Despite what you may think upon first encountering Desktop Defender 2010, it is actually a rogue security application. Its interface design was based on a legitimate program’s interface and some of its behavior is similar to other legitimate security programs’. However, this rogue uses incredibly deceptive and unethical promotional tactics. Therefore, it should not be trusted.

The typical means of infection is through a Trojan horse. The Trojan downloads Desktop Defender 2010 without the user’s knowledge or permission. Once it has been installed, the user will be harassed with false security alert pop-ups and phony system scans that yield falsified results. The user is then told that they only way to remove the so-called threats is to pay for the full version of Desktop Defender 2010. But, obviously, this is nothing more than a scam.

That is why you should remove this rogue as soon as possible. If you wish to remove it manually, you should start by killing the following processes in Windows Task Manager:

Desktop Defender 2010.exe
gedx_ae09.exe
kgn.exe
kilslmd.exe
kn.a.exe
uninstall.exe

Type : Rogue Security Application

Relative file contents : Desktop Defender 2010.exe, guide.chm, hjengine.dll, IEAddon.dll, MFC71.dll, MFC71ENU.dll, AF.dll, daily.cvd, msvcp71.dll, msvcr71.dll, pthreadVC2.dll, shellext.dll, siglsp.dll, tdifw_drv_WLH.sys, tdifw_drv_WXP.sys, uninstall.exe, tdifw_drv.sys, log.txt, gedx_ae09.exe, kgn.exe, kilslmd.exe, kn.a.exe, Desktop Defender 2010.lnk, Activate Desktop Defender 2010.lnk, How to Activate Desktop Defender 2010.lnk

Delete these registry entries:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\antivirus_contextscan
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AppID\{C0E56AC2-9F72-436E-B6E7-AEC28AF9E4EB}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AppID\IEAddon.DLL
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{08EEC6AD-7486-487F-89B7-5A3716DDAE14}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{CCB5551D-8594-4999-85F9-1E3EABCB95AC}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\antivirus_contextscan
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drives\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\antivirus_contextscan
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\IEAddon.StatusBarPane
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\IEAddon.StatusBarPane.1
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface\{5B184B9D-B7BD-4FEA-8D1F-5E27182206A5}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib\{3ED0E410-5C8E-47B6-A75D-D10B886E903C}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Desktop Defender 2010
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{CCB5551D-8594-4999-85F9-1E3EABCB95AC}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Desktop Defender 2010
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\tdifw_drv
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\User Agent\Post Platform “Desktop Defender 2010”
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “Desktop Defender 2010”

Unregister these DLLs:

hjengine.dll
IEAddon.dll
MFC71.dll
MFC71ENU.dll
AF.dll
msvcp71.dll
msvcr71.dll
pthreadVC2.dll
shellext.dll
siglsp.dll

Delete these files:

Desktop Defender 2010.exe
guide.chm
hjengine.dll
IEAddon.dll
MFC71.dll
MFC71ENU.dll
AF.dll
daily.cvd
msvcp71.dll
msvcr71.dll
pthreadVC2.dll
shellext.dll
siglsp.dll
tdifw_drv_WLH.sys
tdifw_drv_WXP.sys
uninstall.exe
tdifw_drv.sys
log.txt
gedx_ae09.exe
kgn.exe
kilslmd.exe
kn.a.exe
Desktop Defender 2010.lnk
Activate Desktop Defender 2010.lnk
How to Activate Desktop Defender 2010.lnk

Finally, delete these directories:

c:\Program Files\Desktop Defender 2010
c:\WINDOWS\system32\LogFiles\tdifw
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Desktop Defender 2010

Desktop Defender 2010 can be removed through these instructions, but it isn’t the safest form of removal. A single mistake could permanently damage your computer. Plus, these instructions won’t remove any other malware that may be infecting your PC. That is why you should find a legitimate antispyware to find and remove all malware at once.

ZookaWare PC Cleaner is a perfect application for this job. A company in good standing with the Better Business Bureau developed it, so you can be sure that it is trustworthy. They also use a robot to continually update their malware database so that ZookaWare PC Cleaner is always up to date. That is why it is the only antispyware guaranteed to remove 100% of spyware and malware infections. So, don’t trust your PC to a program that can’t remove 100% of infections. Trust your computer’s security to ZookaWare PC Cleaner and rest assured that all infections will be rendered powerless.