How to remove Pest Patrol a Rogue Anti-Spyware

It is important that you do not confuse Pest Patrol with eTrust PestPatrol, which is a reputable anti-spyware program. The one this article is about is a rogue anti-spyware program that goes by the same name. There are many fake anti-spyware programs on the Internet. They claim to protect your computer from spyware and malware, when in fact they don’t protect your computer at all. The goal of programs like these is to get your money. They do this by running fake scans on your computer and displaying fake warnings that your system is infected with spyware. Then, pop-up ads appear urging you to purchase the full version of the program in order to remove the supposed threat your computer is facing. Most likely, the threat does not exist. Most likely, the only annoyance on your system is rogue anti-spyware, in this case, Pest Patrol.

If Pest Patrol is installed on your computer, one of the first things you’ll notice is what looks like a Windows notification balloon showing you that your computer is under attack. The notification usually says something like “Pest Patrol Alert” at the top. He follows the text “Infiltration alert” with a description of the pest that is supposed to be attacking his computer. It almost always asks if you want Pest Patrol to block the attack. Clicking “Yes” will take you to the Pest Patrol home page, where you will be asked to purchase the full version of the program. Along with notifications like these, you’ll also notice pop-ups that look like virus or spyware scan windows. These windows are designed to look like the real pop-up scans you might receive from a popular antivirus program. These fake scans will warn you that you have a lot of infections waiting to be fixed on your computer.

You may also notice that your computer is running much slower. This is because programs like Pest Patrol start running from the moment you turn on your computer to the moment you turn it off. Pest Patrol uses the resources of your computer, which slows it down and therefore slows you down. You can try to disable Pest Patrol using the Ctrl-Alt-Del utility, but many times this only helps temporarily.

Choosing a program like Pest Patrol can be quite easy. It is usually associated with Zlob and Vundo Trojans, and is often disguised as a video codec. In most cases, the website you visit installs it automatically. It wasn’t that long ago that most web browsers automatically installed any software that pointed them to a web page, and many people still use their browsers with this setting turned on. You may have also gotten Pest Patrol by downloading another program that had Pest Patrol attached to it.

If you have Pest Patrol on your computer and want to uninstall it, you have two options to accomplish this. The first and best option is to remove it automatically with a reputable program that is designed to remove spyware, adware, malware, and rogue programs like Pest Patrol. The second is that you can remove it manually. Please note that removing a program like Pest Patrol can be dangerous if you don’t know what you are doing. This will involve editing your computer’s registry. If you make a mistake and remove the wrong entry, your computer may become unbootable. Back up your computer files and registry before you begin. If you feel you are up to the task, start by stopping the process first:

Pest-Patrol.exe

Delete registry entries:

HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwarePest-Patrol

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTCLSID{56FA7933-DC3E-403b-8D47-BB5E3F345A21}

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTCLSID{8499C835-DEFD-267E-3DCE-D3832CC3F983}

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTInterface{967A494A-6AEC-4555-9CAF-FA6EB00ACF91}

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTTypeLib{A8954909-1F0F-41A5-A7FA-3B376D69E226}

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTIEWarning.WarningBHO

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionApp PathsPest-Patrol.exe

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerBrowser Helper Objects{56FA7933-DC3E-403b-8D47-BB5E3F345A21}

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionUninstallPest-Patrol

HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun “Pest-Patrol”

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesSharedAccessParametersFirewallPolicyStandardProfileAuthorizedApplicationsList “C:Program FilesPest-PatrolPest-Patrol.exe”

Delete files:

c:Program FilesPest-Patrol

c:Program FilesPest-PatrolIEWarning.dll

c:Program FilesPest-PatrolPest-Patrol.exe

c:Program FilesPest-Patroluninst.exe

c:Documents and SettingsforensicsDesktopPest-Patrol 2.1.0.lnk

c:Documents and SettingsForensicsStart MenuPest-Patrol 2.1.0.lnk

c:Documents and SettingsForensicsStart MenuProgramsPest-Patrol 2.1.0

c:Documents and SettingsForensicsStart MenuProgramsPest-Patrol 2.1.0Pest-Patrol 2.1.0.lnk

c:Documents and SettingsforensicsApplication DataMicrosoftInternet ExplorerQuick LaunchPest-Patrol 2.1.0.lnk

If this seems too challenging for you, it would be best to use a reputable anti-spyware program to automatically remove Pest Patrol.