PCVaccine

Posted: December 5, 2011

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:	8/10
Infected PCs:	393

First Seen:	December 5, 2011
Last Seen:	July 14, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

PCVaccine is a Korean anti-malware program that pretends to detect PC threats such as viruses or Trojans, but in reality PCVaccine has no ability to detect or delete any form of hostile software. Along with this distinct gap in its features, PCVaccine can also be considered to be malicious software itself due to its usage of totally-inaccurate error messages that PCVaccine leaves in an attempt to make you spend money on its valueless services. Due to these issues and the fact that PCVaccine may also attempt to redirect your web browser or interfere with your real anti-malware programs, SpywareRemove.com malware experts recommend that you get rid of PCVaccine ASAP, ideally by using a PC security application that can do all the things that PCVaccine claims to be able to do.

A Few Reasons Why PCVaccine isn't the Booster Shot That Your PC Needs

Although PCVaccine markets itself as an independent and reputable anti-malware program, PCVaccine bears a strong resemblance to other fake anti-malware applications from Korea, such as BoanKorea, SweeperLab, DoctorCom, BoanCop, Dr.Boan and CleanBoan. PCVaccine's looks may be that of a PC security product, but SpywareRemove.com malware analysts have found that its real functions are anything but helpful, as noted below:

PCVaccine will launch itself without permission and refuse to be turned off; even if PCVaccine appears to be closed, its memory process will remain active.
PCVaccine will resist removal by normal methods; it's recommended that you use appropriate anti-malware software to rid yourself of any PCVaccine infection.
PCVaccine will create fake alerts, warnings and error messages that present fraudulent problems instead of real ones, and then pretend that these issues can be solved if you spend money on PCVaccine's full version.
Your web browser may also be redirected to PCVaccine's website due to an altered Hosts file, changed browser settings and other attacks.
Your actual anti-malware programs may refuse to run properly while PCVaccine is active, thus preventing you from easily-removing PCVaccine. However, Safe Mode or another method of deactivating PCVaccine's launch routine will allow you to use appropriate software for PCVaccine's deletion.

Protecting Your PC from PCVaccine's Malevolent Doctoring

SpywareRemove.com malware experts especially recommend that you avoid any contact with PCVaccine's website, since this site may reinfect your PC or introduce other forms of malicious software through script exploits and other web browser-based attacks. Be certain that your homepage settings and other browser-related settings are returned to normal before you attempt to use your browser after PCVaccine has been removed.

If your anti-malware programs have difficulty identifying PCVaccine, be certain to update their threat definition databases so that they have a complete definition of PCVaccine if such is provided by their company. Manual removal of PCVaccine, while possible, isn't recommended in most cases, since it entails alterations to the Windows Registry and other components that may require the re-installation of your operating system if they're damaged.

For non-Windows computers, SpywareRemove.com malware analysts are glad to note that PCVaccine appears to pose little danger.

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:

C:\Program Files\PCVaccine\PCVaccineLaunch.exe

File name: C:\Program Files\PCVaccine\PCVaccineLaunch.exe
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file

%StartMenu%\PCVaccine

File name: %StartMenu%\PCVaccine
Group: Malware file

Registry Modifications

The following newly produced Registry Values are:

HKEY..\..\..\..{Subkeys}HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\PCVaccineHKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\PCVaccineHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\PCVaccineHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\PCVaccineUp.exeHKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run