We have had a few of our daily readers to complain that they were not able to view websites using certain web browsers and they were getting several popup alerts form a security program called ThinkSmart. After consulting with computer experts it was discovered that ThinkSmart (Think Smart) is a rogue anti-spyware program.

Rogue anti-spyware programs are these types of fake security applications, which use deceiving tactics to trick computer users out of money. How does that happen you may ask? It is rather simple. Once a program such as ThinkSmart is installed on your computer, it starts to display fake alert messages that attempt to warn you of parasites that it has detected. In addition to those notifications, ThinkSmart will look like it has scanned your computer for viruses and malware returning several results. These results are actually fabricated and used as another scare tactic. As a solution, ThinkSmart offers its ‘full’ paid-for version for a certain price, usually between $60 and $90. If purchased, the full ThinkSmart program will not detect or remove real computer parasites.

ThinkSmart, among other similar rogue anti-spyware programs such as ThinkPoint, all have a main objective of extorting money from gullible computer users. It is highly advisable that ThinkSmart not be installed or purchased under any circumstance. If purchased, you should contact your credit card company immediately to let them know that a fraudulent company or hackers may have obtained your card information.

How Can You Remove ThinkSmart?

Manually removing ThinkSmart is possible but not recommended for novice computer users. In addition to manually removing ThinkSmart, it can be automatically removed with the use of a newly updated spyware removal tool. Have you already attempted to remove ThinkSmart from your computer?

To remove ThinkSmart, find and end the process for the file hotfix.exe. After that is done, you can delete the following files and registry entries:

ThinkSmart files to remove:

• %TempDir%\kjkkklklj.bat
• %LocAppData%\defender.exe
• %UserProfile%\Application Data\hotfix.exe

ThinkSmart registry entries to remove:

• HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon “Shell” = “%LocAppData%\antispy.exe”
• HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings “WarnOnPostRedirect” = “0″
• HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings “WarnonBadCertRecving” = “0″
• HKCU\Software\PAV
• HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce “SelfdelNT”
• HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “tmp”
• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon “Shell” = “%Documents and Settings%\[UserName]\Application Data\hotfix.exe”
• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\PAV
• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “thinksmart”