Spyware Cleaner 2009 – Fake

This post was written by admin on April 30, 2009
Posted Under: Free PC Security, Scareware

Spyware Cleaner 2009 is being peddled on all of the major download sites as being 'spyware and adware free' and the download and scan is free but you can purchase this junk for less than $20 USD.

Simply by downloading and running the free scan you will get a free Keylogger installed as well as a number of Trojans!

This is a Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP) that leaves users at risk of infecting their computers and also of Identity Theft and Fraud.

Sites that are promoting this as a genuine and safe download include softpedia.com, download.cnet.com, downloads.zdnet.com, topsofts.com and brothersoft.com as well as share-best.com which is the vendors homepage.

I downloaded this after coming across it and finding screenshots that didn't look too good.

I use a sandbox to test such programs and this was downloaded onto a clean machine which had been wiped and reinstalled, temp files removed, registry cleaned manually and checked for any form of malware, spyware, rootkits and cookies using a variety of applications.

The results all came back clean as was expected.

So I proceeded with the download from the vendors site, which uses Digital River to download the installer and also creates a new folder on users machines called 'Downloads'.

I ran the installer in a sandbox, which is a virtual environment. followed the prompts and then selected my C Drive for scanning.

The program did not do that, it decided to scan ALL drives and NOT my selection, so I decided to let it run and see what it would find.

Rootkits, Password Stealers, Backdoor Trojans, Worms and a host of other malware which does not exist and at the end of the scan users are prompted to purchase the program.

This is what it found after 3 hours of scanning:
Adware x 1, Rootkits x 6, Trojans x 43, Worms x 7

But if users download and run this their machine WILL be compromised with malware and then they will be prompted to PAY TO INFECT THEIR PC!

Save your money, use reputable software that will scan for malware for FREE such as Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and Superantispyware.

Both have excellent ratings and detection rates and use both as the definitions vary with each, but will remove many Trojans, Worms, Dialers, Rootkits and more at no cost to you.

Which would you choose? A free download from reputable companies that works or purchase a fake program that WILL infect your PC?