‘[filename].exe contained a virus and was deleted.’ Fake Message

Posted: May 28, 2013

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:	1/10
Infected PCs:	5

First Seen:	May 28, 2013
Last Seen:	August 17, 2022
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The '[Filename].exe contained a virus and was deleted.' message is one of the latest additions to the Sirefef or ZeroAccess rootkit and backdoor Trojan, a multiple-component PC threat that uses advanced methods to disable your computer's security. Generally, the '[Filename].exe contained a virus and was deleted.' message only is used to block the download and installation of potential security and/or anti-malware programs, although a '[Filename].exe contained a virus and was deleted.' message may appear for virtually any type of download (depending on Sirefef's configuration). Since the '[Filename].exe contained a virus and was deleted.' message is a symptom of the presence of a high-level threat, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers urge you to use all proper anti-malware programs and techniques to remove the source '[Filename].exe contained a virus and was deleted.' messages from your PC immediately.

When the 'Virus' is the Only Thing that Could Help You Save Your PC

The '[Filename].exe contained a virus and was deleted.' message is one of the few visually-obvious symptoms of a Sirefef or ZeroAccess infection, which also includes a whole host of system changes that are designed to:

Prevent you from using most forms of security software.
Enable criminals to control your PC through remote attack servers.
Download and install other PC threats, including additional components of itself.
Exploit the infected computer's resources for Bitcoin mining and other kinds of revenue-generating activities, which can harm your computer's performance by way of stealing CPU usage.

The above attacks simply are a rundown of ZeroAccess's most basic features, and shouldn't be considered a conclusive sample. '[Filename].exe contained a virus and was deleted.' message is an example of ZeroAccess being upgraded over time, and SpywareRemove.com malware experts have seen '[Filename].exe contained a virus and was deleted.' message supporting ZeroAccess's self-preservative attacks by blocking the download of any other programs. In particular, well-known brands of major anti-malware products are likely to be labeled as contaminated by the '[Filename].exe contained a virus and was deleted.' message.

Past variants of ZeroAccess didn't include the '[Filename].exe contained a virus and was deleted.' message feature, but they did still possess all of the other functions described earlier. SpywareRemove.com malware researchers also can point to many past examples of specific variants of ZeroAccess for further details, such as Trojan.Zeroaccess.C, Zeroaccess.dr.gen.d, Trojan.Zeroaccess.B, Win32:Sirefef-ZT, Win64:Sirefef-A and PTCH_SIREFEF.L.

Putting a ZeroAccess Rootkit's Fake Virus Alert to Bed

As a symptom of a ZeroAccess or Sirefef infection, a '[Filename].exe contained a virus and was deleted.' message always will be accompanied by several related PC threats, many of which use advanced features to avoid being detected. For example, our malware researchers long since confirmed that members of the '[Filename].exe contained a virus and was deleted.' message's family of rootkits tend to avoid displaying specific programs, memory processes or files that could be deleted easily. The usual installation method will attempt to copycat the names and locations of preexisting Windows components, which forces Windows to load ZeroAccess instead of its normal files.

Anti-malware products with solid reputations for ridding PCs of high-level threats like Sirefef should be used to put an end to '[Filename].exe contained a virus and was deleted.' messages and related problems. In the highly likely instance of this software being blocked, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers can suggest common security techniques, such as loading a recovery OS from any removable hard drive, to avoid the program-blocking attack.

Use SpyHunter to Detect and Remove PC Threats

If you are concerned that malware or PC threats similar to ‘[filename].exe contained a virus and was deleted.’ Fake Message may have infected your computer, we recommend you start an in-depth system scan with SpyHunter. SpyHunter is an advanced malware protection and remediation application that offers subscribers a comprehensive method for protecting PCs from malware, in addition to providing one-on-one technical support service.

Download SpyHunter's Malware Scanner*

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Why can't I open any program including SpyHunter? You may have a malware file running in memory that kills any programs that you try to launch on your PC. Tip: Download SpyHunter from a clean computer, copy it to a USB thumb drive, DVD or CD, then install it on the infected PC and run SpyHunter's malware scanner.

Technical Details

Additional Information

The following URL's were detected:

https://feed.getgamesearch.com/?q=

One Comment

Sean says:

May 29, 2013 at 12:46 pm

I have this exact problem....are you sure this will work?