Remove Win 7 Home Security 2012 (Uninstall Guide)

  • December 6, 2011

Win 7 Home Security 2012 is a variant of the 2012 name-changing rogue program that changes its name randomly depending on the version of Windows it is installed on. This guide will cover the variant of the 2012 name changing rogue called Win 7 Home Security 2012. This rogue is promoted in two ways. The first is through the use of fake online antivirus scanners that state that your computer is infected and then prompt you to download a file that will install the infection. The other method are hacked web sites that attempt to exploit vulnerabilities in programs that you are running on your computer to install the infection without your knowledge or permission.

When installed, this installs itself as a single executable that has a random name consisting of three characters, such as anm.exe, that uses very aggressive techniques to make it so that you cannot remove it. First, it makes it so that if you launch any executable it will instead start the Win 7 Home Security 2012 rogue and state that the executable you initially wanted to run is infected. It will also modify certain keys so that when you launch FireFox or Internet Explorer from the Window Start Menu it will launch the rogue instead and display a fake firewall warning stating that the program is infected. It will then display an alert that impersonates a message from the Windows Action Center stating that your virus protection is off.

  • Win 7 Home Security 2012 screen shot
  • Scanning screen
  • Fake Action Center Alert

Once started, the rogue itself, like all other rogues, will scan your computer and state that there are numerous infections on it. If you attempt to use the program to remove any of these infections, though, it will state that you need to purchase the program first. In reality, though, the infections that the rogues states are on your computer are all legitimate files that if deleted could cause Windows to not operate correctly. Therefore, please do not manually delete any files based upon the results from this rogue's scan.

While running, Win 7 Home Security 2012 will also display fake security alerts on the infected computer. The text of some of these alerts are:

Severe System Damage!
Spyware and viruses detected in the background. Sensitive system components under attack! Data loss, identity theft and system corruption are possible. Act now, click here for a free security scan.

Virus Intrusion!
Your computer security is at risk. Spyware, worms, and Trojans were detected in the background. Prevent data corruption and credit card information theft. Safeguard your system and perform a free security scan now.

Win 7 Home Security 2012 Alert
System Integrity Check
Warning! Sensitive data may be sent over your internet connection right now!
Threat: Trojan-PSW.Win32.Antigen.A

Win 7 Home Security 2012 Firewall Alert
Win 7 Home Security 2012 has blocked a program from accessing the internet
Internet Explorer is infected with Trojan-BNK.Win32.Keylogger.gen
Private data can be stolen by third parties, including credit card details and passwords.

Threat Detected!
Security Alert! Your computer was found to be infected with privacy-threatening software. Private data may get stolen and system damage may be severe. Recover your PC from the infection right now, perform a security scan.

System danger!
Your system security is in danger. Privacy threats detected. Spyware, keyloggers or Trojans may be working the background right now. Perform an in-depth scan and removal now, click here.

Win 7 Home Security 2012 Alert
System Hacked!
Unknown program is scanning your system registry right now! Identity theft detected!
Threat: Backdoor.Perl.AEI.16

Privacy threat!
Spyware intrusion detected. Your system is infected. System integrity is at risk. Private data can be stolen by third parties, including credit card details and passwords. Click here to perform a security repair.

Win 7 Home Security 2012 Alert
Security Hole Detected!
A program is trying to exploit Windows security holes! Passwords and sensitive data may be stolen. Do you want to block this attack?

Just like the scan results, these security warnings and alerts are all fake and should be ignored.

While running, Win 7 Home Security 2012 will also hijack Internet Explorer and Firefox so that you cannot visit certain sites. It does this so that you cannot receive help or information at sites like BleepingComputer.com on how to remove this infection. When you attempt to visit these sites you will instead be shown a fake alert stating that the site you are visiting is dangerous and that the rogue is blocking it for your protection. The message that you will see is:

Win 7 Home Security 2012 Alert
Internet Explorer alert. Visiting this site may pose a security threat to your system!

Possible reasons include:
- Dangerous code found in this site's pages which installed unwanted software into your system.
- Suspicious and potentially unsafe network activity detected.
- Spyware infections in your system
- Complaints from other users about this site.
- Port and system scans performed by the site being visited.

Things you can do:
- Get a copy of Win 7 Home Security 2012 to safeguard your PC while surfing the web (RECOMMENDED)
- Run a spyware, virus and malware scan
- Continue surfing without any security measures (DANGEROUS)

Just like the fake security alerts, the browser hijack is just another attempt to make you think that your computer has a security problem so that you will then purchase the program.

Without a doubt, this rogue is designed to scam you out of your money by hijacking your computer and trying to trick you into thinking you are infected. Therefore, please do not purchase this program , and if you have, please contact your credit card company and dispute the charges stating that the program is a computer infection. Finally, to remove Win 7 Home Security 2012 please use the guide below, which only contains programs that are free to use.

Win 7 Home Security 2012 Removal Options

Self Help Guide

This guide contains advanced information, but has been written in such a way so that anyone can follow it. Please ensure your data is backed up before proceeding.

If you are uncomfortable making changes to your computer or following these steps, do not worry! Instead you can get free one-on-one help by asking in the forums.
  1. Print out these instructions as we may need to close every window that is open later in the fix.

  2. Reboot your computer into Safe Mode with Networking. To do this, turn your computer off and then back on and immediately when you see anything on the screen, start tapping the F8 key on your keyboard. Eventually you will be brought to a menu similar to the one below:


    MalwareBytes Anti-Malware Screen

    Using the arrow keys on your keyboard, select Safe Mode with Networking and press Enter on your keyboard. If you are having trouble entering safe mode, then please use the following tutorial: How to start Windows in Safe Mode

    Windows will now boot into safe mode with networking and prompt you to login as a user. Please login as the same user you were previously logged in with in the normal Windows mode. Then proceed with the rest of the steps.

  3. It is possible that the infection you are trying to remove will not allow you to download files on the infected computer. If this is the case, then you will need to download the files requested in this guide on another computer and then transfer them to the infected computer. You can transfer the files via a CD/DVD, external drive, or USB flash drive.

  4. Before we can do anything we must first end the processes that belong to Win 7 Home Security 2012 so that it does not interfere with the cleaning procedure. To do this, please download RKill to your desktop from the following link.

    RKill Download Link - (Download page will open in a new tab or browser window.)

    When at the download page, click on the Download Now button labeled Rkill.com. When you are prompted where to save it, please save it on your desktop.

  5. Once it is downloaded, double-click on the Rkill.com icon in order to automatically attempt to stop any processes associated with Win 7 Home Security 2012 and other Rogue programs. Please be patient while the program looks for various malware programs and ends them. When it has finished, the black window will automatically close and you can continue with the next step. If you get a message that RKill is an infection, do not be concerned. This message is just a fake warning given by Win 7 Home Security 2012 when it terminates programs that may potentially remove it. If you run into these infections warnings that close RKill, a trick is to leave the warning on the screen and then run RKill again. By not closing the warning, this typically will allow you to bypass the malware trying to protect itself so that RKill can terminate Win 7 Home Security 2012 . So, please try running RKill until the malware is no longer running. You will then be able to proceed with the rest of the guide. Do not reboot your computer after running RKill as the malware programs will start again.

    If you continue having problems running RKill, you can download the other renamed versions of RKill from the RKill download page. All of these files are renamed copies of RKill, which you can try instead. Please note that the download page will open in a new browser window or tab.

  6. As this infection is known to be bundled with the TDSS/Necurs rootkit infection, you should also run a program that can be used to scan for this infection. Please follow the steps in the following guide:
    How to remove Google Redirects or the TDSS, TDL3, or Alureon rootkit using TDSSKiller
    If after running TDSSKiller, you are unable to update Malwarebytes' Anti-malware or continue to have Google search result redirects, then you should post a virus removal request using the steps in the following topic rather than continuing with this guide:

    Preparation Guide For Use Before Using Malware Removal Tools and Requesting Help Topic

    If TDSSKiller requires you to reboot, please allow it to do so. After you reboot, reboot back into Safe Mode with Networking again.

  7. At this point you should download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, or MBAM, to scan your computer for any any infections or adware that may be present. Please download Malwarebytes from the following location and save it to your desktop:

    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Download Link (Download page will open in a new window)

  8. Once downloaded, close all programs and Windows on your computer, including this one.

  9. Double-click on the icon on your desktop named mb3-setup-1878.1878-3.0.6.1469.exe. This will start the installation of MBAM onto your computer.

  10. 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 you leave Launch Malwarebytes Anti-Malware checked. Then click on the Finish button. If MalwareBytes prompts you to reboot, please do not do so.

  11. MBAM will now start and you will be at the main screen as shown below.



    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware


    Please click on the Scan Now button to start the scan. If there is an update available for Malwarebytes it will automatically download and install it before performing the scan.

  12. MBAM will now start scanning your computer for malware. This process can take quite a while, so we suggest you do something else and periodically check on the status of the scan to see when it is finished.



    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware


  13. When MBAM is finished scanning it will display a screen that displays any malware that it has detected. Please note that the infections found may be different than what is shown in the image below due to the guide being updated for newer versions of MBAM.


    MalwareBytes Scan Results


    You should now click on the Remove Selected button to remove all the seleted malware. MBAM will now delete all of the files and registry keys and add them to the programs quarantine. When removing the files, MBAM may require a reboot in order to remove some of them. If it displays a message stating that it needs to reboot, please allow it to do so. Once your computer has rebooted, and you are logged in, please continue with the rest of the steps.

  14. You can now exit the MBAM program. If Malwarebytes did not prompt you to reboot your computer, please do so that you are back in normal mode.

  15. As many rogues and other malware are installed through vulnerabilities found in out-dated and insecure programs, it is strongly suggested that you use Secunia PSI to scan for vulnerable programs on your computer. A tutorial on how to use Secunia PSI to scan for vulnerable programs can be found here:

    How to detect vulnerable and out-dated programs using Secunia Personal Software Inspector

 

Your computer should now be free of the Win 7 Home Security 2012 program. If your current anti-virus solution let this infection through, you may want to consider purchasing the PRO version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to protect against these types of threats in the future.

View Associated Win 7 Home Security 2012 Files

%AllUsersProfile%\<random characters> %Temp%\<random characters> %LocalAppData%\<random characters> %LocalAppData%\<random 3 characters>.exe %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Templates\<random characters>

File Location Notes:

%Temp% refers to the Windows Temp folder. By default, this is C:\Windows\Temp for Windows 95/98/ME, C:\DOCUMENTS AND SETTINGS\<Current User>\LOCAL SETTINGS\Temp for Windows 2000/XP, and C:\Users\<Current User>\AppData\Local\Temp in Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.

%AllUsersProfile% refers to the All Users Profile folder. By default, this is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users for Windows 2000/XP and C:\ProgramData\ for Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.

%AppData% refers to the current users Application Data folder. By default, this is C:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\Application Data for Windows 2000/XP. For Windows Vista and Windows 7 it is C:\Users\<Current User>\AppData\Roaming.

%LocalAppData% refers to the current users Local settings Application Data folder. By default, this is C:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\Local Settings\Application Data for Windows 2000/XP. For Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 it is C:\Users\<Current User>\AppData\Local.

View Associated Win 7 Home Security 2012 Registry Information

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\.exe "(Default)" = 'ah' HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\.exe\shell\open\command "(Default)" = "%LocalAppData%\<random 3 chars>.exe" -a "%1" %* HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ah HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\ah "(Default)" = 'Application' HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\ah "Content Type" = 'application/x-msdownload' HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\ah\DefaultIcon "(Default)" = '%1' HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\ah\shell\open\command "(Default)" = "%LocalAppData%\<random 3 chars>.exe" -a "%1" %* HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.exe\shell\open\command "(Default)" = "%LocalAppData%\<random 3 chars>.exe" -a "%1" %* HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ah\shell\open\command "(Default)" = "%LocalAppData%\<random 3 chars>.exe" -a "%1" %* HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ah\shell\open\command "IsolatedCommand"

This is a self-help guide. Use at your own risk.

BleepingComputer.com can not be held responsible for problems that may occur by using this information. If you would like help with any of these fixes, you can ask for malware removal assistance in our Virus,Trojan,Spyware, and Malware Removal Logs forum.

If you have any questions about this self-help guide then please post those questions in our Am I infected? What do I do? and someone will help you.

search guides

Login