In many situations, if you have a reputable antivirus program installeld, you already have all of the anti-virus protection you’ll need. Norton and Symantec both include anti-spyware detection, as do freeware and shareware applications, such as AVG Antivirus. When this is enabled on those applications, your computer will be regularly scanned and protected against visures, trojans, and all manner of malware.

Be very wary of a website that opens a window telling you that you need to install some sort of spyware or antivirus because your system is infected. More often than not, a site that does this is trying to install malcious content of their own, and should be avoided.

As far as installing instances of anti-spyware goes. It is possible to do so, but you would suffer twice the system degradation as double the resources would be required for the program to run in the background. Another problem you may encounter is that the two applications would interfere with each other, perhaps to the point of becoming a serious nuisance, as they battled for supremacy on your computer.

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Is It OK To Run Multiple Anti-Spyware Programs?

AntiVirXP08 is a nasty trojan that is commonly downloaded as trojan included as part of a video codec.  An unsuspecting user downloads the codec, such as DivX, from what appears to be a dependable site, and AntiVir XP 08 installs itself as part of the codec installation. It then hijacks your computer, duplicates itself throughout the system, and things start to go wild.  First, a window pops up, informing you that you system appears to be infected, and the window appears to be a Vista or XP antivirus program.  It then informs you that in order to remove the program, you must register the software.  All the while, windows are popping up all over your screen, your wallpaper turns into a glaring rendition of the symbol for radiation, and access to the control panel and administrative services are cut off.  All the while, the anti virus window is calmly telling you what you’ve contracted, and offering to remove the problem if only you’ll register the program.  As fast as you can close popup windows, more open, filling your screen with virus notices and warnings that (duh) your system is infected.

Real antivirus software  can prevent this trojan from gaining complete control of your system if it is installed prior to the infection, in most cases.  If you happen to get caught without your antivirus software running, you can still fight back, but it requires a relatively lengthy process.  You’ll have to remove some registry entries, and delete a number of files, but it’s possible, and may be your only realistic option.  We know of one person caught unprepared who resorted to reformatting their hard drive to remove this baby, but a solution such as that should really be considered only as a last resort.  In the end, having a reputable antivirus program already installed is the best solution, as this program relies on people being unwary and unprepared.

If you are determined to do it yourself, there is a complete list of instructions for the various tasks to be found at the following URL:

http://www.xp-vista.com/spyware-removal/antivirxp08-anti-vir-xp-08-removal-instructions

In all, there may be upwards of 50 different files to delete, although once the registry entries have been removed, you should be able to install or enable an anti virus program, which can more quickly and efficiently solve your problem.  We haven’t tested all of the antivirus applications on the market, but have seen excellent results using AVG antivirus, once the infection had been deactivated through removal from the system registry.  Since the task manager is disabled during the infection process, the do-it-yourselfers will have to begin things by running TASKMGR.EXE from the START >> RUN command.

Unregister AntiVirXP08 DLL Files:
%ProgramFiles%[RANDOM NAME]MFC71.dll
%ProgramFiles%[RANDOM NAME]MFC71ENU.DLL
%ProgramFiles%[RANDOM NAME]msvcp71.dll
%ProgramFiles%[RANDOM NAME]msvcr71.dll
%ProgramFiles%[RANDOM NAME]shlwapi.dll
%ProgramFiles%[RANDOM NAME]wininet.dll

Stop AntiVirXP08 Processes:
Antvrs.exe
AntiVirXP08.exe

Find and Delete these AntiVirXP08:
AntiVirXP08.exe
Uninstall AntiVirXP08.lnk
%ProgramFiles%[RANDOM NAME]MFC71.dll
%ProgramFiles%[RANDOM NAME]MFC71ENU.DLL
%ProgramFiles%[RANDOM NAME]msvcp71.dll
%ProgramFiles%[RANDOM NAME]msvcr71.dll
%ProgramFiles%[RANDOM NAME]shlwapi.dll
%ProgramFiles%[RANDOM NAME]wininet.dll
%UserProfile%Application DataMicrosoftInternet ExplorerQuick LaunchAntivirus XP 2008.lnk
C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersDesktopAntivirus XP 2008.lnk
C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersStart MenuProgramsAntivirus XP 2008Antivirus XP 2008.lnk
C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersStart MenuProgramsAntivirus XP 2008How to Register Antivirus XP 2008.lnk
C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersStart MenuProgramsAntivirus XP 2008License Agreement.lnk
C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersStart MenuProgramsAntivirus XP 2008Register Antivirus XP 2008.lnk
C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersStart MenuProgramsAntivirus XP 2008Uninstall.lnk
C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersStart MenuProgramsAntivirus XP 2008.lnk %ProgramFiles%[RANDOM NAME]database.dat

Remove AntiVirXP08 Registry Values:
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareAntivirus
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREAntivirus
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun”Antivirus” = “%ProgramFiles%AntiVirXP08Antvrs.exe”

Removal instructions additional if above doesnt work

Find folder C:windowssystem32wbem, inside this folder identify the repository folder and delete only this folder (the repository folder) from your computer.  Use msconfig to remove any weird startup items such as burrito.

In Administrative Tools find Windows Management Instrumentation service again, and re-start the service by right clicking mouse and pressing start from dropdown list. Restarting this service re-builds the repository folder database on your computer, which should now only contain information about your currently installed antivirus & firewall programs.

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Removal instructions for antivirxp08

Someone asked me, “What’s the difference between retail and corporate antivirus software?” the other day.  After I looked into it, I came back with a couple of major variations between the two.

Retail applications, antivirus software included, are designed for isolated users.  A retail antiviral application is installed on one computer, and ignores any other nodes on the network, in most instances.  It doesn’t attempt to search beyond the limits of the computer it is first used on, in simple speak.  For this type of package, everything connected to the computer is regarded as a possible hazard, and treated as an outside influence.

The corporate version, on the other hand, is specifically designed with networks in mind.  It can usually be installed from a single location, and then propagate throughout the network.  This expands the protection to most or all of the nodes on the network, offering far greater protection for much larger groups of computers.  System administrators are able to make configuration changes at the local, or server level, and those changes are then applied globally on the network, keeping the all nodes equally covered by the latest virus definitions and software updates without physically applying them to each computer.

Another major difference is that retail packages have value-added features, commonly referred to as “bells and whistles”.  While the home user may be impressed by these largely cosmetic enhancements, administrators may find them to be an inconvenience, or even completely counter-productive for the organization.  In a corporate environment, a streamlined, easy to use application is much more desirable than one which requires configuration of many unwieldy aspects that provide little or no additional protection.

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Retail antivirus VS Corporate antivirus

There’s not much of a question here.  Free scanners are an excellent fast and available way to detect a virus if you’re short on time and money.  They are not, however, ideally suited for use over networks, nor can they be depended on to efficiently solve a problem when infections occur.

Free virus software, particularly the online versions, are always current.  If you suspect a virus, and your company’s virus protection seems oblivious t it, these may be your first line of defense.  But they are not a substitute for a full featured commercial product, simply by virtue of their cost.  Manufacturers use online scanners and free downloadable versions as an enticement to potential customers.

Use the free version.  Explore what it can do for you and your company, and decide how well the interface interfaces with your personal usage needs.  And once you have found the product that seems to most closely work for the uses you have for it, buy the commercial product.  In case of a problem, the customer support associated with the commercial product may be worth the cost of buying.  There are thousands of dollars and hundreds of man-hours involved in making a network function, and that’s much more than anyone should entrust to an internet “freebie”.

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Why businesses should not use free antivirus

There are many different free online virus scanners.  Two advantages to using them is that you’ll always be using the latest virus update, and your copy of the software is not in danger of being corrupted if you should happen to get a virus.  I will look briefly look at 4 of the more popular versions, and give you my thoughts.

Mcafee FreeScan
McAfee is the best known company on the list, and you can get latest virus information on the newest viusses while you are at their site.  The free online scanner only works with Internet Explorer, though.  Navigating this site can be difficult, which could make it a real problem for a novice user with an infected computer, with no idea what to do.  Another site which linked to the free scanner was found at:  http://www.pcpitstop.com/freescan/FreeScan_EULA_Page.asp

Trend Micro
This site is easy to navigate, and takes you immediately to the start page where a compatibility check is performed.  You may have  to download a kernel for use with the online scanner, but it only takes a moment to get, and then you’re on your way.

In addition to Microsoft IE, Housecall works with Mozilla Firefox.  It also crosses operating systems, as it works in Windows, Linux, and Solaris as well as a Macintosh (running PowerPC and using Firefox).  The link to this site is:

http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

RAV antivirus
RAV is alone in that it will allow you to scan a single file, rather than your whole system.  Perhaps moreso than any of the other choices, RAV can be indispensible for checking downloaded files, or newly acquired disks, because of it’s ability to be so narrowly aimed at a specific location or file.

http://www.ravantivirus.com/scan/

Panda
ActiveScan is touted as the forerunner and industry leader in finding and removing rootkits, one of the newest and more intelligent version of malware prowling the internet.  As with Trend Mirco’s online scanner, this one works fine for both Internet Explorer and Firefox.  It is available by visiting:
http://www.infectedornot.com

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Free online virus scanners