Vista Security Center: Fuck off.

[Loyal]

In the newest automatic update, Vista's security system has suddenly decided that my version of its antivirus software is unregistered, incomplete, and I need to upgrade (see: Pay it to keep doing what it already claimed to be doing up till now). Under normal circumstances I'd simply decline and go about like normal, but NOPE ANTIVIRUS VISTA AIN'T HAVING THAT SHIT. Every time I close the window it comes right back up in seconds. Clicking on damn near ANYTHING in the security center brings up the dialog to pay for the upgrade. All options are greyed out and trying to access any facet of window's security brings me to the Antivirus center.

The only thing I can do right now is ignore the offending windows (all three of them) and quietly try to ignore them... which works for about an hour or so, until it puts focus back on itself or something and interrupts my gaming once again.

I need some help disabling the software or doing SOMETHING to keep it from pestering me. For the service it claims to intend to provide, I have never encountered a virus as obnoxious and persistent as this digital snake oil Vista's trying to push on me.

Also, if anyone else is having this problem, or knows of it and has relevant links, I'd like to know of them.

[Seil]

Does this help at all?

[Loyal]

Not really. It's completely unrelated to my problem, I'm afraid.

I'll provide pictures:



Here is the 'main' screen for the security center. Clicking on any of the four options outlined in red brings me to...



From here, there's very little of anything I can do. Most of the tabs don't do anything but tell me how messed up my computer supposedly is, but some of them have the 'courtesy' to tell me that if I upgrade now it won't be a problem anymore. Any of the links in the red boxes leads to the following dialog box. Note that this isn't the only screen that leads to the dialog.



There isn't much of anything I can do here. "Manual activation" leads to a, presumably preassigned, keycode check.



Here we have the Configuration tab; Utterly useless as you can see.



Finally, these two windows pop up from time to time, unbidden and unhelpful, offering the usual. Declaring that I want the "attack" blocked brings me to the purchasing dialog box. "Stay Unprotected" offers me about an hour of relative peace before deciding that I've probably changed my mind and asking me again. Like with many other Microsoft system tools, there is not a "Never Ask Again" option.

[Professor Smarmiarty]

Wait- isn't that a virus that pretends to be a security system. Cause I'm fairly positive it is, and that's why it won't go away.
www.malwarebytes.org -download and run, it'll nuke that.

[akaSM]

I think Smarty is right, that seems to be a "new version" of this http://www.nuklearforums.com/showthread.php?t=37400

I know Vista's UAC is annoying but, it's not taht annoying

[Green Spanner]

I had the same thing. It's malware. It goes by loads of different names, but it is certainly malware.

It could not be more of a malware disguised (poorly) as a security thing if it tried.

Just be careful. When I got it, it opened the floodgates to fucktons of viruses and malware, which eventually led to me having to wipe my computer.

But yeah, Malwarebytes should do the trick.

[Geminex]

Yeah, I got something similar a while ago. Almost certainly a virus, particularly since this is the only case I've heard of so far, and it doesn't let you disable it.

[stefan]

first virus I ever got on my computer was a version of this that was so goddamn virulent it actually changed the desktop background into a recommendation to turn their software on.

[bluestarultor]

Yeah, Loyal? Even if it's not a virus, you might want to invest in a copy of AVG Free Edition. And yes, this is what the AVG site directed to, but it's CNET, so it's safe anyway.

[synkr0nized]

Originally Posted by akaSM

I think Smarty is right, that seems to be a "new version" of this http://www.nuklearforums.com/showthread.php?t=37400

That's exactly what it is -- the Vista version. There are numerous guides to remove it, and the first step is definitely to kill the related processes and run MBAM, Spyware Doctor, or whatever you prefer that can target this malware.


While it does not help you currently, Loyal, for future reference there is no Vista/other version of Windows -branded anti virus software. Microsoft has a built-in firewall, rudimentary as it may be compared to others, and offers monthly malware removal tools but has yet to offer an anti-virus program. Free solutions include Avira, AVG, and Avast!, for example. Sometimes ISPs offer a package to download that you'd normally have to pay for (e.g.: Comcast used to have a deal with McAfee to get their security center for free; they have now switched to Norton).

For what it's worth, I prefer to run Avira for my antivirus needs and COMODO for my firewall and its Defense+.