What is Xp internet security 2011 and how do I remove it from my computer?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the XP Internet Security 2011, which participants describe as a virus or malware affecting their computers. The conversation includes inquiries about its nature, removal strategies, and the effectiveness of various antivirus programs, particularly McAfee and Microsoft Security Essentials. Participants share personal experiences and suggest tools for removal, while expressing concerns about the reliability of their current security software.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Homework-related
  • Experimental/applied

Main Points Raised

  • One participant describes their computer being taken over by XP Internet Security 2011 and questions whether it is spyware, seeking advice on removal.
  • Another participant suggests it is a virus and mentions finding removal instructions online.
  • A participant criticizes McAfee, claiming it failed to detect the virus and suggesting that users should consider switching to another antivirus provider.
  • Some participants share their experiences with the virus, noting that it can appear under different names and can disable antivirus programs like Microsoft Security Essentials.
  • ComboFix is recommended by some as a tool that successfully removed the virus for them, while others express skepticism about its effectiveness.
  • There are discussions about the potential need to format the computer or use recovery disks as a last resort for virus removal.
  • Participants express differing opinions on the effectiveness of Microsoft Security Essentials, with some stating it worked for them while others report it failed to detect the virus.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the best method for removing XP Internet Security 2011, with multiple competing views on the effectiveness of antivirus programs and removal techniques. There is a general agreement that McAfee may not be reliable, but opinions vary on alternative solutions.

Contextual Notes

Some participants mention that the virus can hide and reappear, complicating detection and removal efforts. There are also concerns about the potential risks of backing up files before a clean installation, as the virus may reside in those files.

yungman
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My computer is taking over by the XP Internet Security 2011. I cannot get onto the web. I have Mcafee internet, firewall and virus protection and it does not detect anything. WHat is this? Is this a spyware? What do I have to do to remove it or fix it. What do I have to watch out?


Anyone use 2-Spyware.com?
THanks

Alan
 
Computer science news on Phys.org
It sounds like a virus.

A quick Google confirms this and provides instructions for removal.
 
yungman said:
I have Mcafee internet, firewall and virus protection

That's your problem.

From whatever computer you used to post this do what JnJ said and google it.
 
I had the same virus, with a different name. It seems to come in many different names and appearances.
The virus would run at random times and terminate the Microsoft antivirus, task manager, and other programs whenever I tried to run them.
We used a program called ComboFix to remove it. After running, ComboFix quarantined the virus to C:\Qoobox.

http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/Threat/Encyclopedia/Entry.aspx?Name=Win32/FakeRean
XP Security 2011 is in the list of names the trojan takes on.
 
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Thanks for the replies. Can someone give me a link to a free clean up program.


BTW, what's wrong with McAfee? should I change to another provider?
 
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BTW, what's wrong with McAfee?
Sorry, but I have a very strong dislike of McAfee. I used it for about 6 months.

At the beginning, everything worked great, it did it's daily scans, didn't find anything; I thought all was well.

About 3 months into using it, it developed a strange glitch. Every time I opened the window, all that would show would be a white box with the Windows GUI overlay. Even when I right clicked the task tray icon, it would just show a white box. I spent a couple days on the problem and a couple hours with customer support but to no avail the problem persisted. Even if I had been able to fix the problem the damage was done.

From there I went to AVG, when I ran the first scan, it flagged some suspicious files McAfee hadn't noticed and got rid of them accordingly.

To sum it up, even when McAfee is working, it really isn't working and when it isn't working, it's not working for good.

should I change to another provider?
Yes, I suggest Microsoft Security Essentials. It comes free with a legitimate Windows installation (even if it's not legit I know there are ways around it o:) ). It is not too extreme, but will find the files if they are there and it works well in the background.

A lot of people will say that since it is made by Microsoft it is the first thing that hackers target since it is going to cover such a large user base. While I do admit that this idea is valid, I don't think it should be a cause for concern. Any virus that can get through MSE is going to get through all the other mainstream providers and as long as you keep your wits about you when using the internet (read: don't try to open up an exe file when you downloaded a movie [people complain about that lots]) you should be fine.
 
KrisOhn said:
Sorry, but I have a very strong dislike of McAfee.

I'll second that.

AVG is the best free one I've come across.

Everytime I've seen McAfee so far it's been on a computer with a virus - and McAfee has been taken over and reporting all is fine!
 
Thanks guys

I guess I am going to go away from McAfee!
 
Yes the MS Security Essential seems to do the job. I am using the infected computer to do this right now. Thanks Krisohn. You are of big help.
 
  • #10
yungman said:
Yes the MS Security Essential seems to do the job. I am using the infected computer to do this right now.
:rolleyes:

When I tried that, it didn't work. I thought it did, but the virus simply hid and came back later. The virus is already in your system, so it may not work. I scanned my computer and found nothing, but it was still there.
Whenever the virus would run, it would terminate MSE. In the history for MSE was three or four instances where MSE detected the virus, but the virus prevented MSE from stopping it.

On your computer, if MSE shows up "no viruses detected" then it's not working.
If MSE detects the virus and removes it, then it's working.
 
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  • #11
My preferred malware removal technique is:
Code: 
format c:
 
  • #12
jhae2.718 said:
My preferred malware removal technique is:
Code: 
format c:

Mine is to build on that technique by following the command with a Linux installation.
 
  • #13
So what should I look out for?

Should I just recover the computer with the recovery disk came with it?
 
  • #14
yungman said:
Should I just recover the computer with the recovery disk came with it?

That is ideal, but not necessary if you don't want to.

A manual removal of any virus is harder than a virus scanner doing it, but if the virus scanner doesn't detect it, it is possible.
 
  • #15
Well, reinstalling the OS would work, if you don't backup your stuff and put it on the new installation. We were about to do that, and I started copying the My Documents folder and other stuff.
We found ComboFix, removed the virus, and abandoned the fresh-os-install idea.
I found out later that the virus exe had been in the My Documents folder, so if we had continued the new installation and put the backed-up stuff on it it probably would have the same problem. The virus has its files in multiple locations.

Here is one place to download ComboFix:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/anti-virus/combofix
You may want to do some Googling to read up on it.

Various sites say that it wasn't intended for "the average user", but how I remember it we put it on a USB drive, plugged it into my infected computer, ran ComboFix.exe and *poof* FakeRean gone.

Note that the person helping me told me "don't do anything" after double-clicking on ComboFix.exe. So I recommend to not click, press buttons, or anything while its running, or it might mess up. But I don't really know.
 
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  • #16
jarednjames said:
Mine is to build on that technique by following the command with a Linux installation.

I as well.
 
  • #17
FtlIsAwesome said:
:rolleyes:

When I tried that, it didn't work. I thought it did, but the virus simply hid and came back later. The virus is already in your system, so it may not work. I scanned my computer and found nothing, but it was still there.
Whenever the virus would run, it would terminate MSE. In the history for MSE was three or four instances where MSE detected the virus, but the virus prevented MSE from stopping it.

On your computer, if MSE shows up "no viruses detected" then it's not working.
If MSE detects the virus and removes it, then it's working.

It did say it found the trojan virus and removed it.
 
  • #18
yungman said:
It did say it found the trojan virus and removed it.
Ok, glad it worked. It didn't work for me, hmm.
 

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