Expert: Brian Benosky - 3/3/2009

Question
I was told that I should download and run "Regcure" for my computer's safety. I am using Windows vista and McAfee(along with att.net). The regcure download indicates that I have hundreds of problems, but does not correct them unless I buy the program and they do not show what the cost of the program is. Do you know anything about this and do you really believe that I have that many problems after being on Att and  Mcafee for only two months? Prior to that I was using Norton with netzero. for a number of years. Thankd for any  advice.
Leonardo20

Answer
Hi Leonardo

Regcure is malware.  More specifically, RegCure is a rogue registry cleaning utility that gives false results and shows fixing those results. It shows the poor scan results and false warnings.  Please follow my instructions below:

Restart the computer in Safe Mode by continuously tapping the F8 key on boot until a black screen with a menu appears.  Choose to Start Windows in Safe Mode with Networking.  Log on as usual.  

Please download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware to your desktop from here:

http://www.besttechie.net/tools/mbam-setup.exe

Double-click mbam-setup.exe and follow the prompts to install the program.
* At the end, be sure a checkmark is placed next to
o Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
* then click Finish.
* If an update is found, it will download and install the latest version.
*Run a Full Scan.
* When the scan is complete, click OK, then Show Results to view the results.
* Be sure that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected.
* When completed, a log will open in Notepad.  Save that log and reboot normally.

Download and install HijackThis:

http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/_download/HJTInstall.exe

Make sure you close EVERY open window and ALL browser windows. The only thing that should be open is the HijackThis program.
Double-click on the file you just downloaded.
Click on the "Install" button.
Upon install, HijackThis should open for you.
Should it not open, go to C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\HijackThis and double click on HijackThis.exe
Choose 'Do a system scan and save a log file'.
Copy the text file which opens in Notepad and paste it in your follow-up, along with the Malwarebytes log.
* Do not fix any entries in HijackThis, as they may be harmless.

Brian