Stopguard: Don't run that Spyware scan!

A new "program" has appeared on the scene that is not all it appears to be (wouldn't be the first time!) Stopguard is currently causing major problems on Spyware removal forums, due to the fact it has a niggling tendancy to trash your machine and leave it in a worse state than when you started. Do yourself a favour - just say no...

The websites stopguard.com, genericscanner.com and vantagesoftware.com offer a free scan and claims the product removes viruses, blocks pop ups (yet seems to be advertised by pop ups..smooth marketing idea, guys), provides firewall protection, encrypts data, deletes and stops spyware. Maybe someone got mixed up in the QA testing area and thought it was supposed to do the exact opposite.

Other domains associated with StopGuard are genericscanner.com and vantagesoftware.com. There may well be others (and probably are).

Once on your machine, it bombards you with adverts and is a nightmare to remove. It also has no uninstaller. It just sits there and makes you cry.

If you reboot your machine at any stage whilst infected, it mutates and becomes harder to find - a major problem when someone typically posts a HJT log, switches off, then comes back x amount of time later after someone has suggested a fix.

Most importantly, CLICKING ON THE STOPGUARD POPUP ADVERT HAS TRASHED PEOPLES MACHINES.

Now, it's not very often I use bold type. Even less so when it's all in capital letters. Which must mean its a very bad thing.

However, there is hope in the form of the ASAP network - we're getting to grips with this infection and can see it off in almost all cases. If for some crazy reason you go ahead and run Stopguard, stay frosty and we'll be seeing you shortly...

Links:
ASAP
Spyware Warrior