How to Get Windows XP Antivirus Off of Your Computer

Rogue anti-spyware programs have become more pervasive on the Internet. These programs are designed to look like a legitimate anti-spyware or antivirus program and attempt to convince you to buy the commercial version of the software to remove malware from your computer. If you choose to purchase the "fix" for your computer, the rogue software will then download additional spyware and computer viruses to your computer. XP Antivirus is one of the more common fake antivirus programs on the Internet and makes use of the Microsoft brand and XP operating system name in order to trick you.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Reboot your computer in Windows safe mode by depressing the "F8" keyboard function key during normal rebooting. Choose the "Windows Safe Mode With Networking Option" on the menu that is subsequently displayed on your computer.

2. Run a complete antivirus scan of your computer with your antivirus software. If you do not have antivirus software installed on your computer, purchase or download a trial version of a legitimate antivirus software program. Select the applicable menu option on your antivirus software to remove the infected files and programs discovered during the antivirus scan.

3. Restart your computer normally. Open the Windows Processes menu by pressing the "Ctrl," "Shift" and "Esc" keys at the same time. You should not see "XPAntivirus.exe" or "XPAntivirusUpdate.exe" listed in the active processes on your computer. If you do, you will need to repeat steps one and two to remove XP antivirus from your computer.

4. Verify that all files associated with XP Antivirus have been removed from your computer. Open Windows Explorer by depressing the "Windows" and "e" keys on your computer. Choose the "Search" menu option by right-clicking your local drive and left-clicking the "Search" menu choice. Enter "XPAntivirus.exe" followed by the "Enter" key. If you see any files, single left-click the file followed by the "Delete" key. Repeat these steps for the following files that are associated with XP Antivirus: XPAntivirusUpdate.exe, APAntivirus.ulr, wininet.dll and shlwapi.dll.

5. Ensure that all XP Antivirus registry entries have been removed from your computer's registry. Open the registry editor by choosing the "Start-->Run" menu from the computer's "Start" menu. Enter "Command" to open the DOS prompt. Input "Regedit" and press the "Enter" key. You will then enter "XP Antivirus" in the registry search field. If you have any registry entries returned, select and delete them.

6. Exit the registry editor and restart your computer. XP Antivirus should be removed from your computer.

References

• XP Antivirus 2009
• Microsoft's Information on Rogue Computer Spyware
• Modifying the Computer's Registry

Resources

• Norton Antivirus Home Page
• Norton Antivirus 2010 Review
• MalwareBytes Antivirus Program Home Page