Smart HDD - how to remove?
Smart HDD is a fake system optimizer which pretends to scan your computer's hardware (HDD,RAM etc.) for issues. This program is similar to previously discovered fake system optimizers System Check, System Fix, System Restore and many other. These programs are different from most common misleading applications which tries to scare you into thinking that your computer has security issues, Smart HDD tries to convince computer users that their computer's hardware has malfunctioned and that they could loose their stored data. This rogue program is spread by Internet criminals who uses various misleading methods to install their fake system optimizers to the computers of unsuspecting Internet users. Most common ways of spreading such fake system scanners as Smart HDD is through spam campaigns, hijacked websites and Trojans.
Examples of fake messages generated by Smart HDD:
Your computer is in critical state. Hard disk error detected. As a result it can lead to hard disk failure and potential loss of data. It is highly recommended to repair all found errors to prevent loss of files, applications and documents stored on your computer.
Hard drive boot sector reading error During I/O system initialization, the boot device driver might have failed to initialize the boot device. File system initialization might have failed because it did not recognize the data on the boot device.
System blocks were not found. This has most likely occurred because of hard disk failure. This may also lead to a potential loss of data.
Error 0x0000002E - DATA_BUS_ERROR The Stop 0x2E message is typically caused by failed or defective RAM (including motherboard, Level 2
cache, or video memory), incompatible or mismatched memory hardware, or when a device driver attempts to access an address in the 0x8xxxxxx range that does not exist (does not map to a physical address)
When installed on your computer Smart HDD will perform a hardware scan and will display a list of supposedly detected issues with your HDD and RAM. The description of these found issues will state that you could loose you data. The scanning process is called S.M.A.R.T Check and the results window is named S.M.A.R.T Repair. To repair the detected errors you will be asked to buy a licence for Smart HDD. You shouldn't even consider purchasing this program, it's a scam. Internet criminals designed this program to scare you into thinking that you could loose your information stored on your computer and then sell you a licence to repair hardware issues that doesn't actually exist. All the system scans shown by Smart HDD are generated. This program doesn't block your Internet access or execution of legitimate Windows program so the removal process of Smart HDD shouldn't be complicated. Follow the provided information to get rid of this fake system optimizer.
Screenshots of a rogue system optimizer "Smart HDD":
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Smart HDD removal:
After the fake system check performed by Smart HDD click "Repair 7 Issues", in the opened window choose "I already have an activation code. Click here to activate" and enter this information:
Registration E-mail:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Activation Key: 15801587234612645205224631045976
Now you can download and install the spyware remover which will completely remove this fake system optimizer from your computer.
If you can't download or run spyware remover try running registry fix (link below). It enables execution of programs. download registryfix.reg file, double click it, click YES and then OK.
Smart HDD removal instructions (on infected computer):
If you were unable to remove Smart HDD using removal tools, you can follow these removal instructions to do some steps manually and help the removal process.
1. Start your computer in safe mode. Click Start, click Shut down, click Restart, click OK. During your computer starting process press F8 key on your keyboard multiple times until you see Windows Advanced Option menu, then select Safe mode with networking from the list.
2. Open Internet explorer, click Tools and select Internet Options. Select "Connections".
3.Click LAN settings, if a Use a proxy server for your LAN is checked, uncheck it and press OK.
4. Download a legitimate anti-spyware software to fully remove Smart HDD from your computer.
6. After removing Smart HDD reset your Hosts files. Don't skip this step, this malware modifies your Hosts files, and you will encounter browser redirect problems.
Hosts file is used to resolve some canonical names of websites to ip addresses. When it is changed, the user may be redirected to malicious site still seeing good URL in address bar. It is very hard to find out if the site is genuine or not, when hosts file is modified. To fix this, please download Microsoft Fix It tool, that restores your hosts file to windows default. Run this tool when downloaded and follow the on-screen instructions. Download link below:
Other tools known to remove Smart HDD:
Additional information, related to Smart HDD:
Some malicious software modifies browser settings and disables downloads of spyware and virus removing software. If you have problems downloading anti-spyware software with Internet Explorer, try downloading with Chrome, FireFox, Opera, etc.
If you can't access Internet:
Load your computer in safe mode. Click Start, click Shut down, click Restart, click OK. During your computer starting process press F8 key on your keyboard multiple times until you see Windows Advanced Option menu, then select Safe mode with networking from the list.
Start Task manager. Press ctrl+alt+del (or ctrl+shift+esc) and end task the processes of rogue program. ( if after this procedure you can't access any programs press ctrl+alt+del, click File, select New Task, and type explorer.exe then press OK.
Open Internet explorer, click Tools and select Internet Options. Select Connections, then click LAN settings, if a Use a proxy server for your LAN is checked, un-check it and press OK.
After this procedure you should be able to access Internet. Now you can download anti-spyware software from our "Top spyware removers" section and run a full scan. Download, install and don't forget to update your selected anti-spyware program. Then run a full system scan.
Manual Smart HDD removal
If you are unable to remove Smart HDD using the steps above, you can use this manual removal instruction. Use it at your own risk. If you don't have strong computer knowledge you could harm your operating system. Be careful and use it only if you are an experienced computer user. (Instructions on how to end processes, remove registry entries...)
End these Smart HDD processes:
SMART HDD.exe
Remove these Smart HDD registry entries:
HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-19\Control Panel\Desktop, Wallpaper
HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-20\Control Panel\Desktop, Wallpaper
HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-18\Control Panel\Desktop, Wallpaper
Delete these Smart HDD files:
C:\Documents and Settings\user\Start Menu\Programs\Smart HDD\Smart Hdd.lnk
C:\Documents and Settings\user\Start Menu\Programs\Smart HDD\Uninstall Smart Hdd.lnk
Please note: as the malware constantly changes it's behaviour, these registry keys might be slightly different on your computer, depending on the Smart HDD version.
Other tips, that might help to remove Smart HDD
- If you can't download anti-spyware software: Click on the download link, when the save dialog opens change the file name (example: when downloading mbam-setup.exe rename it to iexplore.exe).
- If you have installed anti-spyware program but you can't run it do the following steps:
- Click Run, type %ProgramFiles% and press Enter. Open folder of your anti-spyware program, search for executable file and rename it. (example: Open Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware folder, right-click on the main executable file (mbam.exe) then click rename. Rename the mbam.exe file to iexplore.exe, winlogon.exe firefox.exe or other known executable file.
- If you can't access your anti-spyware software, try creating a new user account:
Click Start -> Settings -> Control panel.
Click User Accounts and create a new account.
Reboot your computer and log in using a newly created user account.
After this procedure you should be able to access your anti-spyware programs. Update and run a full system scan.
Smart HDD is a typical fake system optimizer program which tries to scare computer users into thinking that their computer's hardware has issues and that this may lead to a potential data loss. This program doesn't block your Tasks Manager or execution of installed Windows program so the removal process shouldn't be very complicated. Ignore the information shown by Smart HDD and remove it from your computer.