Fake software nets hacker $158,000 in a week

My wife accidently installed this on our laptop... I ended up reformatting the thing. It's actually pretty clever the way the stupid thing works, but the thought of buying a software package advertised on some of the pop-ups your're trying to get rid of does seem silly.

Take these malware producers to a tall tree and use a short piece of rope.

Having just removed this clever-but-evil crap from the computers of two friends, I would object to the “Harmless” label. After the first re-boot, it starts deleting DLLs from the system directory, slowly breaking the OS. I also liked the proxy service it installs to re-direct you to the hacker site when you Google (while you still can) for help getting rid of the thing. 

Remember, kids, when you see the pop-up, exit your browser. Clicking on “No” or “Cancel” installs it anyway.

Sounds like a prelude to "Hacker Wars" 
In the underground of the tech world there are hackers that hack for fun and their are hackers that hack for personal gain and destruction. 
No longer the loner trend, hackers are becoming dark and light, like Batman and the Joker. Fighting each other in battles not seen by the casual world. Governments abstain as not to get caught in the crossfire, while secretly supporting who best meets their needs of the moment. Conspiracy on conspiracy, check out the new thriller coming to a down load near you.

I agree with LateApoter, this type of software (malware) is dangerous, seen it destroy a few computers, however if you catch it in time it’s easy to remove with this free software malwarebytes...

Unfortunately, hacking into their servers can get you fined, jailed, or disconnected.

We need a gray-hat registry.

This is a very clever piece of software, and renders the "average" computer user into submission! I have already cleaned out "at least" 5 computers infected with this crap!

It is so funny, when you try to access a website, it will automatically re-direct you to its own website. And can even damage your ip stack protocol.....

I personally would love 5 minutes alone with the wussy who created this crapware.......

but thanks to http://www.malwarebytes.org/ for providing a "free" solution! The first time I encountered this crapware, it took me hours to solve the problem.

Oh, those demonic Russians ;) You better watch brazilian, chinese, US, dutch and UK-based hackers, carders and skimmers :)
We're already pressed hardly enough by local K-department and don't need your ire and care)) By the way.. Try to guess, where the most of botnet-controllers are situated? I tell you. In the USA.

This is an old annoyance, download mbam for free and remove it www.malwarebytes.org . No need to format or re-install.

There is an A-10 that could benefit from some target practice, I have just the guys in mind.

Clearing up some misinformation in the comments to this article:

1) Most of the time this particular rogue AV is already installed on your system by the time you see the popup - closing your browser window won't help.

2) While some other fake AV programs might cause permanent system damage, this one doesn't - the worst thing it does is remove your saved system restore checkpoints from before the infection.

3) Format-and-reinstall is still the best solution, because many times these programs have been installed by drive-by-download exploit kits which install a myriad of other more stealthy and more harmful programs, which malwarebytes and even commercial AV programs are not going to be able to find and remove 100% of the time.