Recently I found Antivirus 2009 (a fake anti-malware application) on my laptop computer. Thinking it was a program one of my kids downloaded I went to control panel – add/remove programs but it was not there. This made me suspicious so I Googled “Antivirus 2009” and discovered it was a new rogue anti-spyware program.

Once this malware enters your system, it floods your computer with popups and fake system notifications, supposedly to inform you of an infection. While your system may indeed be infected, Antivirus 2009 will inform the user of this regardless of whether it’s true or not. The point of this disinformation is to convince you that your computer is infected and need to purchase an antispyware program to dispose of the threat.

How to remove Antivirus 2009

Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware can detect and remove this rogue application for free.

Download the Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware to your desktop.

* Double-click mbam-setup.exe and follow the prompts to install the program.
* At the end, be sure to check the following:

o Update Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware
o Launch Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware

* Then click Finish.
* If an update is found, it will download and install the latest version.
* Once the program has loaded, select Perform quick scan, then click Scan.
* When the scan is complete, click OK, then Show Results to view the results.
* Be sure that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected.
* When completed, a log will open in Notepad. The rogue application should now be gone.

Tips

Don’t install an antivirus program before removing this fake anti-malware application.

I initially installed the McAfee antivirus program because it comes free with my Comcast High Speed Internet service. I then scanned my computer but it did not detect or remove Antivirus 2009. You need to first remove it before installing your new Antivirus software.

If you are not sure about downloading an application Google it first. You’ll quickly read if it’s fake or not.