Defense Center (DefenseCenter) Virus Removal Guide
Virus Type: Rogue Security Application
Threat Level: 8 / 10
Defense Center is a fake antivirus program. Defense Center is similar to Protection Center. Defense Center is generally installed through the use of a trojan horse. The main executable for Defense Center is defcnt.exe.
Below is our recommended removal tool for Defense Center. The removal tool has been rated 5 cows out of 5 by Tucows and was previously CNET’s Editor’s Choice. Feel free to download it below.
If you are unable to run the removal tool, or are unable to run any programs in general, you may need to stop the processes associated with Defense Center with task manager. If task manager has been blocked by Defense Center, try using Process Explorer. If Defense Center blocks Process Explorer, try using the com version of Process Explorer, which can be downloaded here.
It is recommended to use safe mode when removing the virus because Defense Center will generally not be able to load in safe mode. To enter safe mode, restart the computer and press F8 multiple times before the Windows screen to bring up the boot options.
The safe mode with networking option will allow the user to be able to use the internet in safe mode. In safe mode, Defense Center can be removed by using the
View Defense Center Files
View Defense Center Keys
Common symptoms and characteristics of Defense Center and other rogue security programs include:
1. Defense Center is generally installed without user permission.
2. Defense Center uses pop ups and fake virus scans to scare the user.
3. Various antivirus and system programs on the user’s computer will stop functioning.
Manual Defense Center Removal – In order to manually remove Defense Center, the processes associated with Defense Center must be stopped, the files associated with the processes must be removed, and the registry entries must be corrected to the previous state before Defense Center entered the computer.
Stop Defense Center Processes (Learn How To Do This)
defcnt.exe
Remove Defense Center Files (Learn How To Do This)
C:\Program Files\Defense Center\
C:\Program Files\Defense Center\defcnt.exe
Remove Defense Center Registry Keys (Learn How To Do This)
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Defense Center
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Defense Center
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Defense Center
Remove Defense Center Startup Entry (Learn How To Do This)
defcnt.exe
Common Questions -
1. What is a computer virus? (Click Here To View)
2. How did I get this computer virus? (Click Here To View)
3. What common symptoms show that my computer may be infected? (Click Here To View)
4. What is a rogue security application? (Click Here To View)
5. What are some antivirus and antispyware programs which I can use to remove viruses and spyware? (Click Here To View)
If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to comment below. If you need any help with any of the steps, please don’t hesitate to comment below. We recommend that you follow our safety tips so that you can keep your computer clean Please Click Here to View Our Safety Tips. It is also best to upgrade to Internet Explorer 8 for better web browsing security. If a web browser is not up to date, viruses such as Defense Center can generally infect computers much easier while surfing the web. The upgrade is free.
Your feedback is very highly valued by others so please feel free to comment. Please feel free to share a solution that you may have used to remove Defense Center.
This entry was posted on Saturday, June 12th, 2023 at 1:23 pm and is filed under Malware Removal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Kevin June 12th, 2023 at 7:14 pm
Thank you very much for the help! I got most of it out before but still had pop ups! This fixed it up!