It is important that you not confuse Pest Patrol with eTrust PestPatrol, which is a reputable anti-spyware program. The one that this article is concerned with is a rogue anti-spyware program using the same name. There are many rogue anti-spyware programs on the internet. They claim to protect your computer from spyware and malware, when they don’t actually protect your computer at all. The point of programs like these, is to get your money. They do this by running fake scans on your computer and showing false warnings that your system is infected with spyware. They then bring up pop-up ads urging you to purchase the full version of the program to remove the supposed threat that your computer faces. The threat is most likely non-existent. The only nuisance on your system is most likely the rogue anti-spyware, in this case Pest Patrol.
If Pest Patrol is installed on your computer, one of the first things you will notice is what looks like a windows notification balloon showing you that your computer is being attacked. The notification usually says something like “Pest Patrol Alert” at the top. It is followed by the text “Infiltration Alert” with a description of the pest that is supposed to be attacking your computer. It almost always asks you if you want Pest Patrol to block the attack. Clicking “Yes” will lead you to the Pest Patrol homepage where you will be asked to purchase the full version of the program. Along with notifications like these you will also notice pop up windows that look like virus or spyware scanning windows. These windows were designed to look just like authentic pop up window scans that you might receive from a well known anti-virus program. These fake scans will warn you that you have many infections just waiting to be fixed on your computer.
Your may also notice that your computer is running much slower. This is because programs like Pest Patrol begin running from the moment you turn your computer on until the moment you turn it off. Pest Patrol uses up your computer’s resources thus slowing it down and therefore slowing you down. You can try turning off Pest Patrol by using the Ctrl-Alt-Del utility, but often times this only helps temporarily.
Picking up a program like Pest Patrol can be quite easy. It is usually associated with the Zlob and Vundo Trojans, and it is often disguised as a video codec. In most cases, it is automatically installed by a website you visit. It wasn’t that long ago that most web browsers automatically installed any software that a web page told them to, 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 you want to uninstall it, you have two choices on how to accomplish this. The first and best choice is to remove it automatically with a good 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. Be warned that removing a program like Pest Patrol can be dangerous if you don’t know what you are doing. This will involve editing the registry of your computer. If you make a mistake and delete the wrong entry, your computer can become unbootable. Back up your computer’s files and your registry before you begin. If you feel that you are up to the task then begin 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 looks a bit too challenging to you, then you would be better off using a good reputable anti-spyware program to automatically remove Pest Patrol.
