Barracuda Anti-Virus - Fake Anti-Spyware Programs

Barracuda Spyware is one of the latest rogue, anti-spyware programs on the Internet. It can be delivered through visiting malicious websites or as the payload of a Trojan virus to your computer. Once your computer is infected with the Barracuda Anti-Virus, the malware will attempt o trick you into purchasing a “premium” version of the malware. If you do, the “premium” software will further infect your computer with additional viruses and other Spyware. This malware is also known by a number of other names depending on what anti-virus suite you have installed on your computer. Some of the aliases are: Fake Spy Pro, Spyware Protect 2009, Adware SpywareProtect 2009, Barracuda Spyware, and Security Central.

The Barracuda Anti-Virus Payload

The Barracuda Anti-Virus (or Barracuda Spyware) will install “sysguard.exe” and infect “iehelper.dll” on your computer. It will also change your computer’s hosts file so that if you attempt to navigate your web browser to any of the major search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo, AOL), it will be re-directed to other, malicious websites. It also attempts to send your web browser to a “Fake” Microsoft Security portal in order to get you to download even more malware to your computer.

Barracuda Spyware Removal Steps

Removal Step #1 - Turn Off Windows System Restore

To turn off System Restore on your computer, take the following steps:

1 – Click the Start menu button.
2 – Right-click the My Computer icon, and then select the Properties menu option.
3 – Check “Turn Off System Restore” on the System Restore Tab.
4 – Click the “Apply” menu button and choose “Yes” on the confirmation message.
5 – Select the “OK” menu button.
Note that you have to be logged in to your computer with administrator permissions to turn off System Restore.

Removal Step #2 - Update Your Antivirus Definition Files on Your Anti-Virus Program

Removal Step #3 - Restart Your Computer in Safe Mode

Removal Step #4 - Conduct a Full Anti-Virus Scan of All Local Drives

Removal Step #5 - Clean or Delete Infected Files