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XP Security 2012

What is XP Security 2012?

Alerts, security scans, warnings, messages...is your computer at risk?  Is your current security program ineffective?  Do you need to purchase this new software program in order to protect your system?  These are the questions that rogue antivirus programs want you to ask.  They want you to feel vulnerable and rushed; they want you to make impulsive decisions.  They want you to enter your credit card information and purchase their ultimately useless software.  XP Security 2012 is a variant of the 2012 Name Changing Rogue, and it continually urges users to buy, buy, buy.  If you take a moment to learn about this rogue application, however, you can avoid wasting your money.

The 2012 Name Changing Rogue changes its name depending on the Windows version that is installed on a particular computer.  XP Security 2012 is one of 15 variations, but it looks and acts identically to the others.  It gains access in one of the following ways:

• By posing as an online security scanner.  A popup indicates that a computer is not protected. Many times, the user opts to activate the “protection.”  Unfortunately, this allows the rogue program to enter the system.
• With a trojan.  Trojans are like the public transportation for malware.  They tend to affect sites with adult, trending, gaming, P2P, freeware, and pirated content. Clicking on an ad, banner, image, or video can let the trojan in.

When XP Security 2012 has been downloaded, it begins to issue pop-ups and false security warnings to users.  A typical message reads:

Privacy threat!
Spyware intrusion detected.  Your system is infected.  System integrity is at risk.  Private data can be stolen by third parties, including credit card details and passwords.  Click here to perform a security repair.

The false scan results tell users that their antivirus and security programs are turned off and that they should “activate” XP Security 2012 in order to keep their machines safe.  These are ads; they can be convincing and worrisome, but the only problem facing your computer is the rogue application itself.

Another feature of the 2012 Name Changing Rogue is that it can prevent you from accessing your browser.  A false firewall alert pops up, stating:

XP Security 2012 has blocked a program from accessing the internet. 
Internet Explorer is infected with Trojan-BNK.Win32.Keylogger.gen.

Many users react by purchasing the software, believing it will help them resolve these so-called threats.  Unfortunately, rogues cannot scan systems or remove threats.  To protect your money and return your computer to optimal functioning, remove XP Security 2012 immediately.

Manual Removal

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