How to remove Smart Guard Protection

What is Smart Guard Protection

Smart Guard Protection is the name of a rogue antivirus program that belongs to the Rogue.WinWebSec family of computer infections. This malicious software masquerades as genuine security software, displaying fake security alerts and scan results to scare users into purchasing a non-existent full version to remove the reported threats. As an unwanted application, Smart Guard Protection disrupts normal computer operations by blocking access to legitimate programs and constantly displaying alarming but fake security warnings. It is designed to deceive users into making unnecessary payments for a fraudulent service. The main purpose of this article is to provide an informative overview of what Smart Guard Protection is, how it infects computers, and how to remove it.

Smart Guard Protection (version 1)

Smart Guard Protection (version 2)

How Smart Guard Protection infected your computer

The rogue Smart Guard Protection virus typically infects computers through hacked websites that exploit vulnerabilities. Once installed, it configures itself to start automatically, disables various Windows services to protect itself from removal, and pretends to scan the computer, falsely claiming that numerous infections are present. It then prompts the user to purchase a license to remove these non-existent threats.

1. Download Smart Guard Protection Removal Tool
2. Remove/Uninstall Smart Guard Protection from Control Panel
3. Cannot remove/uninstall Smart Guard Protection using standard methods
4. Remove Smart Guard Protection files, folders, and registry keys
5. Block pop-ups promoting Smart Guard Protection
6. How to protect from threats, like Smart Guard Protection

Remove Smart Guard Protection manually for free

Here is a manual step-by-step tutorial for full Smart Guard Protection removal from your computer. This works 99% and was checked with the latest versions of Smart Guard Protection installer on operating systems with the latest updates and browser versions.

Remove Smart Guard Protection from Control Panel

To start removing Smart Guard Protection, you should remove it using Control Panel. It should uninstall correctly, however, we recommend you to use IObit Uninstaller to clean leftover items after uninstalling. Here are instructions for Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, and Windows 11.

Remove Smart Guard Protection from Windows XP:

1. Click on Start button.
2. Choose Control Panel.
3. Click Add or Remove Programs.
4. Find Smart Guard Protection.
5. Click Uninstall.

Remove Smart Guard Protection from Windows 7:

1. Click Start button.
2. Then go to Control Panel.
3. Click Uninstall a Program.
4. Find Smart Guard Protection and click Uninstall.

Remove Smart Guard Protection from Windows 8:

1. Hover mouse pointer to the bottom-right corner to see Menu.
2. Click Search.
3. After that, click Apps.
4. Then Control Panel.
5. Click Uninstall a Program under Programs.
6. Find Smart Guard Protection, click Uninstall.

Remove Smart Guard Protection from Windows 10:

There are 2 ways to uninstall Smart Guard Protection from Windows 10

Way one

1. Click on the Start button.
2. In opened menu, choose Settings.
3. Click on the System tile.
4. Click Apps & features and locate Smart Guard Protection in the list.
5. Click on it and then click Uninstall button near it.

Way two (classic)

1. Right-click on the Start button.
2. In opened menu, choose Programs and Features.
3. Locate Smart Guard Protection in the list.
4. Click on it and then click Uninstall button above.

Remove Smart Guard Protection from Windows 11:

1. Right-click on the Start button.
2. In opened menu, choose Settings.
3. Click on the Apps tab on the left side.
4. Click Apps & features and locate Smart Guard Protection in the list.
5. Click on 3-dots icon near it and then click Uninstall button near it.
6. Depending on the type of application (Windows Store app or classic Win32 app) it will be removed immediately, or you will need to confirm the action and go through the standard uninstall procedure.

Cannot uninstall Smart Guard Protection

In some cases, Smart Guard Protection won’t uninstall and gives you a message, that “You do not have sufficient access to uninstall Smart Guard Protection. Please, contact your system administrator” when you try to remove it from Control Panel or “Access denied” error when removing Smart Guard Protection folder and files. This happens because some file or service does not allow you to do it. In this case, I will recommend you to use SpyHunter 5 or Malwarebytes or uninstall Smart Guard Protection in Safe Mode. To boot in Safe Mode, do the following:

1. Reboot your computer.
2. While it starts booting, press F8 button.
3. This will open Advanced Boot Options menu.
4. Choose Safe Mode and wait until Windows loads.
5. Go to Control Panel > Uninstall a program and remove Smart Guard Protection.

>> See detailed instructions and video tutorial on how to boot in Safe Mode

Remove files, folders, and registry keys of Smart Guard Protection

Smart Guard Protection files:

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Smart Guard Protection folders:

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Smart Guard Protection registry keys:

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How to block ads and pop-ups, offering to download Smart Guard Protection

AdGuard main window

AdGuard general settings

AdGuard browser assistant

As Smart Guard Protection is mostly distributed via special ads and pop-ups promising to fix Windows errors or remove viruses, a good way to avoid the installation of Smart Guard Protection is to block such ads in browsers. There are a couple of programs that have such functions. We recommend you use AdGuard to remove ads by Smart Guard Protection from browsers. Download free trial here:

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