Security Tool, or SecurityTool, is a fresh, sleek looking piece of software with glitter and stars that promises to protect and clean your computer.
Guess what? It's a fake! The same hackers who brought you the menacing Total Security 2009 virus and System Security scamware have a new, nasty tool to infect your computer and steal away your security and safety.
How Do I Know I Have It? First off, the pestering warnings should be a dead giveaway.
Programs like this one love to try and scare you with warnings like "Your Computer is Infected!" and "Warning! 55 Infections Found!" With the next message being a prompt to upgrade to "full protection".
Don't do it, of course.
You are not buying any real protection, and at worst you are opening your system up to more viruses.
Other common signs are slow computer performance, loads of pop-ups while you surf the internet, browser crashes, operating system crashes, annoying taskbar warnings, strange new icons, and over-worked computer hardware.
How Do I Remove Security Tool? As with any other virus, there is the option to remove it manually and the option to remove it automatically.
It should be no surprise that manual removal is only recommended for IT professionals or big-time techie nerds like me.
If you are either of those, you can try a manual removal.
This involves digging into your system's registry, normally in the LOCAL_HKEY_USER folder.
You will have to delete all malicious DLL and LNK files with the name security tool in them.
You will also need to block all related websites, and finally delete all related program folders.
Please be careful! If you delete the wrong registry file, you can render your computer unbootable.
Nobody wants an expensive paperweight, so please leave this to professionals.
How Do I Just Get Rid of It Right NOW? OK, the easiest way, which is also my favorite way, is automatic removal.
I can remove these threats manually, but I don't have the time to do so every time I deal with a 'sick' computer.
It's much easier for me to automatically remove viruses using a trusted scanner.
I recommend three in particular.
They all do a great job of scanning, deletion, and protection against the next big internet threat.