Astrum Antivirus Pro is a rogue (fake) antivirus program. The fake antivirus is a new clone of Virus Trigger. Astrum Antivirus Pro is distributed through the use trojans, variety of malicious software (fake video codecs) and pop-ups found on fake web sites. In all cases, your computer will display popups with a message stating that your computer is infected with spyware and that you must download and install Astrum Antivirus Pro to clean your computer. During installation, Astrum Antivirus Pro configures itself to run automatically every time, when you start your PC. The rogue antispyware may drastically slow the performance of your computer.
Once running, Astrum Antivirus Pro will scan your computer and list a large amount of infections, but some of these “infections” are actually legitimate Windows files:
C:\Windows\Help\tapi.chm
C:\Windows\System32\qasf.dll
Then Astrum Antivirus Pro said that you should purchase the program in order to remove them and protect your computer. Please ignore these warnings. Use the free instructions below for removing the fake antivirus program from your computer.
Symptoms in a HijackThis Log.
O4 – HKCU\..\Run: [Astrum] “C:\Program Files\Astrumsoftware\Astrum.exe”
Use the following instructions to remove Astrum Antivirus Pro (Uninstall instructions).
- Download MalwareBytes Anti-malware (MBAM). Close all programs and Windows on your computer.
- Double Click mbam-setup.exe to install the application. When the installation begins, keep following the prompts in order to continue with the installation process. Do not make any changes to default settings and when the program has finished installing, make sure a checkmark is placed next to Update Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware and 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.
- The scan may take some time to finish,so please be patient.
- When the scan is complete, click OK, then Show Results to view the results.
- Make sure that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected.
- When disinfection is completed, a log will open in Notepad and you may be prompted to Restart.
Astrum Antivirus Pro creates the following files and folders.
c:\Program Files\Astrumsoftware
c:\Program Files\Astrumsoftware\Astrum.exe
c:\Program Files\Astrumsoftware\uninst.exe
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\Astrum Antivirus Pro 3.6.lnk
%UserProfile%\Desktop\Astrum Antivirus Pro 3.6.lnk
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Astrum Antivirus Pro 3.6.lnk
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Programs\Astrum Antivirus Pro 3.6
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Programs\Astrum Antivirus Pro 3.6\Astrum Antivirus Pro 3.6.lnk
If you need help with the instructions, then post your questions in our Spyware Removal forum.
