A-Squared 4.5 Free

This post was written by admin on October 20, 2009
Posted Under: Free PC Security, Malware Removal, Portable Tools, Rootkits

A-Squared Free is a malware remover from Emsisoft which can add to a layered approach to pc security and is frequently under-rated, largely because of its large download size and slow updates.

As malware evolves, the creators are using uninstallers targeted at removing Malwarebytes if it is installed on the users system. The rogue applications can also block web access and security programs. The problem is not the rogue program that users have downloaded but what is bundled with it, frequently browser hijackers and rootkits.

There are three versions of this program, a portable USB Stick version, an installer version and a Command Line version for more experienced users.

The installer, USB and Command Line versions are over 60MB in download size and then there are the updates after installation, which makes it quite a heavyweight application.

Having said that, it is also very good at finding malware and rootkits. The interface is identical on both the installer and USB Stick version and once installed the program prompts users to check for updates.

Once completed the user interface opens and users should first go to the Configuration panel by clicking the tab on the left.

There is a choice of languages and generally the configuration can be left as it is.

The Scan PC tab has four scanning options: Quick, Smart, Deep, and Custom. Quick Scan is the fastest and most superficial and also the least effective when looking for malware. It will find rogue programs but to find the Trojans and Rootkits a Deep Scan performs much better but can also be quite lengthy.

The Deep Scan will scan all drives and I chose to perform a Custom Scan after installing malware and rogue programs and also ticked the 'Heuristic scan for unknown malware'. When making changes users can save the settings and therefore customize scans to suit their needs.

I had previously performed a Quick Scan which found the rogue programs that I had installed, but not the Trojans. The Deep Scan found much more including TDSS and Backdoor Trojans.

Users have the option to Quarantine infected objects or Delete them. For most users, Quarantine will be the preferred option, especially if they are uncertain as to what they are removing. Selecting Delete should be used with extreme caution.

Once my scan had finished I chose to delete the objects found and also to save a logfile. The program did inform me that it could not remove some traces of Windows Police Pro and Antivirus Plus, but on looking deeper and checking the logfile, it did remove all of the associated installers, program files and registry entries, which was a little confusing.

I followed this with a quick scan with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware which found one further object that A-Squared had missed. That was removed and the machine rebooted and was back to being a clean machine with no malware.

In the case of Windows Police Pro it will add 'pump.exe' to the System32 folder and add 'svohost' as a new running process.

With many malware infections, the task manager can be a very useful tool and coupled with WinPatrol will give users greater control of changes made to their system. Through Task manager, running processes can be terminated, and WinPatrol will alert users to proposed changes to the system and enable users to revoke these changes.

Download a-squared Free Desktop version here

Download USB Stick Version here - Scroll down the page to a-squared Emergency USB Stick files

Download the Command Line Scanner here - Scroll down the page to a-squared Command Line Scanner 4.5

Operating Systems:Windows XP, 2003 Server, 2008 Server, Vista and Windows 7 with full support for 64Bit systems.