What is Perfect PC Cleanup?
The Malwarebytes research team has determined that Perfect PC Cleanup is a "system optimizer". These so-called "system optimizers" use intentional false positives to convince users that their systems have problems. Then they try to sell you their software, claiming it will remove these problems.
More information can be found on our Malwarebytes Labs blog.
How do I know if I am infected with Perfect PC Cleanup?
This is how the main screen of the system optimizer looks:

You will find these icons in your taskbar, your startmenu, and on your desktop:

and see this warning during install:

and these screens during "operations":


You may see this entry in your list of installed programs:

and this task in your list of Scheduled Tasks:

How did Perfect PC Cleanup get on my computer?
These so-called system optimizers use different methods of getting installed. This particular one was downloaded from their website:

How do I remove Perfect PC Cleanup?
Our program Malwarebytes can detect and remove this potentially unwanted application.
- Please download Malwarebytes to your desktop.
- Double-click mb3-setup-consumer-{version}.exe and follow the prompts to install the program.
- Then click Finish.
- Once the program has fully updated, select Scan Now on the Dashboard. Or select the Threat Scan from the Scan menu.
- If another update of the definitions is available, it will be implemented before the rest of the scanning procedure.
- 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 removes Perfect PC Cleanup completely.
- This PUP creates a scheduled task. You can read here how to check for and, if necessary, remove Scheduled Tasks.
We hope our application and this guide have helped you eradicate this system optimizer.
As you can see below the full version of Malwarebytes would have protected you against the Perfect PC Cleanup installer. It would have warned you before the application could install itself, giving you a chance to stop it before it became too late.
and we block access to their domain:
Technical details for experts
You may see these entries in FRST logs:
() C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\perfectpccleanup.exe HKCU\...\Run: [Perfect PC Cleanup] => C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\PCSmart.bat [57 2018-07-06] () C:\Windows\System32\Tasks\perfectpccleanup_onstartup C:\Users\Public\Desktop\Perfect PC Cleanup.lnk C:\ProgramData\Perfect PC Cleanup C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Perfect PC Cleanup C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup (Perfect PC Cleanup ) C:\Users\{username}\Downloads\ppccleanup_setup.exe Perfect PC Cleanup version 1.0 (HKLM-x32\...\{6405DF7F-E9C8-4C4E-AB38-80352BDR8587}_is1) (Version: 1.0 - Perfect PC Cleanup) Task: {184ECEFF-9E65-45FE-BE5C-6B3D8739DA68} - System32\Tasks\perfectpccleanup_onstartup => C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\perfectpccleanup.exe [2018-08-13] ()Alterations made by the installer:
File system details [View: All details] (Selection) --------------------------------------------------- Adds the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup Adds the file favicon.ico"="6/26/2018 7:58 PM, 119742 bytes, A Adds the file Interop.Shell32.dll"="12/18/2014 3:35 PM, 36864 bytes, A Adds the file Ionic.Zip.dll"="1/8/2014 6:31 AM, 315392 bytes, A Adds the file Microsoft.Win32.TaskScheduler.dll"="6/3/2014 1:08 AM, 171008 bytes, A Adds the file Newtonsoft.Json.dll"="9/15/2015 7:14 PM, 510976 bytes, A Adds the file NUnrar.dll"="9/23/2014 8:35 PM, 142336 bytes, A Adds the file PCSmart.bat"="7/6/2018 1:16 PM, 57 bytes, A Adds the file perfectpccleanup.exe"="8/13/2018 5:49 PM, 4692456 bytes, A Adds the file perfectpccleanup.exe.config"="7/13/2018 3:02 PM, 12700 bytes, A Adds the file perfectpccleanup.pdb"="8/13/2018 5:49 PM, 1322496 bytes, A Adds the file perfectpccleanup.vshost.exe"="7/10/2018 1:26 PM, 22472 bytes, A Adds the file perfectpccleanup.vshost.exe.config"="3/13/2018 2:13 PM, 8671 bytes, A Adds the file perfectpccleanup.vshost.exe.manifest"="12/29/2017 5:58 PM, 2670 bytes, A Adds the file perfectpcremove.exe"="7/17/2018 3:43 PM, 263656 bytes, A Adds the file SQLiteHelper.dll"="7/5/2018 7:26 PM, 19968 bytes, A Adds the file SQLiteHelper.pdb"="7/5/2018 7:26 PM, 48640 bytes, A Adds the file System.Data.SQLite.dll"="6/17/2015 1:17 PM, 280576 bytes, A Adds the file System.Data.SQLite.Linq.dll"="6/17/2015 1:17 PM, 185344 bytes, A Adds the file unins000.dat"="9/27/2018 8:06 AM, 29886 bytes, A Adds the file unins000.exe"="9/27/2018 8:05 AM, 829584 bytes, A Adds the file unins000.msg"="9/27/2018 8:06 AM, 11397 bytes, A Adds the file WpfAnimatedGif.dll"="8/7/2013 11:30 AM, 28160 bytes, A Adds the file WpfPageTransitions.dll"="8/29/2014 5:24 PM, 19456 bytes, A Adds the file WPFToolkit.dll"="3/2/2010 11:09 AM, 467288 bytes, A Adds the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\db Adds the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\de Adds the file perfectpccleanup.resources.dll"="8/13/2018 5:49 PM, 57344 bytes, A Adds the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\en Adds the file perfectpccleanup.resources.dll"="8/13/2018 5:49 PM, 52736 bytes, A Adds the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\fr Adds the file perfectpccleanup.resources.dll"="8/13/2018 5:49 PM, 58880 bytes, A Adds the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\ja Adds the file perfectpccleanup.resources.dll"="8/13/2018 5:49 PM, 64512 bytes, A Adds the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\x64 Adds the file SQLite.Interop.dll"="6/17/2015 1:17 PM, 1205248 bytes, A Adds the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\x86 Adds the file SQLite.Interop.dll"="6/17/2015 1:17 PM, 1032192 bytes, A Adds the folder C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Perfect PC Cleanup Adds the file Perfect PC Cleanup.lnk"="9/27/2018 8:06 AM, 1263 bytes, A Adds the file Uninstall Perfect PC Cleanup.lnk"="9/27/2018 8:06 AM, 1223 bytes, A Adds the folder C:\ProgramData\Perfect PC Cleanup\db Adds the file BT.jmps"="9/27/2018 8:06 AM, 418816 bytes, A In the existing folder C:\Users\Public\Desktop Adds the file Perfect PC Cleanup.lnk"="9/27/2018 8:06 AM, 1245 bytes, A In the existing folder C:\Windows\System32\Tasks Adds the file perfectpccleanup_onstartup"="9/27/2018 8:06 AM, 3240 bytes, A Registry details [View: All details] (Selection) ------------------------------------------------ [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Perfect PC Cleanup] "code"="REG_SZ", "82C1ipfnL+OTnNqYkxKSbg==" "Contact_no"="REG_SZ", "" "culanguage"="REG_SZ", "en" "days"="REG_SZ", "YjQIdoBJb4fNEWPtUHn2AA==" "demoscan"="REG_SZ", "0" "email"="REG_SZ", "" "Expired"="REG_SZ", "CU/kERW+jPZm2sBEXc989sqqClagQbjledovmP1JLB4=" "issuesize"="REG_SZ", "126 MB Disk space can be freed" "Name"="REG_SZ", "" "screenstatus"="REG_SZ", "" "signupdate"="REG_SZ", "1" "startscan"="REG_SZ", "9/26/2018 8:06:37 AM" "Type"="REG_SZ", "39hrYJ9WGq8LL91s+EIfVA==" "updated"="REG_SZ", "A9eW95tyZNm0OZvwzT4j68tFd345gIusiSdmKdrQf5Y=" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{6405DF7F-E9C8-4C4E-AB38-80352BDR8587}_is1] "Comments"="REG_SZ", "Perfect PC Cleanup" "DisplayIcon"="REG_SZ", "C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\favicon.ico" "DisplayName"="REG_SZ", "Perfect PC Cleanup version 1.0" "DisplayVersion"="REG_SZ", "1.0" "EstimatedSize"="REG_DWORD", 11865 "Inno Setup: App Path"="REG_SZ", "C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup" "Inno Setup: Deselected Tasks"="REG_SZ", "" "Inno Setup: Icon Group"="REG_SZ", "Perfect PC Cleanup" "Inno Setup: Language"="REG_SZ", "en" "Inno Setup: Selected Tasks"="REG_SZ", "desktopicon" "Inno Setup: Setup Version"="REG_SZ", "5.5.5 (a)" "Inno Setup: User"="REG_SZ", "{username}" "InstallDate"="REG_SZ", "20180927" "InstallLocation"="REG_SZ", "C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\" "MajorVersion"="REG_DWORD", 1 "MinorVersion"="REG_DWORD", 0 "NoModify"="REG_DWORD", 1 "NoRepair"="REG_DWORD", 1 "Publisher"="REG_SZ", "Perfect PC Cleanup" "QuietUninstallString"="REG_SZ", ""C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\unins000.exe" /SILENT" "UninstallString"="REG_SZ", ""C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\unins000.exe"" [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run] "Perfect PC Cleanup"="REG_SZ", "C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\PCSmart.bat"Malwarebytes log:
Malwarebytes www.malwarebytes.com -Log Details- Scan Date: 9/27/18 Scan Time: 8:19 AM Log File: 5122a2a2-c21d-11e8-b3a0-00ffdcc6fdfc.json -Software Information- Version: 3.5.1.2522 Components Version: 1.0.441 Update Package Version: 1.0.7033 License: Premium -System Information- OS: Windows 7 Service Pack 1 CPU: x64 File System: NTFS User: {computername}\{username} -Scan Summary- Scan Type: Threat Scan Scan Initiated By: Manual Result: Completed Objects Scanned: 239328 Threats Detected: 64 Threats Quarantined: 64 Time Elapsed: 2 min, 36 sec -Scan Options- Memory: Enabled Startup: Enabled Filesystem: Enabled Archives: Enabled Rootkits: Enabled Heuristics: Enabled PUP: Detect PUM: Detect -Scan Details- Process: 1 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup.TskLnk, C:\PROGRAM FILES (X86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\perfectpccleanup.exe, Quarantined, [5423], [570242],1.0.7033 Module: 2 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup.TskLnk, C:\PROGRAM FILES (X86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\perfectpccleanup.exe, Quarantined, [5423], [570242],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\x64\SQLite.Interop.dll, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 Registry Key: 10 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup.TskLnk, HKLM\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS NT\CURRENTVERSION\SCHEDULE\TASKCACHE\TREE\perfectpccleanup_onstartup, Quarantined, [5423], [570242],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup.TskLnk, HKLM\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS NT\CURRENTVERSION\SCHEDULE\TASKCACHE\TASKS\{184ECEFF-9E65-45FE-BE5C-6B3D8739DA68}, Quarantined, [5423], [570242],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup.TskLnk, HKLM\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS NT\CURRENTVERSION\SCHEDULE\TASKCACHE\BOOT\{184ECEFF-9E65-45FE-BE5C-6B3D8739DA68}, Quarantined, [5423], [570242],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup.TskLnk, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\TaskCache\Tree\perfectpccleanup_onstartup, Quarantined, [5423], [-1],0.0.0 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup.TskLnk, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\TaskCache\Tasks\{184ECEFF-9E65-45FE-BE5C-6B3D8739DA68}, Quarantined, [5423], [-1],0.0.0 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup.TskLnk, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\TaskCache\Boot\{184ECEFF-9E65-45FE-BE5C-6B3D8739DA68}, Quarantined, [5423], [-1],0.0.0 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, HKLM\SOFTWARE\Perfect PC Cleanup, Quarantined, [1302], [570244],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, HKLM\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\TRACING\perfectpccleanup_RASAPI32, Quarantined, [1302], [570243],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, HKLM\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\TRACING\perfectpccleanup_RASMANCS, Quarantined, [1302], [570243],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432NODE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRENTVERSION\UNINSTALL\{6405DF7F-E9C8-4C4E-AB38-80352BDR8587}_is1, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 Registry Value: 1 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, HKCU\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRENTVERSION\RUN|PERFECT PC CLEANUP, Quarantined, [1302], [570246],1.0.7033 Registry Data: 0 (No malicious items detected) Data Stream: 0 (No malicious items detected) Folder: 11 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\x64, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\x86, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\db, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\de, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\en, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\fr, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\ja, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\PROGRAM FILES (X86)\Perfect PC Cleanup, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\PROGRAMDATA\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\START MENU\PROGRAMS\Perfect PC Cleanup, Quarantined, [1302], [570239],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\ProgramData\Perfect PC Cleanup\db, Quarantined, [1302], [570240],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\PROGRAMDATA\Perfect PC Cleanup, Quarantined, [1302], [570240],1.0.7033 File: 38 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup.TskLnk, C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\TASKS\perfectpccleanup_onstartup, Quarantined, [5423], [570242],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup.TskLnk, C:\DOCUMENTS AND SETTINGS\PUBLIC\Desktop\Perfect PC Cleanup.lnk, Quarantined, [5423], [570242],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup.TskLnk, C:\USERS\PUBLIC\DESKTOP\Perfect PC Cleanup.lnk, Quarantined, [5423], [570242],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup.TskLnk, C:\PROGRAM FILES (X86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\perfectpccleanup.exe, Quarantined, [5423], [570242],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup.TskLnk, C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\TASKS\perfectpccleanup_onstartup, Quarantined, [5423], [-1],0.0.0 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup.TskLnk, C:\PROGRAM FILES (X86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\perfectpccleanup.vshost.exe, Quarantined, [5423], [570242],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\PROGRAM FILES (X86)\PERFECT PC CLEANUP\PCSMART.BAT, Quarantined, [1302], [570246],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\de\perfectpccleanup.resources.dll, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\en\perfectpccleanup.resources.dll, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\fr\perfectpccleanup.resources.dll, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\ja\perfectpccleanup.resources.dll, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\x64\SQLite.Interop.dll, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\x86\SQLite.Interop.dll, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\perfectpccleanup.vshost.exe.manifest, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\favicon.ico, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\Interop.Shell32.dll, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\Ionic.Zip.dll, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\Microsoft.Win32.TaskScheduler.dll, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\Newtonsoft.Json.dll, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\NUnrar.dll, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\perfectpccleanup.exe.config, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\perfectpccleanup.pdb, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\perfectpccleanup.vshost.exe.config, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\perfectpcremove.exe, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\SQLiteHelper.dll, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\SQLiteHelper.pdb, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\System.Data.SQLite.dll, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\System.Data.SQLite.Linq.dll, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\unins000.dat, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\unins000.exe, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\unins000.msg, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\WpfAnimatedGif.dll, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\WpfPageTransitions.dll, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\Program Files (x86)\Perfect PC Cleanup\WPFToolkit.dll, Quarantined, [1302], [570238],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Perfect PC Cleanup\Perfect PC Cleanup.lnk, Quarantined, [1302], [570239],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Perfect PC Cleanup\Uninstall Perfect PC Cleanup.lnk, Quarantined, [1302], [570239],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\ProgramData\Perfect PC Cleanup\db\BT.jmps, Quarantined, [1302], [570240],1.0.7033 PUP.Optional.PerfectPCCleanup, C:\USERS\{username}\DOWNLOADS\PPCCLEANUP_SETUP.EXE, Quarantined, [1302], [570237],1.0.7033 Physical Sector: 0 (No malicious items detected) WMI: 0 (No malicious items detected) (end)As mentioned before the full version of Malwarebytes 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