Vista Defender 2013 will remain a security risk on your computer if not removed at once. This rogue program comes from a huge family of malware that attacks a computer through system vulnerabilities. It took advantage of software faults and security loopholes to gain an access to your computer. If ever Vista Defender 2013 obtains a place in the system, it will carry out changes. It hits the registry in particular to control the PC right from its boot-up. This is the reason why you will observe a scan by Vista Defender 2013 when starting Windows.
Aside from the fake scan and manufactured results, the rogue program also issues many void security warnings. You should not believe on all the messages it shows in your desktop. Those imaginary alerts attempt to persuade you into buying the full version of Vista Defender 2013. In most cases, victims who bought the Vista Defender 2013 registration ended up with a worthless program in their machine. On top of that, malware remains on the PC. The action is a complete waste of money.
Thus, if you encounter Vista Defender 2013, immediately run an anti-malware scan. As stated in the guide below, you also need to remove the rootkit that brought in the fake antivirus program.
What are the Symptoms of Vista Defender 2013 Infection?
If Vista Defender 2013 compromises your computer, you will experience many pop-up alerts and warning messages. Each time you start Windows, expect that the fake antivirus will run a scan on its own. See the screenshot image below.
Procedure 1: Uninstall Vista Defender 2013 from Windows Control Panel
1. Begin the removal process by uninstalling the rogue program from Windows. To do this, we need to open Control Panel. Please ensure that you are logon with the Administrative privilege to access this function.
Accessing Control Panel in Windows 8 and Windows 10
- On your keyboard, Press Windows Key + X.
- Once Quick Access Menu appears on the screen, please click on Control Panel.
- Control Panel window will open. Please proceed to the next step which is uninstalling Vista Defender 2013.
How to access Control Panel in Windows XP, Windows Vista / 7
- Click on Start button that can be found on bottom left corner of the screen.
- From the list, choose Control Panel to access settings of Windows and make the needed changes.
2. To uninstall Vista Defender 2013, click on Uninstall a program under Programs Section. It will open a Program and Features window where-in you can uninstall, change, or repair installed software.
3. Look for Vista Defender 2013 title or any suspicious name that was installed recently. To do this, you need to arrange the items chronologically. Click on Installed On to display recently installed programs.
4. Select Vista Defender 2013 or any suspicious items and then Click on Uninstall button to remove it from Windows.
5. If it prompts for confirmation, please click OK button to proceed.
Procedure 2: Scan and remove Vista Defender 2013 files with MalwareFox Anti-Malware
To remove Vista Defender 2013, download MalwareFox Anti-Malware. This tool is effective in getting rid of Trojans, viruses and malware.
1. After downloading, please install the program using the default settings.
2. At the end of the installation, please make sure that it will download necessary updates.
3. Once update has completed, MalwareFox will launch.
4. Click on SCAN button from the main window.
5. MalwareFox will detect all the infections in the computer system and list all the threats.
6. Click Next button to remove all the infections in one click.
Procedure 3: Scan Computer in Safe Mode Using Installed Anti-virus Program
1. When troubleshooting a PC, one common step is to boot operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. The same approach will be used in the removal of Vista Defender 2013. Please execute instructions based on your Windows OS version.
Start Windows 8 / Windows 10 in Safe Mode with Networking
- Close all running programs on your computer because we will need to restart Windows on this procedure.
- Press and Hold Shift key on your keyboard while clicking on Restart.
- You will then be presented with Troubleshooting Options.
- Click on Troubleshoot icon.
- Then, Click on Advanced Options icon.
- Select Startup Settings icon and then, Click on Restart button.
- When Windows restarts, it will prompt to choose number from the list of options. Press the number on your keyboard that corresponds to Safe Mode with Networking, commonly number 5.
- Once in Safe Mode, please proceed to the next step which is running a virus scan on the computer.
Start in Safe Mode with Networking (Windows XP / Vista / 7 Instruction)
- Please restart the computer and just before Windows start, press F8 on your keyboard repeatedly. You will be presented with Advanced Options Menu.
- From the selections, choose Safe Mode with Networking. Please use keyboard's arrow up/down to navigate between selections and press Enter to proceed.
2. Once your Windows is running in Safe Mode, open your installed anti-virus programs and update it to the most recent version by automatically downloading necessary updates.
3. Thoroughly scan the computer and remove all identified threats. Do not restart or turn off the computer after the scan process. You still need to run another scan. Please follow the next procedure.
Procedure 4: Run TrendMicro's Anti-Threat Toolkit (ATTK) to check and delete any remnants of Vista Defender 2013.
As an added help to remove Vista Defender 2013, you can scan the computer with Anti-Threat Toolkit. This software is provided and distributed by TrendMicro. Follow this procedure to run a scan with this tool.
1. Download the package by clicking on the button below. This will launch a new browser window that contains further details about the tool.
2. Save the file to a location on your hard drive.
3. Browse for the location of the file and double-click to run. If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7, right-click on extracted file supportcustomizedpackage and click on Run as Administrator.
4. When program launch, it will run a command prompt to initialize, prepare components, and update the program.
5. Next it will open the graphical user interface (GUI) of Anti-Threat Toolkit.
6. Click on Scan Now. This operation will scan all Vista Defender 2013 files and processes in your computer and display a list of result for possible Fake Antivirus program and malware that needs to be removed.
7. Tick all items that are detected by the program, and then click Clean. The tool will start removing Vista Defender 2013 components from the computer.
8. If it asked you to restart Windows, please do so.
Protect your PC from Vista Defender 2013 or Similar Attack
Turn On Safe Browsing Features
Google Chrome's Protection from Dangerous Sites
With Google Chrome's Dangerous Site Protection feature, you will have lesser risks browsing the web. It will display a warning when the site you are trying to visit is suspicious, thus, you can prevent Vista Defender 2013 infection. To enable protection from dangerous sites, please do these steps:
1. Open Google Chrome.
2. In the address bar, type this: chrome://settings/ and then, Press Enter.
3. Once on the settings page, click on Show advanced settings... at the bottom of the page to see the rest of the Chrome setup.
4. Locate Privacy section and mark 'Protect you and your device from dangerous sites'.
5. Please restart Google Chrome. New settings keep your browser safe while surfing the web.
Internet Explorer - Activate SmartScreen Filter
Internet Explorer versions 8 and 9 has this feature called SmartScreen Filter. It helps detect phishing web sites and protect you from downloading malicious programs including Vista Defender 2013. To turn on SmartScreen Filter, follow these steps:
1. Please open Internet Explorer.
2. On top menu, select Tools (IE 9). For IE 8, please look for Safety menu.
3. Select SmartScreen Filter from the drop-down list and click on Turn on SmartScreen Filter.
4. Please restart Internet Explorer.
Mozilla Firefox - Block Attack Sites and Web Forgeries
Phishing and Malware Protection is a built-in feature on Firefox version 3 or later. It warns you when a page you are trying to visit contains phishing content or an attack site designed to drop threats such as Vista Defender 2013. To help you keep safe while browsing the Internet using Firefox, please follow this guide:
1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser.
2. On top menu, click on Open Menu. Then select Options from the list.
3. Select Security and put a check mark on the following items:
- Warn me when sites try to install add-ons
- Block reported attack sites
- Block reported web forgeries
Edge Browser - SmartScreen Filter
SmartScreen filter is a built-in feature in Microsoft Edge browser that can help you deter malicious programs such as Vista Defender 2013. It can block malicious web sites and downloads.
1. Open Microsoft Edge browser.
2. Click on More Actions button located at top right corner of the screen.
3. Select Settings from the drop-down list.
4. Under Settings menu, go to Advanced Settings section and click on View Advanced Settings.
5. Scroll down to "help protect my PC from malicious sites and downloads with SmartScreen Filter". Turn it to ON.
6.You may now restart Microsoft Edge browser.
