SafeHardDrive Removal Process (remove SafeHardDrive)

April 7, 2008 – 2:10 pm

SafeHardDrive Explanation

SafeHardDrive is a recent rogue application that pretends to be a PC optimization tool. SafeHardDrive, when installed, may scan your system displaying false results in attempt to get you to purchase a full version of SafeHardDrive in order to complete the scan and repair process. SafeHardDrive is known to us to slow the performance of computers that it is installed on. SafeHardDrive is not safe despite it’s name.

SafeHardDrive is very dangerous and should be removed from any computer users system or they risk damage to their computer system. SafeHardDrive may change various settings such as your web browser settings which may lead to other infections or system functionally issues.

Are you getting popups from SafeHardDrive? Have you identified that you have SafeHardDrive installed on your computer? Do you wish to remove SafeHardDrive completely from your computer?

Why should you remove SafeHardDrive?

If SafeHardDrive resides on your computer, it can potentially damage your personal files or you may end up losing data stored on your system. Research has shown that SafeHardDrive may have the ability to make your computer vulnerable to remote attacks which could result, initially, in loss of money, possibly identity theft, and, eventually, a painstaking SafeHardDrive removal process.

How can you manually remove SafeHardDrive

Manual removal of SafeHardDrive may not be for everyone. Each manual SafeHardDrive removal step must be followed delicately to completely remove all related files and registry entries from your computer. If you are unsure or have doubts about editing your system registry, then we recommend that you use the automatic SafeHardDrive removal process.

SafeHardDrive can be removed manually by following the steps below.

With all programs closed, click the Start Menu and go to the Control Panel.
Locate the Add/Remove Programs icon and double click it.
Locate SafeHardDrive in the list of programs. If you find it, select it and remove it. If you cannot find SafeHardDrive, you can continue to step 5.
Restart your computer.
Close all open programs and windows on your desktop.
Open your registry editor (regedit) program by going to Start Menu, type in regedit, and click OK.
Find all of the following registry entries and delete them. If you do not know how to do this, then you can read how to edit the registry in Windows.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “strpmon”
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Purchased Products\System Error Repair
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SafeHardDrive
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “SafeHardDrive”
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent\Post Platform “UGES 1.5.16.0″
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\SafeHardDrive
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “cwriter”
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\GES_is1
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SafeHardDriveDownloader
You may need to return to this removal process for removing SafeHardDrive. You can do this easily by bookmarking or adding a favorite to this page by clicking here. If you are using the FireFox web browser you can press the keys Ctrl and D simultaneously to bookmark this page.

Image 1. Bookmark PCHubs removal process
Delete all of the following files that are associated with SafeHardDrive from your computer.

%AllUsersProfile%\forensics\Desktop\SafeHardDrive.lnk
%AllUsersProfile%\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\SafeHardDrive\Contact Customer Service.lnk
%AllUsersProfile%\All Users\Application Data\safeharddrive\Data\em
%AllUsersProfile%\All Users\Application Data\safeharddrive\Data
%ProgramFiles%\SafeHardDrive\Res\Main.ico
%ProgramFiles%\SafeHardDrive\unins000.exe
%ProgramFiles%\SafeHardDrive\sr.log
%ProgramFiles%\SafeHardDrive\sysrep.exe.Log
%ProgramFiles%\SafeHardDrive\msvcr71.dll
%ProgramFiles%\SafeHardDrive\SysRep.url
%ProgramFiles%\SafeHardDrive\mfc71.dll
%Program Files%\SafeHardDrive
%ProgramFiles%\Common Files\SafeHardDrive
%AllUsersProfile%\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\SafeHardDrive
%AllUsersProfile%\All Users\Application Data\SalesMon\Data
%AllUsersProfile%\All Users\Application Data\safeharddrive\Data\user
%AllUsersProfile%\All Users\Application Data\safeharddrive
%ProgramFiles%\SafeHardDrive\Res
%ProgramFiles%\SafeHardDrive\unins000.dat
%ProgramFiles%\SafeHardDrive\rm.url
%ProgramFiles%\SafeHardDrive\SysRep.exe
%ProgramFiles%\SafeHardDrive\ucookw.exe
%ProgramFiles%\SafeHardDrive\kernel.dll
%ProgramFiles%\SafeHardDrive\License.rtf
%ProgramFiles%\Common Files\SafeHardDrive\strpmon.exe
%AllUsersProfile%\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\SafeHardDrive\SafeHardDrive.lnk
%AllUsersProfile%\All Users\Application Data\SalesMon
%AllUsersProfile%\All Users\Application Data\safeharddrive\Data\oid
%ProgramFiles%\SafeHardDrive\Res\RecycleBin.ico
%ProgramFiles%\SafeHardDrive\urls.ini
%ProgramFiles%\SafeHardDrive\swupd.log
%ProgramFiles%\SafeHardDrive\SysRep.exe.xml
%ProgramFiles%\SafeHardDrive\Readme.rtf
%ProgramFiles%\SafeHardDrive\transpaid.exe
%ProgramFiles%\SafeHardDrive\msvcp71.dll
%ProgramFiles%\SafeHardDrive\atl71.dll

If you need a better understanding on how to search for these files then you can read how to find and search for files and folders here.

If you have issues deleting any of the previously listed files that are associated with SafeHardDrive, you can try rebooting your computer into safe mode. Booting into safe mode may allow certain malicious files to be deleted. If you are wondering how to boot into safe mode, you can read our process for starting a computer in safe mode here.

Image 2. Select “Safe Mode with Networking”
After locating and deleting the previous files you must remove all directories associated with SafeHardDrive by going to the C:\ProgramFiles\SafeHardDrive folder, select it, and delete it. In some cases you may not be able to find this directory. You can still continue to the next step.
Restart your computer. You do not need to boot into safe mode at this point. You should have removed SafeHardDrive completely from your computer. If you find that SafeHardDrive is still on your computer, you can repeat the steps again or go to the automatic SafeHardDrive removal process.

Automatically Remove SafeHardDrive

Automatically remove SafeHardDrive for free. Free automatic SafeHardDrive removal process.

Do you wish to automatically remove SafeHardDrive from your computer? Are you looking for a free method to remove SafeHardDrive from your computer? If so, you can utilize the free automatic SafeHardDrive removal process below. Each step is designed to aid in the use of the program SmitfraudFix, which is a free tool created by S!Ri to remove parasites such as SafeHardDrive. Just so you know there’s no guarantee that SmitfraudFix or any other spyware remover will remove SafeHardDrive completely. These instructions are provided as a guide and are to be used at your own risk.

Download the SmitfraudFix tool to your computer by using our free download link here. Save the downloaded file to your desktop.

Image 1. Save SmitfraudFix.exe
Restart your computer into safe mode. Safe mode will allow malicious files that are normally loaded into memory to be easily deleted by the SmitfraudFix program. Do you want to learn how to boot into safe mode? If so, you can follow our process on how to boot into safe mode here.
After booting into safe mode, double-click on the SmitfraudFix.exe icon that should be located on your desktop. Follow the on-screen instructions. Option number 2 should be selected once the program starts.

Image 2. Click on SmitfraudFix.exe icon
After SmitfraudFix performs the initial removal processes it will ask you “Do you want to clean the registry?” Select Y for yes.

Image 3. For “Do you want to clean the registry?,” select Y for yes
Once SmitfraudFix has finished the registry clean you can restart your computer now.
SafeHardDrive should be removed from your computer. If not, you can start the automatic removal process over. It may take more than one try in some rare cases.

There’s no guarantee that SmitfraudFix will remove all files due to the complex nature of new spyware files that are ever-changing. If necessary, you may need to get help from a person who knows about computer and spyware.

(Disclaimers: These instructions are provided to you for free and to be used at your own risk. The free removal process for SafeHardDrive is not guaranteed to work in all circumstances. We are not responsible for any damages.)