Rogue Security

If you have ever been haunted by a rogue "Anti-virus" you know how unrelenting they can be.  The most recent one I encountered was on my mother's computer.  It hid her desktop and would not let her install any legitimate anti-virus program.  I have used Combo-fix, Malwarebytes, and Avast to remove viruses like this.  Recently, I read an article about this in the Doctor section of Maximum PC which directed readers to this URL.  For some reason, I knew I should keep it for future reference.

So, as the article recommends, I had her install SUPERAntiSpyware (The free version).  Of course, the rogue "security tool" would not let her install it.  I had her restart the computer in safe mode (hold the F8 key while your computer is booting) and install the software.  She ran the quick scan and it found a bunch of things.  She removed all threats and restarted. 

This fixed the problem, but I still had her install Malwarebytes.  Since I use free anti-virus software, I feel safer when I use two.  This way if one misses something, the other will catch it.  One my computer, I use Avast and Malwarebytes and I have not had any problems.  It beats paying 50-60 dollars a year.