CleanThis (Clean This) Virus Removal Guide
Virus Type: Rogue Security Application
Threat Level: 8 / 10
CleanThis, also known as Clean This, is a new fake antivirus / antispyware application. The fake application was introduced in mid to late March 2023. CleanThis claims to offer a variety of features, which includes a Scanner, Heuristic, Firewall, Privacy, and Support; CleanThis markets itself to the user as “CleanThis: World’s leading security solution”. When the user attempts to use the Heuristic, Firewall, Privacy, or Support, they are shown a message by CleanThis and are not allowed access to these specific features. CleanThis is a clone of previous fake antivirus programs and is similar in look and functionality to ThinkPoint and Palladium Pro. The main different in look is a slight difference in colors of the program. CleanThis attempts to look legitimate by making itself look like the legitimate Microsoft Security Essentials program, which is a real security application created by Microsoft. In doing so, it hopes to trick the user into purchasing the fake program because the user may be convinced that the program is legitimate. CleanThis main executable is generally fixed and doesn’t change from computer to computer. CleanThis main executable file is gog.exe.
Below is our recommended removal tool for CleanThis. 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 CleanThis with task manager. If task manager has been blocked by CleanThis, try using Process Explorer.
CleanThis Removal Tip – CleanThis will block applications from running. The only method to get around this is to rename the executable of the program; this will generally allow the file to bypass CleanThis. However, please exercise caution when renaming executable files since renaming files can cause programs to not function properly.
CleanThis, like many other fake antivirus programs, will create a series of warnings and pop ups in order to scare the user into purchasing the fake program. CleanThis may also create these warnings in an attempt to make it look legitimate. For example, CleanThis will generally block programs from running and will show a warning which can be found below. CleanThis will block applications to make it harder to remove CleanThis.
“The application taskmgr.exe was launched successfully but it was forced to shut down due to security reasons.
This happened because the application was infected by a malicious program which might pose a threat for the OS.
It is highly recommended to install the neccessary heuristic module and perform a full scan of your computer to exterminate malicious programs from it.”
Other messages created by CleanThis can be found below.
Your system has been infected with multiple spyware programs.
Your should consider installing the neccessary heuristic module to protect your computer.
Also, you are to install the heuristic module to protect other computers, as well as your pc has repeatly tried to infect other computers via Internet, and to send spam.
The fact of spamming can result in criminal prosecution, despite the fact that you are the victim of malicious software.
For the safety of your system it is essential for you to install the neccessary heuristic module and perform a full scan of your computer to exterminate malicious programs from it.”
When CleanThis starts up, the only method to gain access to the computer in the normal start up mode is to click “Safe Startup” and close CleanThis after the program loads. This will allow the user to access the desktop.
It is recommended to use safe mode when removing the virus because CleanThis 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. CleanThis can be removed by using the
View CleanThis Files
View CleanThis Keys
Common symptoms and characteristics of CleanThis and other rogue security programs include:
1. CleanThis is generally installed without user permission.
2. CleanThis 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.
The user comments for ThinkPoint may provide insight into removing CleanThis since the viruses are similar.
Manual CleanThis Removal – In order to manually remove CleanThis, the processes associated with CleanThis must be stopped, the files associated with the processes must be removed, and the registry entries must be corrected to the previous state before CleanThis entered the computer.
Important: Before attempting to manually remove CleanThis, 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 CleanThis. However, please use discretion since these specific comments pertain to other fake antivirus programs.
Stop CleanThis Processes (Learn How To Do This)
gog.exe
Remove CleanThis Files (Learn How To Do This)
For Windows XP -
C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\install
C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\completescan
C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\gog.exe
For Windows Vista & Windows 7
C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\install
C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\completescan
C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\gog.exe
Remove CleanThis Registry Keys (Learn How To Do This)
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\CleanThis
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CleanThis
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\CleanThis
Remove CleanThis Startup Entry (Learn How To Do This)
gog.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.
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 CleanThis.
This entry was posted on Monday, March 21st, 2024 at 3:44 am 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.
brokericon March 30th, 2023 at 1:47 am
The “Clean This” virus has corrupted my safe mode entry. I cant download the recommended product to get rid of it.
What else can i try?