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Great Antispy 2012

Also Known As: Great Antispy 2012 Rogue
Damage level: High

What is Great Antispy 2012?

Great Antispy 2012 is a fake antivirus program, which impersonates legitimate security software, and in this way, tricks computer users into purchasing a licence key to remove non existent security threats. This program should not be trusted - it is an empty software shell, which delivers fake security scans and warning messages in order to intimidate PC users into believing that their computers have serious malware and virus infections.

This rogue employs a professionally-designed user interface, thus further deceiving PC users into believing that they are dealing with legitimate software.

Great Antispy 2012 fake antivirus

This malicious software is relatively new and not associated with any previously-known rogue antivirus families - proof that Cyber criminals continue to develop and distribute new variants of their misleading programs. When Great Antispy 2012 infiltrates your computer, it modifies your operating system and configures itself to run automatically on system start-up.

Each time this deceptive program completes its fake security check-up, it requests payment for a license key in order to remove the 'detected' security issues. In fact none of the security infections reported by Great Antispy 2012 actually exist on your PC - it is a scam.

Do not pay for Great Antispy 2012 - you will send your money to Cyber criminals and your PC will remain infected.

Like other rogue antivirus programs, Great Antispy 2012 is distributed by Cyber criminals using drive-by downloads and Trojans to infect the computers of unsuspecting users. Other known ways of proliferating these malicious programs are spam campaigns, fake online security scan pop-ups, and fake online security-related messages.

To secure your computer and prevent rogue programs from infiltrating it, use legitimate antivirus and anti-spyware programs. Update your operating system and your installed software regularly.

By following these simple steps, you will avoid most security vulnerabilities and your PC will be safe. If your computer is already infected with Great Antispy 2012, follow this removal guide and eliminate it from your PC.

Great Antispy 2012 generates the following fake warning messages:

Critical: Some malicious threats cannot be deleted. Some threats contain an unrecognized structure and can not be removaed without update.

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Quick menu:

Great Antispy 2012 removal:

Use recommended malware removal software to remove this malicious program. Download, update, and run a full system scan. Remove all of the entries that this software detects.

If you cannot download or run the spyware remover, try running the registry fix (link below). It enables execution of programs.

Download the registryfix.reg file, double click it, click YES, and then OK.

Manual Great Antispy 2012 removal instructions:

Step 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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Video showing how to start Windows 7 in "Safe Mode with Networking":

Step 2

Now we need to remove proxy settings. This fake antivirus program adds a proxy to your Internet connection settings to show various errors when you try to access the Internet.

To do this, open Internet Explorer, click Tools and select Internet Options. Then select the "Connections" tab.

internet-explorer-options internet explorer internet connections

 

In the "Connections" tab, click LAN settings, if 'Use a proxy server for your LAN' is checked, uncheck it and press OK.

internet options lan settings internet explorer proxy settings

 

Step 3
Download legitimate anti-spyware software to fully remove Great Antispy 2012 from your computer.

Step 4
After removing Great Antispy 2012, you will need to reset your Hosts file. Do not skip this step, since this malware modifies your Hosts file and you will encounter browser redirect problems if malicious entries are not removed.

The Hosts file is used to resolve canonical names of websites to IP addresses. When it is changed, the user may be redirected to malicious sites, despite seeing legitimate URLs in address bar.

It is difficult to determine sites are genuine when the Hosts file is modified. To fix this, please download the Microsoft Fix It tool, that restores your Hosts file to the Windows default.

Run this tool when downloaded and follow the on-screen instructions. Download link below:

Finish
After completing these steps, your computer should be clean.

Other tools known to remove Great Antispy 2012:

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 great antispy 2012 rogue and other rogue antivirus programs:

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

To protect your computer from great antispy 2012 rogue 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 great antispy 2012 rogue 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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