Get Help with Removing Antivirus Pro 2010 (antiviruspro_2010.exe)

Antivirus Pro 2010 Overview

Antivirus Pro 2010 (antiviruspro_2010.exe) is a variant of scareware. Scareware (similar to a virus or spyware) uses tricks to get the consumer to install software that is very difficult to remove. Some viruses / spyware steal personal information, or turn computers into email spammers. The goal of scareware like Antivirus Pro 2010 is to get you to believe your computer is infected with a virus / spyware so that you will install and pay for software to fix the problem. The trick is this - the software you are asked to install is the problem.

A common approach used by companies behind scareware is to temporarily buy Internet sites that look completely innocent, populate the website with legitimate looking content and then include in that website bogus warnings that your PC is infected with a virus. The bogus warnings are drawn to look like a valid Windows operating system warning - if you see a warning like this immediately shutdown and restart your PC without pressing any of the buttons in the bogus warning. The sites sometimes show dynamic scans that make it look like your PC is being checked - in fact you are really only watching a movie created to trick the consumer.

Once installed, scareware is extremely difficult to remove. Scareware like Antivirus Pro 2010 burrows into your Windows XP or Windows Vista operating system - latching on to system processes and using a variety of clever tricks to prevent removal. While installed, this software can make a PC virtually unusable thorugh frequent pop-ups and warnings. The scareware raises the noise level while constantly asking for you to pay for the software. Once you've paid that's the end game.

The companies behind nasty software like this are hard to track down, operate outside the US and are constantly changing names to avoid being shut down. For more information on avoiding virus and spyware infections click here.

Symptoms that your PC has been infected include:

• Frequent warnings and pop-ups of a virus infection from software you didn't install
• Problems surfing websites - you are frequently redirected to a different website than the one you entered
• Pop-ups and warnings that you need to pay to remove a virus or spyware infection
• Slow computer - your computer is running much slower than it was before
• Desktop keeps disappearing / crashing - your Windows taskbar (at the bottom of the screen) keeps disappearing
• Computer is restarting every few minutes
• More generally your computer has become unusable due to any combination of the problems listed above
• Program antiviruspro_2010.exe is installed on your system

support.com Customer Stories:

There are many forums and free help sites available for the more experienced computer user to help clean up an infected PC. If you choose to use support.com's experienced Solutions Engineers to help, here are recent comments from customers who had the problem solved by support.com:

• "I somehow got the AntivirusPro 2010 virus and my computer would reboot about every 10 minutes. Your technician fixed the problem and cleaned up my startup files in a little over an hour. This compares with Best Buy saying I would have to bring my computer in and it would be 2 to 5 days to fix it. In addition, it was a one time fix and would have cost me a bit more than your 6 month coverage program" Bruce, Texas
• "I had a virus - home antivirus 2010. He was able to remove and was able to answer any questions I had. We are very happy with the service and he was also able to set me up with a good, inexpensive firewall. Many thanks!!!!!!!" Annet, Alberta, Canada
• "You helped us clean two computers that had the personal virus and the antivirus 2010." Benjamin, New York
• "I had a bunch of nasty viruses infecting my computer and was unable to clean any of them up. I was skeptical about contacting the the support team but was reassured by Bob that he could help me. I soon realized that he was right! Both he and Jim did a fantastic job at fixing the problem. And I didn't even have to take my computer to a shop to be fixed in a week... it was done in 2 hours!!!! Hats off to a wonderful team. Susan."Susan, Missouri
• "Antivirus 360 kept popping up with bogus messages, and then began restarting Windows every few minutes, saying I had to register to prevent damage to my computer. I tried removing it with tools I found on the Internet but nothing worked. Except you!" Patricia, Florida
• "Virus that kept reappearing. I tried to run it down myself but it got worse. Your support person got it cleared up within an hour. Thanks." Dale, Texas
• "My daughter downloaded a photo and the AntiVirus 360 popped up and I tried as much as I could think of to fix it -probably only making the problem worse not knowing what malware is. When I finally got on-line to look up the 360, what looked like a solution was actually the problem." Suzanne, Kentucky
• "Antivirus 360 and 2009, does it get any uglier? Thank God it's gone. Keith was great." Mary, AL
• "I was printing when the 360 pop up came. Not being computer wise I could not get rid of it, nor could my son or daughter. A neighbor who is in computers told me I had a virus. We could not get your phone number on my computer, the 360 prevented any access to computer information and AVG." Carolyn, New York
• "I was on the Internet on Sunday am and was informed that I had a trojan virus and that I needed to download A360. This is much to my surprise was a virus all in its self. I called Monday pm and spoke to Scott and he was able to fix the issue and had me back up and running in less than 1hr. I appreciate all of the kind and supportive things that was shown to me about my computer that I did not know. Thank You, Scott and AVG support.com." Janice, Ohio
• "One of our business computers had anti-virus 360. Scott was outstanding in fixing our computer and explaining everything that he did." Jennifer, NC
• "I was on my computer when I got this pop-up telling me that I was infected with a virus. It advised me that I should download Antivirus360 (at a cost of about $150.00 U.S.) to solve the problem. It looked legitimate so I downloaded it. It basically took over my computer. Keith at support.com solved my problem. He was very knowledgeable. Very nice person to deal with." Denise, Florida
• "I had an antivirus 360 pop up on my desk top, unsure how it got there. I was unable to use my computer properly, the antivirus 360 blocked my access to internet on/off. The antivirus pop ups were annoying and I was unable to freely use my computer. support.com engineer, Troy, was so patient with me during the process and he was very knowledgeable about my problem and was able to solve it readily." Janice, Nevada

support.com Can Rid your Computer of Scareware Infections

support.com Solutions Engineers are experts in fixing all sorts of computer problems. Every day, thousands of customers use us to get support for a variety of problems, like Antivirus Pro 2010 infections. Getting help from us is simple, just call!

support.com wants to radically change the way you think about PC support - we're convenient, quick and we stand behind our work.