GARDA Virus

When you get infected with GARDA Virus you see a notification on your screen that says “Your computer has been blocked up for safety reasons listed below”. Unfortunately, GARDA Virus has nothing to do with computer safety, as it is a computer infected created by cyber criminals. They deny you desktop access in hopes of making you believe that you have committed a serious crime and now you need to pay (financially). However, do not succumb to these threats and remove GARDA Virus from your system as soon as you can. And while you are at it – remove all the other infections that are bound to be there.

GARDA Virus is part of the Ukash Virus group, just like FBI MoneyPak Virus and the most recent infections Australian Communications and Media Authority virus or Metropolitan British Police Virus. These computer threats are being distributed by Urausy Trojan, which means that you need to be extremely attentive when you browse the Internet or download various freeware applications. Avoid clicking on outgoing links to unreliable websites, and do not visit web pages that are full of adware and pop-up commercial ads – clicking on such an ad may result in getting infected with GARDA Virus at once.

This infection is intended for the computer users in Ireland. It is rather obvious, because it has Irish flag on its interface, as well the symbols and insignia of the Irish law enforcement authorities (The Guardians of the Peace of Ireland, The National Crime Prevention Unit). However, just because it is full of law enforcement authorities symbols it does not mean you need to trust it. The message displayed by GARDA Virus may seem threatening, but you need to realize that you have done nothing wrong, and the message is only a hoax designed to swindle you out of your money:

You are accused of viewing/storage and/or dissemination of banned pornography (child pornography/zoophilia/rape etc). You have violated World Declaration on non-proliferation of child pornography. You are accused of committing the crime envisaged by Article 161 of Ireland criminal law.

The penalty set must be paid in course of 48 hours as the breach. On expiration of the term, 48 hours that follow will be used for automatic collection of data on yourself and your misconduct, and criminal case will be opened against you.

Amount of fine is 100 Euro. You can settle the fine with Ukash or PaySafeCard vouchers.

By making use of Ukash and PaySafeCard, GARDA Virus is able to collect money even from those users who do not own a credit card or have a bank account. But that does not mean you have to be one of them. Follow the instructions below to unlock your PC and then remove GARDA Virus with a legitimate computer security tool. Do not hesitate to invest in your system security, because you can never know when another similar infection will arrive again.

How to restore desktop access

Windows 8

1. Press Windows key for metro Start menu to show up.
2. Click the built-in Internet Explorer tile.
3. Type http://www.pcthreat.com/download-sph into the address bar and hit Enter.
4. Click Run on the download dialog box and install SpyHunter.
5. Scan your system.

Windows Vista & Windows 7

1. Reboot the PC and press F8 repeatedly.
2. When Advanced Boot Options menu shows up, select Safe Mode with Networking and press Enter.
3. Access http://www.pcthreat.com/download-sph and download SpyHunter.
4. Install the program and scan your PC.

Windows XP

1. Follow the steps 1 and 2 above.
2. Click Yes on a confirmation box.
3. Download SpyHunter.
4. Open Start menu and launch Run.
5. Enter “msconfig” into the Open box and press OK.
6. Select Startup tab on System Configuration Utility.
7. Uncheck all programs on the list and press OK.
8. Reboot the PC in Normal mode.
9. Install SpyHunter and scan your system.

If you have any problem with GARDA Virus removal, feel free to leave a comment below and ask a question about it.