Hijacked by AntiVirus Gold

Earlier today, my main computer was hi-jacked by Antivirus Gold. I
can uninstall it, but it returns immediately upon reboot. Try as I
might, I cannot get rid of it. It's taken over my desktop and
will not allow me to change it, constant black background with a huge
"Buy Me" advertisement.

It seems to behave like Spyware, but Microsoft's beta spyware
detection and removal utility doesn't know about this and fails to see
it. In fact, none of my housekeeping utilities, including SpyBot,
AdAware, Registry FirstAid, etc., see it or remove it.

It won't leave me alone, constantly popping up with warning messages
urging me to buy.

At the same time this happened, 3 virus did invade my computer,
notwithstanding the presence of my SMC Barricade Router:

sysupd.dll
delprot.sys
edmond.exe

My Norton Anti-Virus detects and removes them following reboot. But
upon the next reboot, these 3 infected files have somehow been
restored and are still there. After Norton has done its thing, a
file search fails to find them, confirming deletion. But they keep
coming back.

I have a sinking feeling that this Antivirus Gold utility deliberately
planted these viruses, and will not allow them to be permanently
removed until I pay for it. Ugly, ugly, ugly...... :-(

Suggestions on how to get rid of Antivirus Gold and these 3 virus
would be appreciated. It somehow got itself installed without my
knowledge or concurrence. I already have Norton Anti-Virus which
until now has served me well.

I'm running WinXP Home, fully updated, including Microsoft AntiSpyware
beta 1.

Regards,

Terry Smythe
Winnipeg, Canada

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Hijacked by AntiVirus Gold
    ... I had the EXACT same problem as you (with ANTIVIRUS GOLD) and solved it ... I WAS able to get rid of it though and mayby this will help you to. ... I then selected "Restore my computer to an earlier time". ... it is replaced upon reboot. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support)
  • Re: Hijacked by AntiVirus Gold
    ... Its real time ... What in the hell were you doing installing some off-brand anti-virus ... > My Norton Anti-Virus detects and removes them following reboot. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support)
  • Re: Powerpoint freezes on save
    ... Norton Anti-Virus and Office ... you'll still be protected by the other parts of the antivirus that scan ... >> Andrea wrote: ... But having to reboot and losing ...
    (microsoft.public.powerpoint)
  • Re: WIN XP update.
    ... regsvr32 wuapi.dll ... Update and see if it detected the need to update something called "WMI". ... If you're using Norton Anti-virus and it didn't detect the need to update "WMI", click Start, ... Reboot and run Norton Live Update to reinstall it. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsupdate)
  • Media Center 2004 PC Locks Up
    ... It seems like everyday I have to reboot my MCE 2004 PC. ... PC that is running nothing but Norton Anti-Virus. ... Thom Lamb ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter)
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