Probably the only thing that is worse than getting hijacked by rogue anti-spyware software is being led to believe that it is the greatest thing since sliced bread.  That’s exactly what DriveCleaner’s marketing team does.  The marketing behind this rogue software is that it claims to clean your computer system of adult site information, such as cookies and other pieces of programming that clogs up your system’s caches.  What it really does is hijack your system and leaves it open to more problems, such as hacking attempts, other malware and spyware programs, and, of course the bane of computer users everywhere, viruses.

How does DriveCleaner get on my system?

Like just about every other rogue anti-spyware program, DriveCleaner finds a security loophole and slips onto your system via the back door.  This particular parasite has been known to use a hijacked Juno e-mail client banner to attract the attention of the user to click on it and see what it is all about.  With the promise of cleaning off adult site information, this misleading marketing campaign sucks in unaware computer users and then strikes.  More than likely, the hijacked Juno client banner is also infected with a Trojan virus such as Zlob or Vundo.  That means you not only get a rogue anti-spyware program on your system, but also a virus.  Talk about your double whammy.

How do I know if I’m infected?

Rogue anti-spyware programs are nothing if but consistent and like the multitude of similar programs that are hiding on the Internet, DriveCleaner will send out the warning signs the same way.  The first thing you will notice is the pop-ups that start appearing out of the blue informing you that your computer system is infected with viruses, spyware, and malware.  If this message is not coming from the anti-spyware, anti-virus program that is legitimately loaded onto your computer, don’t trust it.  The notifications look legitimate but in reality they are not.

Usually the program will start to run a scan on your computer as soon as you click the ‘X’ button on the pop-up.  When this happens, you will receive a report containing the name of all of the infected files that are on your computer.  These security error warnings and infection reports are as misleading as the marketing campaign employed by DriveCleaner’s programmers to catch your attention.  The files that are listed in this erroneous report either don’t exist or are actually system files that DriveCleaner picked at random that really are not infected whatsoever.  DriveCleaner will then tell you that it’s the only program that will remove and fix the errors on your system.  Don’t believe it.

What should I do?

The first thing you should do is ignore the false report and do not purchase the fully licensed program.  If you do you will lose your money, discover that your browser settings are suddenly wrong, and set yourself up for more problems, such as unauthorized program downloads, hacking attempts, and more viruses.  Additionally, programs like DriveCleaner have been known to report your browsing habits to third party sites that will not use your information for anything but nefarious purposes.

Instead, download a legitimate anti-spyware program like ZookaWare PC Cleaner to scan your system and remove the corrupt program and all of its files.  Most of these programs do not respond to the Windows Add/Remove tool, and unless you are an advanced computer user who is comfortable removing individual files in your registry and other sensitive areas, you will want a program like ZookaWare PC Cleaner to take care of the problem for you.

You should also run your anti-virus program to identify and remove any Trojan viruses that may have snuck onto your system with DriveCleaner.  If you don’t, you’re only leaving that backdoor open for more rogue programs to find their way onto your computer system.