Shield Protector 2012

Posted: March 12, 2012

Threat Metric

The Threat Meter is a malware assessment that SpywareRemove.com's research team is able to give every identifiable malware threat. Our Threat Meter includes several criteria based off of specific malware threats to value their severity, reach and volume. The Threat Meter is able to give you a numerical breakdown of each threat's initial Threat Level, Detection Count, Volume Count, Trend Path and Percentage Impact. The overall ranking of each threat in the Threat Meter is a basic breakdown of how all threats are ranked within our own extensive malware database. The scoring for each specific malware threat can be easily compared to other emerging threats to draw a contrast in its particular severity. The Threat Meter is a useful tool in the endeavor of seeking a solution to remove a threat or pursue additional analytical research for all types of computer users.

The following fields listed on the Threat Meter containing a specific value, are explained in detail below:

Threat Level: The threat level scale goes from 1 to 10 where 10 is the highest level of severity and 1 is the lowest level of severity. Each specific level is relative to the threat's consistent assessed behaviors collected from SpyHunter's risk assessment model.

Detection Count: The collective number of confirmed and suspected cases of a particular malware threat. The detection count is calculated from infected PCs retrieved from diagnostic and scan log reports generated by SpyHunter.

Volume Count: Similar to the detection count, the Volume Count is specifically based on the number of confirmed and suspected threats infecting systems on a daily basis. High volume counts usually represent a popular threat but may or may not have infected a large number of systems. High detection count threats could lay dormant and have a low volume count. Criteria for Volume Count is relative to a daily detection count.

Trend Path: The Trend Path, utilizing an up arrow, down arrow or equal symbol, represents the level of recent movement of a particular threat. Up arrows represent an increase, down arrows represent a decline and the equal symbol represent no change to a threat's recent movement.

% Impact (Last 7 Days): This demonstrates a 7-day period change in the frequency of a malware threat infecting PCs. The percentage impact correlates directly to the current Trend Path to determine a rise or decline in the percentage.

Threat Level:	2/10
Infected PCs:	54

First Seen:	March 12, 2012
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Shield Protector 2012 is a rogue anti-malware program that prefers to display fake security information as a substitute for real PC threat detection. SpywareRemove.com malware research team has also noted other attacks that are connected to standard Shield Protector 2012 infections, such as Google redirects and concealed files, that will make using your PC a more dangerous and unpleasant experience overall. Because of both its lack of beneficial features and its inclusion of downright hostile ones, Shield Protector 2012 should always be removed from your machine as soon as you catch notice of its presence. However, even comprehensive anti-malware products may fail to detect Shield Protector 2012 if you don't take steps to disable Shield Protector 2012 first. Fortunately, disabling Shield Protector 2012 is easily managed via standard anti-malware techniques and built-in Windows features, such as Safe Mode.

How Shield Protector 2012 Protects Its Own Interests to the Detriment of Yours

Shield Protector 2012 fits the aesthetics of an anti-malware scanner to a T, but its appearance is as far as Shield Protector 2012's real security features happen to extend. Digging down beneath its marketing, you'll be able to discover, much as SpywareRemove.com malware researchers did, that Shield Protector 2012 isn't interested in providing you with accurate threat alerts or genuine protection against PC threats. You should also do your best to discern and ignore Shield Protector 2012's pop-ups, which will present misleading information about your PC as part of a scam intended to convince you to spend money on its software.

To place your back further up against the wall and make you desperate to buy Shield Protector 2012's full version, Shield Protector 2012 and related PC threats may also use additional attacks, which SpywareRemove.com malware experts have noted as follows:

Shield Protector 2012 may conceal your files to prevent you from using other programs, particularly security and anti-malware products. Although this attack changes your settings to make all these files appear to be gone from your hard drive, SpywareRemove.com malware research team emphasizes the fact that your files are, in reality, easily reclaimable once you remove Shield Protector 2012. In some cases, folders like AppData or Program Files may be targeted.
You may also find your search engine results targeted by redirect attacks. These redirects can take you to Shield Protector 2012's site or other harmful sites, as well as block safe websites.

Being Your Own Defense Against Shield Protector 2012

Shield Protector 2012 is promoted via misleading advertisements that lead to fake system scanners, and SpywareRemove.com malware analysts note that using advertisement-blockers or being cautious around unusual system scanners may help to prevent Shield Protector 2012 installations. In general, anti-malware products (like that which Shield Protector 2012 is pretending to be) should always be downloaded from websites that you've confirmed to be reputable.

If you find your PC infected by Shield Protector 2012, you should try to disable Shield Protector 2012 before scanning your PC, since failing to do this may allow Shield Protector 2012 to conceal itself from system scans. Safe Mode is a common method of doing this, although more advanced techniques than Safe Mode are also available for extreme circumstances. SpywareRemove.com malware experts discourage attempts to remove Shield Protector 2012's files by yourself, since Shield Protector 2012 is likely to be accompanied by other PC threats that should also be detected and expunged.

Technical Details

File System Modifications

Tutorials: If you wish to learn how to remove malware components manually, you can read the tutorials on how to find malware, kill unwanted processes, remove malicious DLLs and delete other harmful files. Always be sure to back up your PC before making any changes.

The following files were created in the system:

%AppData%\npswf32.dll

File name: %AppData%\npswf32.dll
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Group: Malware file

%AppData%\Inspector-[RANDOM CHARACTERS].exe

File name: %AppData%\Inspector-[RANDOM CHARACTERS].exe
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file

%DesktopDir%\Windows Safety Tweaker.lnk

File name: %DesktopDir%\Windows Safety Tweaker.lnk
File type: Shortcut
Mime Type: unknown/lnk
Group: Malware file

%CommonPrograms%\Shield Protector 2012.lnk

File name: %CommonPrograms%\Shield Protector 2012.lnk
File type: Shortcut
Mime Type: unknown/lnk
Group: Malware file