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AV Protection Online

Also Known As: Antivirus Protection Online
Damage level: High

What is AV Protection Online?

AV Protection Online is a bogus security program derived from the same family of misleading programs as OpenCloud Security, AV Guard Online, and many others. Internet criminals use these fake computer security programs to steal money from computer users around the world.

Programs such as AV Protection Online are designed to scare computer users into believing that their PCs are infected with various spyware and malware. In order to remove the infections, computer users are coerced into purchasing a fake licence for these programs.

The AV Protection Online scam is proliferated via misleading websites that use security vulnerabilities in users' computers in order to infect their systems.

AV Protection Online fake antivirus program

After the infection, AV Protection Online will continually interrupt your work by displaying various fake security warning pop-ups and imitations of computer scans for security issues. This fake computer scanner performs these 'security scans' each time you start your operating system, and furthermore, these scans report 'detected' infections on your computer.

When you click the 'Remove Threats' button in AV Protection Online, you are redirected to a website where you will be asked to purchase a full version of this rogue scanner in order to remove the 'detected' infections. Do not buy AV Protection Online, it is a scam.

If you have already purchased a license for this program, contact your credit card company and dispute the charges, explaining that you have been tricked into buying a fake computer security program. Use this removal guide to completely remove AV Protection Online from your computer.

The following fake pop-up messages will be displayed on a PC infected with AV Protection Online:

"Warning! The file "taskmgr.exe" is infected. Running of applications is impossible. Please activate your antivirus software."

"Windows Security Alert. To help protect your computer, Windows Firewall has blocked some features of this program. Do you want to keep blocking this program? Name: Zeus Trojan Publisher: Unauthorized."

"Security Warning. Malicious programs that may steal your private information and prevent your system from working properly are detected on your computer. Click here to clean your PC immediately."

These security warnings are fake. If you notice that your computer is infected with AV Protection Online, you should remove it immediately.

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Quick menu:

AV Protection Online virus removal:

Step 1
Enter any one of these AV Protection Online activation keys in the registration window. Click the 'Enter Activation key' button located at the bottom-left corner of the main program window and paste only one of these keys (each key is on a separate line):

3541567625
8196345414
8196375436
9972439689 
1171249582
2294654156
2343258649
2961332892


When the registration key is entered, AV Protection Online will behave as if you have purchased it and will stop generating fake warnings. It will also enable some previously disabled Windows features.

Note that registering this program will not remove it from your PC. It will simply disable the fake warnings.

Step 2
This infection is known to modify your proxy settings. It intercepts your connection to the Internet and you may be unable to access certain Internet resources.

To fix this, download and run the proxy removal tool. This tool runs automatically - just double click it and it will do the job.

The download link is below:

After removing fixing your proxy settings, you will be able to download the spyware remover.

Step 3
Download, install and run the spyware removal tool. It will scan your PC for malware infections.

If you cannot download or run the 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.

If installation fails, you can try downloading the customized installer developed by our technicians to bypass the AV Protection Online spyware infection. Your browser may report that this file is unsafe.

Please ignore these warnings. Download customized installer

AV Protection removal instructions (on infected computer):

1. Start your computer in Safe Mode. Click Start, click Shut Down, click Restart, click OK.

During your computer starting process press the F8 key on your keyboard multiple times until you see the Windows Advanced Option menu, then select Safe Mode with Networking from the list.

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Here is a video demonstrating how to start Windows in "Safe Mode with Networking":

Windows XP users:

Windows Vista / 7 users:

Windows 8 users:

2. Open Internet Explorer, click Tools and select Internet Options. Select "Connections".

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3.Click LAN settings, if 'Use a proxy server for your LAN' is checked, uncheck it and press OK.

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 4. Download HijackThis and save it to your desktop. Some malicious programs are able to block HijackThis, so when you click the download link, in the Save dialog, rename HijackThis.exe to iexplore.exe and only then click the Save button.

After saving the file to your desktop, double click it. In the main HijackThis window click the “Do a system scan only” button. Select the following entries (place a tick at the left of the entries):

%AppData%\AV Protection Online
%StartMenu%\Programs\AV Protection Online
%AppData%\AV Protection Online\AV Protection Online.exe
%AppData%\AV Protection Online\AV Protection Online.ico
%AppData%\AV Protection Online\sysl32.dll
%AppData%\AV Protection Online\wf.conf
%UserProfile%\Desktop\AV Protection Online.lnk
%StartMenu%\Programs\AV Protection Online\AV Protection Online.lnk


After selecting the required entry, click "Fix Checked". After this procedure you can close HijackThis and proceed to the next removal step.

5. Download legitimate anti-spyware software to fully remove AV Protection Online from your computer.

Other tools known to remove AV Protection Online:

Summary:

The fake antivirus programs (also known as "rogue antivirus programs" or "scareware") are applications that tries to lure computer users into paying for their non-existent full versions to remove the supposedly detected security infections (although the computer is actually clean). These bogus programs are created by cyber criminals who design them to look as legitimate antivirus software. Most commonly rogue antivirus programs infiltrate user's computer using poop-up windows or alerts which appear when users surf the Internet. These deceptive messages trick users into downloading a rogue antivirus program on their computers. Other known tactics used to spread scareware include exploit kits, infected email messages, online ad networks, drive-by downloads, or even direct calls to user's offering free support.

A computer that is infected with a fake antivirus program might also have other malware installed on it as rogue antivirus programs often are bundled with Trojans and exploit kits. Noteworthy that additional malware that infiltrates user's operating system remains on victim's computer regardless of whether a payment for a non-existent full version of a fake antivirus program is made. Here are some examples of fake security warning messages that are used in fake antivirus distribution:

Fake pop-up used in rogue antivirus distribution example 1

Fake pop-up used in rogue antivirus distribution example 2

Computer users who are dealing with a rogue security software shouldn't buy it's full version. By paying for a license key of a fake antivirus program users would send their money and banking information to cyber criminals. Users who have already entered their credit card number (or other sensitive information) when asked by such bogus software should inform their credit card company that they have been tricked into buying a rogue security software. Screenshot of a web page used to lure computer users into paying for a non-existent full version of antivirus protection online and other rogue antivirus programs:

example of a webpage used to collect payments for fake antivirus programs

To protect your computer from antivirus protection online and other rogue antivirus programs users should:

  • Keep their operating system and all of the installed programs up-to-date.
  • Use legitimate antivirus and anti-spyware programs.
  • Use caution when clicking on links in social networking websites and email messages.
  • Don't trust online pop-up messages which state that your computer is infected and offers you to download security software.

Symptoms indicating that your operating system is infected with a fake antivirus program:

  • Intrusive security warning pop-up messages.
  • Alerts asking to upgrade to a paid version of a program to remove the supposedly detected malware.
  • Slow computer performance.
  • Disabled Windows updates.
  • Blocked Task Manager.
  • Blocked Internet browsers or inability to visit legitimate antivirus vendor websites.

If you have additional information on antivirus protection online or it's removal please share your knowledge in the comments section below.

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About the author:

Tomas Meskauskas

Tomas Meskauskas - expert security researcher, professional malware analyst.

I am passionate about computer security and technology. I have an experience of over 10 years working in various companies related to computer technical issue solving and Internet security. I have been working as an author and editor for pcrisk.com since 2010. Follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn to stay informed about the latest online security threats. Contact Tomas Meskauskas.

PCrisk security portal is brought by a company RCS LT. Joined forces of security researchers help educate computer users about the latest online security threats. More information about the company RCS LT.

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Malware activity

Global malware activity level today:

Medium threat activity

Increased attack rate of infections detected within the last 24 hours.

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