What is Productkeyupdate?
The Malwarebytes research team has determined that Productkeyupdate is a Tech Support Scam. These so-called "Tech Support Scammers" try to trick you into calling their phone number for various reasons, all of which turn out to be fraudulent in the end.
How do I know if my computer is affected by Productkeyupdate?
You may see this warning during install:
and this entry in your list of installed programs:
How did Productkeyupdate get on my computer?
Tech Support Scammers use different methods for distributing themselves.
But it also installs files that will produce a fake Windows Verification screen with the Tech Support Scammers number. This screen is activated by a reboot which the malware initiates.
How do I remove Productkeyupdate?
Our program Malwarebytes Anti-Malware can detect and remove this potentially unwanted application.
But due to the way this TechSupportScam installs itself we will need a way to bypass it.
If you already have Malwarebytes Anti-Malware installed, you can use Chameleon to get rid of this infection.
- In the TechSupportScam screen click on the "Cmd" button which will open a command prompt.
- In the command prompt type "explorer" and press "Enter".
- In the resulting explorer window navigate to the Chameleon folder, usually "C:\Program Files (x86)\Malwarebytes Anti-Malware\Chameleon\Windows" and doubleclick on "iexplore(.exe)".
- and follow the instructions ("Press any key to continue"). Chameleon will kill the process and start Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to finish it up.
- Reboot when prompted to do so and evrything should be fine.
- In the TechSupportScam screen click on the "Cmd" button which will open a command prompt.
- In the command prompt type "taskmgr" and press "Enter".
- In the list of processes select "Productkeyupdate.exe" and click on "End Process".
- Close Taskmanager and in the command prompt type "explorer" and press "Enter".
- In the resulting explorer window navigate to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Productkeyupdate". Rightclick and delete "Productkeyupdate(.exe)"
- Close the explorer window and in the command prompt type "shutdown -r".
- You should see a prompt that Windows will shut down within the next minute.
- Once your computer has rebooted normally, download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to your desktop.
- Double-click mbam-setup-version.exe and follow the prompts to install the program.
- At the end, be sure a check-mark is placed next to the following:
- Enable free trial of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Premium
- Launch Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
- Then click Finish.
- If an update is found, you will be prompted to download and install the latest version.
- Once the program has loaded, select Scan Now. Or select the Threat Scan from the Scan menu.
- When the scan is complete, make sure that all Threats are selected, and click Remove Selected.
- Restart your computer when prompted to do so.
- No, Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware removes Productkeyupdate completely.
We hope our application and this guide have helped you eradicate this hijacker.
As you can see below the full version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware would have protected you against the Tech Supprt Scam.
Technical details for experts
You may see these entries in FRST logs:
() C:\Program Files (x86)\Productkeyupdate\Productkeyupdate.exe HKLM-x32\...\Winlogon: [Shell] C:\Program Files (x86)\Productkeyupdate\Productkeyupdate.exe [284672 ] () <=== ATTENTION HKCU\...\Winlogon: [Shell] C:\Program Files (x86)\Productkeyupdate\Productkeyupdate.exe [284672 2016-05-03] () <==== ATTENTION C:\Program Files (x86)\Productkeyupdate Productkeyupdate (HKLM-x32\...\Productkeyupdate) (Version: - )Alterations made by the installer:
File system details [View: All details] (Selection) --------------------------------------------------- Adds the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Productkeyupdate Adds the file pcrestart.bat"="5/4/2016 10:41 AM, 194 bytes, A Adds the file Productkeyupdate.exe"="5/3/2016 11:33 PM, 284672 bytes, A Adds the file Uninstall.exe"="5/17/2016 11:02 AM, 75319 bytes, A Adds the file Uninstall.ini"="5/17/2016 11:02 AM, 1679 bytes, A Registry details [View: All details] (Selection) ------------------------------------------------ [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Productkeyupdate] "DisplayIcon"="REG_SZ", "C:\Program Files (x86)\Productkeyupdate\Uninstall.exe" "DisplayName"="REG_SZ", "Productkeyupdate" "NoModify"="REG_DWORD", 1 "NoRepair"="REG_DWORD", 1 "UninstallString"="REG_SZ", "C:\Program Files (x86)\Productkeyupdate\Uninstall.exe" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon] "Shell" = REG_SZ, "C:\Program Files (x86)\Productkeyupdate\Productkeyupdate.exe" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Productkeyupdate] "Path"="REG_SZ", "C:\Program Files\Productkeyupdate\Productkeyupdate.exe" [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer] "CleanShutdown"= REG_DWORD, 1 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon] "Shell"="REG_SZ", "C:\Program Files (x86)\Productkeyupdate\Productkeyupdate.exe"Malwarebytes Anti-Malware log:
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware www.malwarebytes.org Scan Date: 5/17/2016 Scan Time: 11:24 AM Logfile: mbamProductKeyUpdate.txt Administrator: Yes Version: 2.2.1.1043 Malware Database: v2016.05.17.03 Rootkit Database: v2016.05.06.01 License: Premium Malware Protection: Enabled Malicious Website Protection: Enabled Self-protection: Enabled OS: Windows 7 Service Pack 1 CPU: x64 File System: NTFS User: {username} Scan Type: Threat Scan Result: Completed Objects Scanned: 310781 Time Elapsed: 2 min, 33 sec Memory: Enabled Startup: Enabled Filesystem: Enabled Archives: Enabled Rootkits: Disabled Heuristics: Enabled PUP: Enabled PUM: Enabled Processes: 0 (No malicious items detected) Modules: 0 (No malicious items detected) Registry Keys: 1 Rogue.WindowsActivation, HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432NODE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRENTVERSION\UNINSTALL\Productkeyupdate, Quarantined, [8a6d7b5bdfba54e25d8afcda49bad030], Registry Values: 1 Rogue.WindowsActivation, HKCU\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS NT\CURRENTVERSION\WINLOGON|Shell, C:\Program Files (x86)\Productkeyupdate\Productkeyupdate.exe, Quarantined, [b5428d495247cb6b0b4cc8dd2bd77987] Registry Data: 1 Hijack.Shell, HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432NODE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS NT\CURRENTVERSION\WINLOGON|Shell, C:\Program Files (x86)\Productkeyupdate\Productkeyupdate.exe, Good: (Explorer.exe), Bad: (C:\Program Files (x86)\Productkeyupdate\Productkeyupdate.exe),Replaced,[19ded204574230066874330ce321e11f] Folders: 1 Rogue.WindowsActivation, C:\Program Files (x86)\Productkeyupdate, Delete-on-Reboot, [8a6d7b5bdfba54e25d8afcda49bad030], Files: 5 Rogue.TechSupportScam, C:\Users\{username}\Desktop\Hotstar.exe, Quarantined, [bc3b429425745ed87d7399387f8233cd], Rogue.WindowsActivation, C:\Program Files (x86)\Productkeyupdate\pcrestart.bat, Quarantined, [8a6d7b5bdfba54e25d8afcda49bad030], Rogue.WindowsActivation, c:\program files (x86)\productkeyupdate\productkeyupdate.exe, Delete-on-Reboot, [8a6d7b5bdfba54e25d8afcda49bad030], Rogue.WindowsActivation, C:\Program Files (x86)\Productkeyupdate\Uninstall.exe, Quarantined, [8a6d7b5bdfba54e25d8afcda49bad030], Rogue.WindowsActivation, C:\Program Files (x86)\Productkeyupdate\Uninstall.ini, Quarantined, [8a6d7b5bdfba54e25d8afcda49bad030], Physical Sectors: 0 (No malicious items detected) (end)As mentioned before the full version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware could have protected your computer against this threat.
We use different ways of protecting your computer(s):
- Dynamically Blocks Malware Sites & Servers
- Malware Execution Prevention