Windows Cleaning Tools

Don’t put your trust in programs like Windows Cleaning Tools. Yes, it may look like a perfectly functional antivirus program, and those alerts it keeps showing you are probably pretty alarming. But none of it is based on reality. Windows Cleaning Tools, along with the hundreds of malicious programs like it, has absolutely no real function. All those flashy graphics and warnings are done for show, so keep your credit card far away.

Windows Cleaning Tools makes its way around the net as a trojan, usually attached to misleading downloads. You probably didn’t even realize you were installing it. But now that you have it, it’s not going to go away until you do something about it—and no, the Add/Remove Programs wizard in your Control Panel does not work for junk like this.

Want to make your computer happy again? Follow these steps to get rid of Windows Cleaning Tools for free.

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Stop Windows Cleaning Tools processes:

Protector-fmy.exe

Delete Windows Cleaning Tools files:

%StartMenu%ProgramsWindows Smart Warden.lnk
%AppData%NPSWF32.dll
%AppData%result.db
%Desktop%Windows Smart Warden.lnk

Delete Registry entries:

HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionInternet Settings “WarnOnHTTPSToHTTPRedirect” = 0
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesSystem “DisableRegedit” = 0
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesSystem “DisableRegistryTools” = 0
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesSystem “DisableTaskMgr” = 0
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun “Inspector”
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionSettings “ID” = 4
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionSettings “net” = 2012-2-20_1
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionImage File Execution OptionsashLogV.exe
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionImage File Execution Optionsavgnt.exe
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionImage File Execution Optionscfplogvw.exe
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionImage File Execution Optionsfsav32.exe
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionImage File Execution Optionsluall.exe
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionImage File Execution Optionsnorton_internet_secu_3.0_407.exe
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionImage File Execution Optionsnotstart.exe
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionImage File Execution Optionsproport.exe
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionImage File Execution Optionsss3edit.exe
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionImage File Execution Optionswatchdog.exe
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionImage File Execution Optionsxpf202en.exe

DIY Windows Cleaning Tools Removal Instructions

Start by removing the above files. If you're not sure how to do this, refer to the instructions below.

Note: In any files I mention above, “%UserProfile%” is a variable referring to your current user’s profile folder. (Not an iEuphemism for muth@fugg@#*!@.) So if you’re using Windows NT/2000/XP/7, by default this is “C:\Documents and Settings\[CURRENT USER]” (e.g., “C:\Documents and Settings\NoahFence”).

How to Manually Delete Badware Files

Need some removing badware files help? No biggie. While you should only manually delete badware files if you're comfy editing your system, you'll find it's pretty easy. And probably really satisfying.

How to delete badware files in Windows XP/Vista/7:

1. Click your Windows Start menu, then click "Search."
2. A pop up will ask, "What do you want to search for?" Click "All files and folders."
3. Type a badware file in the search box, and select "Local Hard Drives."
4. Click "Search." Once the badware file is found, delete it.

How to stop badware processes:

1. Click the Start menu, select Run.
2. Type taskmgr.exe into the the Run command box, and click "OK." You can also launch the Task Manager by pressing keys CTRL + Shift + ESC.
3. Click Processes tab, and find badware processes.
4. Once you've found the badware processes, right-click them and select "End Process" to kill badware.

How to remove badware registry keys:

Backup your registry before you edit it. Then...

1. Click the Start menu, and click "Run." An "Open" field will appear. Type "regedit" and click "OK " to open up your Registry Editor. In Windows 7, just type "regedit" into the "Search programs and files" box in the Start menu.
2. Registry Editor opens as a two-paned window: the left side lets you select registry keys,the right side shows the values of any selected registry key.
3. To find a badware registry key, select "Edit," then select "Find," and in the search bar type any of badware 's registry keys.
4. When the badware registry key appears, to delete the badware registry key, right-click it, and select "Modify," then select "Delete."

How to delete badware DLLs:

1. Open the Start menu, and click "Run." Type "cmd" in Run, and click "OK." (In Windows 7, just type "regedit" into the "Search programs and files" box in the Start menu.)
2. To change your current directory, type "cd" in the command box, press "Space," and enter the full directory where the badware DLL is located. If you're not sure where the badware DLL is located, enter "dir" in the command box to display a directory's contents. To go one directory back, type "cd .." in the command box and press "Enter."
3. When you've found a badware DLL, type "regsvr32 /u SampleDLLName.dll" (e.g., "regsvr32 /u jl27script.dll") and press "Enter."

That's it. If you want to restore any badware DLL you removed, type "regsvr32 DLLJustDeleted.dll" (e.g., "regsvr32 jl27script.dll") into your command box, and press "Enter."

Did badware change your homepage?

1. Select Start menu > Control Panel > Internet Options > General.
2. Type your preferred home page's URL.
3. Click "Use Default," "Apply," and "OK."