System Check is a phony optimization program, which belongs to the rogue family FakeHDD. It uses methods, similar to the ones used by other members of this family, in order to mislead the user into purchasing its fake full version.
Compromised websites and bogus online scanners are the infection’s main weapons for distribution. Mere clicking through a corrupted website is enough for System Check to sneak into your computer through vulnerabilities found in the computer system. When it comes to fake online scanners, however, it is the user who triggers System Check infection by authorizing the fake tool to perform a scan.
Figure 1. System Check fake GUI
Once System Check manages to enter a machine, it configures itself to start automatically as soon as Windows starts. Then, all of a sudden, a variety of fake security alerts start appearing on the victim’s screen. They state that a number of errors has occurred in the hard drive of the PC. Below, you can see some examples of fake alerts, produced by System Check:
Critical Error
RAM memory usage is critically high. RAM memory failure.
Critical Error
Windows can’t find hard disk space. Hard drive error
Critical Error
A critical error has occurred while indexing data stored on hard drive. System restart required.
System Check
The system has been restored after a critical error. Data integrity and hard drive integrity verification required.
Activation Reminder
System Check Activation
Advanced module activation required to fix detected errors and performance issues. Please purchase Advanced Module license to activate this software and enable all features.
Clicking on any of these notifications leads to the automatic launching of System Check. Its counterfeit scanning tool pretends to be looking for errors, but the fact is, it is incapable of doing so. It only presents a deceitful list of errors such as:
Drive C initializing error
Hard drive doesn’t respond to system commands
Registry Error – Critical Error
Ram memory speed decreased significantly and may cause system failure.
Requested registry access is not allowed. Registry defragmentation required
Disk drive C:\ is unreadable.
System files are damaged. System is unstable.
The problem may cause errors while loading operating system.
Bad sectors on hard drive or damaged file allocation table
GPU RAM temperature is critically high. Urgent RAM memory optimization is required to prevent system crash
The conclusion made by System Check after each scan is that there is a number of critical errors that should be fixed as soon as possible. When the victim clicks on “Fix Errors”, System Check pretends to be fixing some of the problems, but at the end states that in order to remove the rest, the victim needs to purchase the full version of System Check. You should keep in mind that both the trial and the full version of System Check are incapable of analyzing or optimizing your computer system, therefor you should not spend your money on it.
Still, System Check does not limit itself with simple alerts and fake scans. In order to convince the user that he/she really needs to purchase its so-called “licensed” version, System Check blocks most other programs from being launched. To justify this act, it displays counterfeit warnings, which declare that the program is infected or that there are some critical hard drive errors. Some examples of such fake warnings are:
Windows detected a hard disk problem
A potential disk failure may cause loss of files, applications and documents stored on the hard disk. Please try not to use this computer until the hard disk is fixed or replaced.
Windows detected a hard disk problem
A potential disk failure may cause loss of files, applications and documents store on the hard disk. It’s highly recommended to scan and solve HDD problems before continue using this PC.
Critical Error
Hard drive clusters are partly damaged. Segment load failure.
Critical Error
Hard drive critical error. Start a system diagnostics application to scan your hard disk for errors and performance problems.
Hard Drive Failure
The system has detected a problem with one or more installed IDE / SATA hard disks. It is recommended that you restart the system.
Critical Error
Hard drive critical error. Run a system diagnostic utility to check your hard disk drive for errors. Windows can’t find hard disk space. Hard drive error.
The fact is that by stopping other applications, System Check attempts to prevent itself from being detected by a legitimate AV tool that might be installed on the computer. However, if you are persistent and try several times to run a program, it will eventually be started.
Another System Check trick is that it deletes random shortcuts so that the user cannot find them in the start menu. It ascribes the missing shortcuts to the errors found by its scans, but in reality they are all stored in the %Temp%\smtmp folder. Hence, it is particularly important not to delete any files from this folder, provided that System Check has crept into your PC. Furthermore, the rogue hides or changes the content of some of the victim’s folders to make them believe there are indeed a number of errors in the system. It also changes Windows settings so that the user cannot view the hidden system files. This should not scare you – once you get rid of System Check, everything will fall into place!
In conclusion, the only way to deal with this threat, in case it is operating on your computer, is to eliminate System Check immediately with the help of a genuine anti-virus application.
*SpyHunter’s free scanner is only for malware detection. If SpyHunter detects malware on your PC, you will need to purchase SpyHunter’s malware suite to remove the malware threats.