, right click and delete the file. This should do it.
    Then Restart ya comp
    “Good luck”

  174. By jam on Jun 28, 2008 | Reply

    i just want to clear all the virus present in my computer coz i dont use it nicely….

  175. By Sunny on Jun 28, 2008 | Reply

    My granddaughter said, “Hey, Nana! Look at this cool stuff… and it’s free!”

    That night, my computer contracted the AntiVirus. I tapped into this blog and did everything suggested until the wee hours of the morning but to no avail. (Even in System Restore, there were no dates in bold to back up to!) I realized I had a new version of the Virus. At 4 AM, I decided to get some sleep and work on it in the morning.

    The next day, to my shock and horror, my computer couldn’t even properly boot up, not even in Safe Mode! My husband, however, found that when trying to boot the system up in normal mode, if you hit alt control del, it will get it to complete booting up.

    My solution was to spend the money on a fix provided by my virus protection company. But wait! Why hadn’t their ‘best of breed’ protection taken care of AntiVirus in the first place?

    They explained that the virus may be obtained by being in questionable websites (YouTube was on the list) and closing out annoying pop-ups by clicking on the X in the right hand corner. That ad may have a virus that is programmed to say that you’ve actually accepted the terms and conditions of what you’re clicking out of! Because the virus protection programs can’t distinguish what offers you really have accepted and what you haven’t and that’s how the virus gets in.

    They advised that whenever you get annoying pop-ups, don’t click the X box. Position your cursor somewhere inside the ad and press the Alt key plus F4. The ad will close.

    This virus almost destroyed my whole system in less than 24 hours. It’s nothing to toy with!

  176. By Kevin on Jun 28, 2008 | Reply

    yesterday I followed John’s instructions. It seemed to work, but now, things are worse. I can’t even access the run function or my C drive….it’s awful. My computer is screwed.

  177. By Jeff on Jun 29, 2008 | Reply

    I have done everything Tom said to in his post and things are mostly back to normal. What is not normal is my wallpaper which has a message saying I have spyware on my CPU and I need to load antivirus or spyware remover software. I have both. I’ll go into the Display Properties window and the tabs to change wallpaper and screen saver settings are gone. I only have the Themes, Appearance, and Settings tabs. How do I get rid of this wallpaper and get the tabs back?

  178. By Kim on Jun 29, 2008 | Reply

    I just got it in my dad’s laptop n since im a major klutz i really dont wanna go and delete those files”shlwapi.dll” cuz i’ll probably end up deleting something important so i was wondering isnt there some kinda software to remove the damn thing…

  179. By FW on Jun 29, 2008 | Reply

    Jeff,

    Start –> ‘Run’ the “msconfig” command, which will display the System Configuration Utility. Select the “Launch System Restore” option and select a restore checkpoint prior to when you encountered the virus. This will restore your configuration prior to the virus being installed and should restore your wallpaper. It worked for me.

  180. By Kenard on Jun 29, 2008 | Reply

    I had the same problem where this “antivirus xp 2008″ got onto my system on the night of 6/27/08. I have Norton Internet Security 2008 and by the morning of 6/28/08 Norton had updated itself and found “antivirus xp 2008″.

    It also found some other items that I believe were associated with it but were under different spyware/virus names. It removed it safely and I turned off the system restore to make sure that it wasn’t going to pop up again from a different file. I then restarted the computer and did another full scan to be safe.

    I also did a search on the computer for “antivirus xp 2008″ and found the icons and folder which can then be deleted (Norton got rid of everything that was harming the computer).

    When “Antivirus xp 2008″ gets onto your computer it will also change your desktop and won’t allow you to change it back in the display settings until this spyware is completely gone. This worked for me I hope it works for others because this thing was a pain in the neck.

  181. By Maury on Jun 30, 2008 | Reply

    Good day, all.

    I appear to have a newer version of the antivirus xp 2008. It has hidden most of my commands, and has disabled my ability to run taskmgr, regedit, any of the commands listed in this thread. It has blocked my ability to do start/run, so I cannot try the msconfig.

    Next?

  182. By ash on Jul 1, 2008 | Reply

    Hi everyone,

    I’m having the same problem as Maury. I have a newer version. Can’t hardly do anything. about it. except i can run my regedit and msconfig and xpantivirus won’t show up at all but its still on my laptop. It still shows it in my programs folder and when i delete it, it just reinstalls. I don’t know what to do, its making my laptop run at the speed of a snail. It took my laptop fifteen minutes this morning to completely boot up. Help please! ;-;

  183. By T on Jul 1, 2008 | Reply

    To get your desktop/screen saver tabs back, create these registry entries with values of 0:

    In:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

    create:
    1) a REG_DWORD entry called NoDispBackgroundPage
    2) a REG_DWORD entry called NoDispScrSavPage

    As long as their values are both set to 0, your tabs will be back.

  184. By shaban on Jul 1, 2008 | Reply

    i need yours help! i don’t have key or license ! how i can get it?

  185. By Paul on Jul 1, 2008 | Reply

    Please help. When I goto misconfig then startup I can not find “XPA” to uncheck but I do see “Antvrs” Should I uncheck this and continue the process? I am not very computer savvy so I am hesitant to delete things without knowing? Any advise is greatly appreciated.

  186. By Jeff on Jul 1, 2008 | Reply

    Ok, I did the suggestions by Tom, then couldn’t reset my screen saver or wallpaper since the tabs were gone. I then tried the restore suggestion by FW but the only restore points were on the day I got this stupid virus and the day after it. I selected the day of hoping it was before my CPU was infected. No dice! All icons showed back up. I restored back to today and I am back to not seeing any files related to XP Antivirus 08 (no icons, .dll, etc), but I still don’t have the tabs to modify my screen saver or wallpaper. HELP!!!

  187. By T on Jul 2, 2008 | Reply

    Jeff look at my Jul 1st, 2008 at 4:15 pm post.

  188. By Jeff on Jul 2, 2008 | Reply

    T, you ROCK! I now have my screen saver and wallpaper back!!! Goodbye stupid message, hello pictures of my baby boy!!! Thanks again!

  189. By Spencer on Jul 2, 2008 | Reply

    There’s an extra weird program that came up with all of this!

    A toolbar has magically added itself when this whole thing struck, which is an extension of that same program! Not only that, any IE window I try to open up tries to automatically redirect me to the XP 2008 thing and gives me a warning. I can’t even trust if THAT’S fake or not either so I just disregard it and manually go to my homepage.

    The toolbar is called nqgpedlr and a search through the computer brings up its .dll file, but I can’t do anything with it! Please help! [email me back maybe?]

  190. By Lori Janiec on Jul 3, 2008 | Reply

    I have this same toolbar in IE. Also, it seems to have attacked some of my other programs such as adobe photoshop because I can’t open that up either.

    I don’t have the xpantivirus files I have a new version since it happened last night while trying to download a song. I have disabled it, but it still shows up in my STARTUP (when I run Msconfig) The files seem to be crypted with alphabet soup. One starts with “L” and the other “R”. Also, my windows settings are messed up. I will try the above suggestion when I get home tonight.

    In the interim, does anyone know how to get rid of the ie toolbar? I can’t seem to delete it.

  191. By Tam G on Jul 3, 2008 | Reply

    Tom I have completed all of the instructions that you entered in the blog. However, I continue to get the warning page that blocks me from viewing when surfing the web. So you have any suggestion?

  192. By ED on Jul 3, 2008 | Reply

    I followed TomT’s advise from back a few months ago and the file name has been changed to “rhcc38j0eafg”. I couldn’t find it in hkey current users but it was in my startup file and I unchecked it and IT worked.

    I also purchased real spyware software from MaxSecure and checked cookies files etc and I was totally infected by all kinds of BS.

    Thanks TomT

  193. By biggriff on Jul 4, 2008 | Reply

    Did a system restore and got rid of it

  194. By josh bidwell on Jul 5, 2008 | Reply

    can anyone help me get that stupid antivirus xp 2008 shit of my computer?????????????

  195. By R.S. OREM on Jul 5, 2008 | Reply

    WHY HAVEN’T THE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS BEEN ARRESTED ?

  196. By TJ on Jul 5, 2008 | Reply

    ‘Cause those guys are from places like Siberia… it sucks that there’s no laws to put those bastards in jail.

  197. By mattyc on Jul 6, 2008 | Reply

    Im also having same problem. followed tomt’s instructions but cannot locate any of the files. anyone know if the names have been changed again? rhcc38j0eafg also cannot be found in msconfig

  198. By Ram on Jul 6, 2008 | Reply

    Thanks to John’s post on Jun 23rd, 2008 at 6:40 pm.

  199. By Heather on Jul 6, 2008 | Reply

    OK, so what I did, was find out what the actual name of the file was for the Antivirus XP 2008. Then I went to Start, Search, and clicked on “all files and folders” and did the C drive only. I typed in the filename…mine was rhctw0j0egna and did a search. Once I found all of the files, I did file, select all, and then deleted them bad boys. Then i went to my control panel, it still showed Antivirus XP 2008 but it did delete it from my system. I hope this helps!!!!!!

  200. By Angel on Jul 6, 2008 | Reply

    Thanks so much for all the tips! the actual antivirus seems to be gone and uninstalled but a blue background reading “Warning: Spyware threat has been detected on your PC” remains. Futhermore a small yellow triangle baring an exclamation mark continues to pop up in my toolbar. Both will just lead me back to antivirus 2008. Please help! I’ll appreciate any legitimate advice! I’m so desperate!

  201. By JohnP on Jul 6, 2008 | Reply

    I have acquired this fine little nasty. It has become impossible to get to my tabs 3 secinds after it logs on - I have tried SafeMode - I have deleted registry files - It is not getting any better as a matter of fact it’s getting worse. So if it is at all possible I need a step by step sequencial way of commands (not able to use buttons they have become non-existent), so please reply with command lines because I can access that. Ctrl-Alt-Del brings up Task Manager and I have of course “regedit - cmd - msconfig - etc” - need somereal helps here anyone. Haven’t dealt with a nasty as bad as this. Everything was fine it seemed until I downloaded and inatalled servicepack3 for XP. Am running, or was Comcast McAfees with a firewall and medium-high security and haven’t given any permissions for anything to download. Woke up this morning and waalaa the ol’BSOD with a banner in the middle that doesn’t even click thru.

    Any replies with “how to’s” or where to go to (URL’s) would be greatly appreciated!

    Got to get this one fixed I’ve my inventory and many many digital products on this hard-drive.

    Thanks

  202. By Lori Janiec on Jul 7, 2008 | Reply

    Well this thing took over my entire desk top and admin functions - couldn’t even access through safemode. My computer geek friend said it tried to disable the spybot program he finally got down loaded and it disabled that as well!

    So we had to do a total wipe clean and restore. He took off my itunes and photos and it seems it left those alone (THANK GOD!)

    I haven’t gotten my pc back yet to tell you how it’s doing but dang! This thing is hella nasty! Oh, and apparently I got mine off YOUTUBE, so be careful!

  203. By tony on Jul 7, 2008 | Reply

    the blue screen still shows, what do i do? somebody pls help me. it’s the xp antivirus 2008 whipping ma ass……

  204. By Steve on Jul 7, 2008 | Reply

    Hey everyone make sure they’ve searched their files for CODEC there is a file in there that’s a nasty bugger which is riggering the re release of files

  205. By keithw on Jul 7, 2008 | Reply

    Normally, the only way back from a BSOD is power off and restart. However I’ve noticed that, with WinAntivirusPro on a friend’s PC, Ctrl-Alt-Del gets rid of the blue screen and after a minute or two drops you back to where you were, with the machine still operating.

    I would guess the fake BSODs are thrown up to fool you into restarting the PC before the infection has been fully removed.

  206. By CL05 on Jul 8, 2008 | Reply

    I got rid of this annoying problem by following a pretty simple procedure and it FULLY WORKED!

    To get rid of my vista antivirus proplems, I typed ‘regedit’ at the run command, I then opened ‘hkey current user, then software and deleted ‘vav’. I then typed msconfig at the run command and went to startup and unchecked ‘vav’. Then I went to C:\program files and found “vav” and deleted it. Also, when i went to Control Panel I noticed that I had another Vista Antivirus 2008 item and in order to delete that i had to go to C:\Windows\system32(’My Computer’, then ‘Windows’ folder followed by ’system32′ folder) and then deleted a file entitled “vav.dll”. In order to ensure I no longer had any of these “VAV” files (which im guessing stands for Vista Antivirus), i went to start then search and then searched my computer for ‘vav’ and as a result deleted these files.

    I hope this helps! coz it definitely worked for me. Good Luck!

  207. By mianova on Jul 8, 2008 | Reply

    I think its gone but I continue to get the warning page that blocks me from viewing when surfing the web. So anybofy have any suggestion?

  208. By Josh on Jul 9, 2008 | Reply

    I’m sure I’ve eradicated the virus for the most part, however, I still cannot change the properties on my desktop background. This wouldn’t prove to be such a problem, as I changed my background externally, however, now my computer goes to sleep after 10 minutes, and the option to adjust that has disappeared. How can I get my desktop properties abilities recovered?

  209. By Dan Osto on Jul 9, 2008 | Reply

    After looking at about a dozen sites including this one, I was able to remove the virus from my system, but it has left me unable to open any programs or even look at my property settings, stating that I have to be an administrator to be able to change anything. I am the administrator, and now I can’t figure out what to do.

  210. By Tay Diggs on Jul 9, 2008 | Reply

    I think i successfully got rid of everything antivirus xp 2008 on my pc EXCEPT for the large box image in the center of my monitor display which says “Warning! Spyware detected on your computer…”

    CAN ANYONE HELP WITH THIS? THANKS!!

  211. By DJOldskool on Jul 10, 2008 | Reply

    I have removed most of this virus but I am left with run, my computer etc.. and control panel link missing. I take it need to edit the registry to get these back, I also have Virus alert after every timestamp everywhere. When I use work around to get to my computer the C drive does not show up. Any help would be appreciated.

    My ability to run task manager and desktop properties has returned though. If you can see themes tab, set to xp and it will change desktop and screen saver back. The Blue screen is a fake, its just a screensaver.

    To access run command when it has been removed from start menu hold windows key and press r.
    To access my computer type c: into run command.

  212. By Prayforme on Jul 10, 2008 | Reply

    i’ve had this virus twice thanks to my internet porn addiction, pray for me. I have also successfuly removed the virus twice.

    Follow the instructions regarding the deletion of all antivirxp08 files. On my system they also showed in the form of *7j0evdr.exe. (*=File Name). So i did a windows search for all files containing “7j0evdr.exe”. I repeated this search also in “regedit”. Once you find the correct files, you can delete them. Make sure that the files you are about to delete are the correct files, deletion of system files may cause your operating system to not function properly. If you are unable to delete any specific files, for any reason (i.e., access denied: read only), try renaming or moving the files. Once you have deleted all of the files that you can, you need to disable the virus in startup by going, start menu >> run >> msconfig >> startup. Here you can stop the virus application from starting when windows starts. Note: if you have deleted all of the correct registry files, the startup file(s) may already be deleted. Once you have complete all tasks, restart you computer, search for the files that you were previously unable to delete and delete them. You should have no problem. If you are missing tabs from your desktop properties, I recommend that you do a system restore, which can be acheived through pF10 (press f10) when windows is starting. You will have to reinstall some programs and others may not work properly, but you will have all of the files you had before and your desktop property tabs will be restored.

  213. By Fix it Manually on Jul 10, 2008 | Reply

    What John said is more or less correct to remove this manually. This is what I did to remove it:-

    1. Directory list C:\WINDOWS\system32 and sort by date to look for files created since the date you believe the infection began. In my case I saw three suspicious files:-

    blphcv76j0e76a.scr
    lphcv76j0e76a.exe
    phcv76j0e76a.bmp

    Notice that part of the name is common to all of them (cv76j0e76a). Delete these files.

    2. Run msconfig, click on the startup tab and untick startup for the virus .exe file (in my case lphcv76j0e76a.exe)

    3. Restart your computer.

    4. Check that the virus files above have not come back (if they have the repeat the above steps). You may also need to reset your wallpaper in Control Panel Display settings.

    5. Run regedit and search for items containing the “common” name (for example cv76j0e76a). You should find at least two (the screensaver and the startup register). Delete the items found from the registry.

    6. Restart your computer again.

    7. Check that virus has gone, then create a System Restore point using the options in “Help and Support”

    8. Job done!

  214. By danny on Jul 10, 2008 | Reply

    hi im having a problem with a popup every time i open a new window on my desktop - every time it accesses til xpantivirus2008 website and asks me to download the problem - could you please help me remove this bug - thank you soooo much, its really annoying :(

  215. By Daniel on Jul 10, 2008 | Reply

    the easiest way. start in safe mode, in PC in C: in Program files, just erase rhcg17j0ep5j folder and then click on start, control panel, erase programs, select the program of the XP antivirus and eliminate it.

  216. By digger on Jul 10, 2008 | Reply

    fix it manually tip seemed to work so far - thanks!

  217. By danny on Jul 11, 2008 | Reply

    the problem