AVG Security Toolbar Virus (VPROT.EXE)

One of my friends laptop (Win7 Home) was incredible slow. On the laptop Norton Internet Explorer investigated the problem.

 

Laptop Behaviour:

Internet Explorer 11 could not be used (only white screen).

MS outlook 2003 could not be opened (no error).

Google Chrome opened the unwanted website

In google chrome AVG Security toolbar was installed

Search engine Chrome was avg search

High network activity (vprot.exe)

 

Actions:
- Googled on vprot.exe

- Conclusion The AVG Security Toolbar was causing the problem.

- Control Panel -> Uninstall a Program -> AVG Security Toolbar (Uninstall)

  This Opened an IE11 webpage with instructions to remove the toolbar 
  (Strange: Google Chrome was the standard browser and IE was not useable in other way...)

- Followed the instrucions from the website
  I could remove the AVG Security toolbar and AVG search engine form Google Chrome.
  Last thing to do was to remove the software Control Panel -> Unstall a Program -> AVG Security Toolbar (Uninstall)
  This course to open a new IE11 browser tab to the webpage explaining how to remove the AVG Security Toolbar

 

- On the webpage was mentioned that if it was impossible to remove the AVG Security Toolbar I could download  

  AVG_Browser_configuration_tool.exe.
- Executing this .exe resulted in the installation of the AVG Security Toolbar and AVG Search engine in Google, but didnot remove the software as the interface did show...

 

- Last thing done:

- With REGEDIT.exe removed all keys related to AVG software.

- Removed C:\Program files\Avg directory

- Removed C:\Windown\system32\drivers\Avg...sys

- Removed vprot.exe

- restart laptop.

 

Result: AVG Toolbar and Search engine not present anymore.

 

Damage:

IE11 must be configured again

  • all favorites where deleted
  • Home page was empty...

MS Outlook:

  • All *.pst files were removed, so my friend lost all his e-mails

I don't know how AVG Security Toolbar was installed on the laptop, but my friend tried some performance tools from internet to find out why his laptop was slow. I think the AVG Security toolbar came with one of them.

 

Questions:

Have you expierence the same?

Can we trust the AVG website or (AVG_Browser_configuration_tool.exe?

 

With kind regards,

 

Pim