How to Remove the Red Wallpaper Virus

The Red Wallpaper Virus is another name for Spy Sheriff Adware. Some variations of Spy Sheriff Adware will turn your computer's wallpaper red. Spy Sheriff is a program that promises to detect and remove Spyware, but it will display a number of advertisements on your computer and send information regarding your actions to a remote server without your permission. The adware will also exaggerate the threat on your computer to encourage you to buy a version of the software.

Instructions

1. Manually uninstall the Spy Sheriff application by selecting Start and then Control Panel on your computer. Then choose the "Add/Remove programs" application and select "Spy Sheriff" from the drop down menu followed by the "Uninstall" menu button.

2. Close the "Add/Remove Programs" program and open your computer's DOS prompt by selecting "Start" and typing "command' in the search text box.

3. Open the registry editor by typing "regedit" at the DOS prompt followed by the "enter" key on your keyboard.

4. Find the following registry keys by selecting Edit>Find from the registry editor's main menu. Enter each key individually followed by the "enter" key. If the key is returned, single left click the result and depress the "delete" key. The registry keys to find and delete are:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SpySheriff
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SNO2
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\SpySheriff
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\"SpySheriff" = "%ProgramFiles%\SpySheriff\SpySheriff.exe"

5. Reboot your computer and run a full scan of your computer's local drives with your antivirus software. The red wall paper virus will now be removed.

References

• McAfee Forum Information on the Red Wallpaper Virus
• McAfee Information on Spy Sheriff Adware
• Norton Information on Spy Sheriff Adware

Resources

• How to Modify Registry Entries
• Five Steps to Protecting Your Computer Against Malware