New Free Virus Removal Tool from McAfee – Fake Alert Stinger
[Windows Only] McAfee is well known for it’s antivirus software, and you usually have to pay for their protection. They offer the free Stinger tool to help people clean out PCs that have been crippled by virus and trojan attacks.
There is no installation required. Just download it and run it. It works on all Windows PCs as far as I know.
I normally download a fresh copy of Stinger onto a USB flash drive or CD before I go off to help my friends with bug problems.
In addition to the standard Stinger, there’s a new version of Stinger out now called FakeAlert Stinger. It’s designed to specifically target multiple varieties of the FakeAlert trojans, such as, Kryptik, AVP Security, Fakespypro, Winwebsec, Antivirus Soft and XPSpy.
FakeAlert applications are a form of ScareWare that pop up fake warnings which attempt to trick you into running their scans and buying their premium products. It’s a huge money-making scam that’s been very effective against new PC users.
Download McAfee Stinger and FakeAlert Stinger
Notes: There are many other antivirus and anti-malware tools that can help you clean up an infected PC. Last year, Keith wrote about an application which will Remove Fake Antivirus from Your System. If all else fails and the PC is really trashed, I’ve got an article describing how to Run AntiVirus on a PC That Will Not Boot.
Techie Buzz Verdict:
There are two versions of McAfee Stinger. Both are very good, and there’s no reason not to use both of them when you need to clean up an infected PC. I have used Stinger for years and I’ve never had an issue with it. I only wish it was Open Source, so that more people could contribute to it’s effectiveness.
Techie Buzz Rating: 4/5 (Excellent)
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Author: Clif Sipe
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I've got a bit of spare time on my hands, so am going to download and run this on both my desktop and laptop. Thanks for sharing, guys!
And thanks for the comment GWeb.
No links to what you're reviewing?
nvm, I think found the link, to snap files.
this is great news most of PCs suffering from this problem……
So… thanks for providing this news
It’s a nice tool, I tried it once and what I don’t understand is – why would they release a good FREE tool, when they offer their software for a decent price? I have mcafee on my computer and never had problems with viruses (even with those that would destroy my other computers where I have had AVG), but still it makes little sense — people would think they can have no AV installed, save money and then just download the Singer and remove everything they have collected..
Hi Liz,
This tool is mainly for removing infections that have already trashed your PC. In many cases, a Fake Alert trojan will disable your AV software, making the use of a Stinger tool or something like it, a must have.
Your normal AV software has the job of preventing the infection, but sometimes fails, because the user is tricked into over-riding it to get the very cool looking Fake software.
hi,need some help,is stinger and fake alert stinger ,the same?
I installed stinger and ran the check,got a list of fake problems,but do not know how to remove them.is there some instructions on the use
of the stinger tool.new in this computer stuff,please go slow and any help would be great.please get back,very interested in this tool,i am using mcafee as my main security ,verizon security suite.
again if i screwed up ,i can delete and download again .
thank you for your time.gil
Hi GM, go to the link I provided in the article above. Download and run both versions of the Stinger. These programs will automatically remove any bad stuff.
If that does not work, try using MalwareBytes anti-malware application. You can find it at http://malwarebytes.org/
Good luck
The Stinger sounds alright if it’s already too late.
But surely it’s better to have a good anti-virus program installed to prevent problems?
I recommend AVG and also Avast.
Both can be downloaded free from
software4free.org/antivirus.html
Malwarebytes Antimalware is also effective for removing fake security alerts.
I had this issue and Malwarebytes and Spybots. I am amazed these free software works and McAfee I just renewed my license four weeks ago did not detect and their customer help was no help to direct to link for specific question I had.
Use above two to clean fake alert Trojan virus.