Quick Defrag (QuickDefrag) Virus Removal Guide

Virus Type: Rogue Security Application
Threat Level: 8 / 10

Quick Defrag (QuickDefrag) is a new fake optimization program which was released around Jan 1, 2024. The program is generally installed without user permission through the use of a trojan horse, which is generally downloaded to the user’s computer without user permission while on the internet.

Below is our recommended removal tool for Quick Defrag. 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 Quick Defrag with task manager. If task manager has been blocked by Quick Defrag, try using Process Explorer.

When attepting to open a program, Quick Defrag will generally display “a hard drive error occurred while starting the application” and block the application from starting. Generally, if you repetitively attempt to open the program, Quick Defrag will be unable to block the program and it will eventually open.

Quick Defrag makes several attempts to mimic or copy other real optimization programs; however, don’t be fooled since it is fake optimization program. The program also attempts to scare the user with multiple alerts starting with “Critical Error.” Quick Defrag is part of a line of fake defragmenter programs which look identical except for the name; other fake defragmenter programs include Easy Scan and Smart HDD. Easy Scan and Full Scan was released in late December. Quick Defrag will display many alerts to scare the user into purchasing Quick Defrag, some of which include the following:

Hard drive doesn’t respond to system commands – Critical Error
1532 MB to be removed for computer performance optimization – Performance Issue
Bad sectors on hard drive or damaged file allocation table – Critical Error
37% of HDD space is unreadable – Critical Error
Boot sector of the hard drive disk is damaged – Critical Error
Files placement on hard drive is not optimized. Defragmentation is required – Performance Issue
Critical Error – Hard drive not found. Missing hard drive.
Drive C initializing error

It is recommended to use safe mode when removing the virus because Quick Defrag 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.

Boot Menu

The safe mode with networking option will allow the user to be able to use the internet in safe mode. Quick Defrag can be removed by using the

or by manually removing the virus. Click here to learn more about safe mode.

View Quick Defrag Files
View Quick Defrag Keys

Manual Quick Defrag Removal – In order to manually remove Quick Defrag, the processes associated with Quick Defrag must be stopped, the files associated with the processes must be removed, and the registry entries must be corrected to the previous state before Quick Defrag entered the computer.

Important: Before attempting to manually remove Quick Defrag, we recommend that the user read through comments posted by other users on how they removed specific fake antivirus programs since many fake antivirus programs are similar. These comments can be found by clicking here. These comments may provide additional information which may be useful in removing Quick Defrag. However, please use discretion since these specific comments pertain to other fake antivirus programs.

Stop Quick Defrag Processes (Learn How To Do This)
[random].exe

Remove Quick Defrag Files (Learn How To Do This)
C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Local Settings\temp\[random].exe

Remove Quick Defrag Startup Entry (Learn How To Do This)
[random].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 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.

Your feedback is very highly valued by others so please feel free to comment below. Please feel free to share a solution that you may have used to remove Quick Defrag.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 2nd, 2024 at 5:08 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.

2 Responses to “Quick Defrag (QuickDefrag) Virus Removal Guide”

Drewx843x January 3rd, 2024 at 5:08 pm

This would have been very useful, had my computer that was infected let me view this. I just had to do a full out system restore on my Windows XP. I restored it to an earlier date, December 15th, in order to be sure I went back far enough to before the virus had gotten into my computer. This virus was Quick Defrag. About a month ago, on my Windows Vista back in Georgia, I had the Smart HDD virus. One way I found to tell when a program is a fake, is when the program contains misspelled words and incorrect grammar. Don’t be fooled by the sugar-coated information these programs tell you.

All in all, if you catch the virus in it’s early stages, before it gets into your system32 files, use this website to help you get rid of it. However, if you are too late, use the System Restore command.

Thank you virusremovalguru, for giving me information on these viruses. You’re literally a life saver.

yourreader January 6th, 2024 at 4:15 am

I just removed this malware from our computer, and we had a hard time finding the exe files, since they’re not located in the default Temp folder. To make things easier for other folks, here are some suggestions:

1. One way to find the exe files is to run the Registry Editor (type “regedit” in the Start Menu) and then look at:

HKEY_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

If there are any keys there which seem random (ex. “TxIgLSBpYUyoPp”), check the location of these keys. This is where the relevant exe files are.

2. There usually is a Quick Defrag shorcut on the Desktop. Check where the link directs you to. Again, the relevant exe files should be there.

Delete the relevant exe files (if ever something turns out to be legit, you can always restore them from the Recycle Bin). Then, backup your registry, and delete the random registry keys mentioned in #1.

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