Remove Antivirus Live & Fake Antivirus Malware - Complete Guide

Dealing with the Antivirus Live Virus: A Removal Guide

If your personal computer has become infected with the Antivirus Live virus, a challenging removal process lies ahead. Fortunately, detailed instructions are available to assist you.

Antivirus Live represents one category of numerous deceptive antivirus programs, similar to Advanced Virus Remover and Internet Security 2010. These applications are, in reality, malicious software that effectively holds your computer hostage. They falsely report virus infections and demand payment for their removal – a fraudulent scheme, as the detected threats are nonexistent.

Removing Rogue Fake Antivirus Infections: A General Approach

A series of steps can generally be followed to eliminate the majority of rogue antivirus infections, and, in fact, most malware or spyware infections. Here’s a concise outline:

• Attempt to utilize the free, portable version of SUPERAntiSpyware to remove the malicious software.
• Should this prove unsuccessful, restart your PC in Safe Mode with Networking (accessed by pressing F8 repeatedly before Windows loads).
• If Safe Mode is inaccessible due to blocking, consider employing ComboFix.
• Install MalwareBytes and execute a comprehensive system scan.
• Reboot your PC and perform a full scan using your regular antivirus application (Microsoft Security Essentials is recommended).
• Typically, your PC will be clean after these steps.

These procedures generally prove effective. However, some malware infections can obstruct Safe Mode and prevent any actions. We will address these more complex cases in a future article, so be sure to subscribe for updates.

Removing Antivirus Live: A Step-by-Step Process

Begin by restarting your computer and repeatedly pressing the F8 key just before Windows begins to load. This will bring up the Advanced Boot Options menu.

Select the Safe Mode with Networking option from the menu.

Antivirus Live often modifies Internet Explorer settings to use a fraudulent proxy server, hindering access to other websites and preventing the installation of legitimate anti-malware software. You must first rectify this internet connection issue.

Now, install SuperAntiSpyware. Ideally, you should download it onto another computer beforehand, but Safe Mode with Networking should allow you to download and install it directly.

Upon launching the application, it will initiate an analysis process.

The main application screen will then appear. Use the "Check for Updates" button to ensure you have the latest definitions. After updating, click the "Scan your Computer" button.

Select at least your primary drive, but it’s advisable to include all available drives, and then click the "Perform Complete Scan" button.

The scan will take a considerable amount of time, identifying numerous threats. You can then proceed through the wizard to remove the detected malware.

Once the removal process is complete, reboot your PC. It’s recommended to re-enter Safe Mode after the reboot.

Next, install Malwarebytes, update its definitions via the "Update" tab, and then perform a full system scan.

Malwarebytes will likely uncover additional malware that SuperAntiSpyware missed. Click the "Remove Selected" button to eliminate these remaining threats.

Finally, reboot your system and install Microsoft Security Essentials. Run another full scan as a precautionary measure.

If you utilized a USB drive during this process, scan it thoroughly as well. Viruses can sometimes migrate to these devices, posing a risk to other computers.