Windows AntiBreach Patrol: what it is and how to remove it
Windows AntiBreach Patrol is a malicious program, which belongs to notorious family of rogues known as FakeVimes. As soon as it enters the system, it drops its own files and starts applying its misleading techniques that are dedicated for the only thing – stealing people's money.
Facts checked October 7, 2026. Removal steps tested on Windows 11 (26H2) and checked against Microsoft's and the browser makers' current documentation. Sections marked as our earlier report are the original text: they describe the threat as it was then and have not been reviewed since. The 2026 status, the removal steps and the questions are current.
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Windows AntiBreach Patrol: summary
| Detection names | No Microsoft detection name is known |
|---|---|
| Distribution | Not recorded in the old report |
| Damage | Not recorded in the old report |
| Name | Windows AntiBreach Patrol |
| Type | Rogue antivirus |
| Symptoms | An unknown process in Task Manager |
| Removal | Scan the PC with security software to find and remove the malware and anything installed with it. Fortect scans Windows for malware and repairs the system files and settings it damaged. Remove it nowTo use the full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Fortect. The scan is free. |
Show 4 more facts
| Files and processes | taskmanger.exe |
|---|---|
| Evidence | One write-up by a security site; details still limited |
| First seen | 26 April 2021 |
| Facts checked | 7 October 2026 |
From our report of Apr 2021 · not reviewed since
What Windows AntiBreach Patrol is
Windows AntiBreach Patrol is a malicious program, which belongs to notorious family of rogues known as FakeVimes.
As soon as it enters the system, it drops its own files and starts applying its misleading techniques that are dedicated for the only thing – stealing people's money. The clearest sign showing that Windows AntiBreach Patrol virus has infiltrated the system is continuous system scanners that misleadingly show how they are checking the system for malware.
In addition, malware displays fake alerts and reports that computer is dangerously infected by tens of different viruses. If you fall for such ads, you may be tricked into believing that the only real cure in this situation is Windows AntiBreach Patrol's licensed version. Please, do NOT believe this! It's the only way to remove malicious files that belong to this rogue.
Is Windows AntiBreach Patrol a real security program?
- File:
taskmanger.exe
From our report of Apr 2021 · not reviewed since
How can Windows AntiBreach Patrol infect my computer?
Windows AntiBreach Patrol is mostly spread with a help of misleading pop-up ads that keep showing up on illegitimate or legitimate (!) websites and offer checking computer for free.
If you click on such ad, you not only fail to test your machine. You also install a serious virus on the system that additionally modifies it and initiates a serious havoc. In addition, Windows AntiBreach Patrol may also infiltrate your computer via spam and illegal programs, so stay out of them.
As soon as this rogue enters computer, it modifies it by dropping several registry entries and files. After that, virus gets ability to start its work every time victim reboots computer and displays such and similar alerts:
We highly recommend avoiding such notifications because they are misleading and seek only to scare you into thinking that your machine is infected. In reality, they are partially right but the only real virus in this situation is Windows AntiBreach Patrol. In order to stop its alerts from showing up, you should follow a guide below and remove this rogue anti-spyware.
From our report of Apr 2021 · not reviewed since
More from our earlier report on Windows AntiBreach Patrol
- Firewall has blocked a program from accessing the Internet c:\windows\system32\taskmanger.exe is suspected to have infected your PC.
- This type of virus intercepts entered data and transmits them to a remote server.
- Error System data security is at risk!
- To prevent potential PC errors, run a full system scan.
- Identity theft attempt detected Hidden connection IP: xx.xxx.xxx.xxx Target: Microsoft Corporation keys Your IP: XXXXXXXXXXX
How to remove Windows AntiBreach Patrol
Nothing it reports is real.
These steps remove it and undo a payment if you made one.
Step 1: Do not pay, and undo a payment if you made one
Windows AntiBreach Patrol reports problems to sell a licence: the "threats" or "errors" it lists are invented or harmless leftovers. If you already paid, ask your card issuer to dispute the charge and cancel the subscription both in the seller's account and through your bank.
If you called a phone number it showed and let someone connect, treat the PC as remotely accessed and remove the remote tool. Uninstalling it from Windows 11 or Windows 10 does not cancel a subscription by itself.
Full procedure with screenshots: What to do after paying a scammer
Step 2: Uninstall programs you did not mean to install
Open Settings > Apps > Installed apps in Windows 11, or Settings > Apps > Apps & features in Windows 10, and sort the list by install date. Look at what appeared around the day the problem started and uninstall every program you do not recognise or did not choose.
Free converters, PDF and video tools, "system optimizers" and unknown browsers are the usual carriers of Windows AntiBreach Patrol. If a name is unclear, search for it before you remove it, so you do not uninstall a driver or a Windows component.
Full procedure with screenshots: Uninstall a program or app in Windows On uGetFix
Step 3: Remove it from startup
Whatever Windows AntiBreach Patrol installed usually starts with Windows.
Open Task Manager with Ctrl + Shift + Esc, go to Startup apps in Windows 11 or the Startup tab in Windows 10, and disable what you do not know, starting with entries that have an empty Publisher column.
Open file location on the right-click menu shows the file, which helps you decide and tells you what to delete later. Disabling is safe: if something you need stops working, switch it back on.
Full procedure with screenshots: Stop apps from opening at startup On uGetFix
Step 4: Delete the folders left behind
What the uninstaller leaves behind is usually in the user folders. Open File Explorer, switch on View > Show > Hidden items (in Windows 10 View > Hidden items), and go through
%LocalAppData%,%AppData%, %ProgramData% and the two Program Files folders.Sort by Date modified and delete folders that appeared together with the problem and belong to no program you use. Folders with random names that hold
.exe,.dll, .js or .ps1 files are the strongest sign.Full procedure with screenshots: Remove what malware leaves behind in Windows
Step 5: Scan the PC, then run the offline scan
Open Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Scan options, run a Full scan and remove everything it finds. Then select Microsoft Defender Antivirus (offline scan) and click Scan now: the PC restarts and scans before Windows loads, which finds files that hide while Windows runs.
Save your work first, because the offline scan takes about 15 minutes. Both scans are built into Windows 11 and Windows 10, and a second scanner from another vendor is a useful extra opinion.
Windows 11: Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Scan options. Full procedure with screenshots: Run a Microsoft Defender Offline scan
Choose a proper web browser and improve your safety with a VPN tool
Online spying has got momentum in recent years and people are getting more and more interested in how to protect their privacy online.
One of the basic means to add a layer of security - choose the most private and secure web browser. Although web browsers can't grant full privacy protection and security, some of them are much better at sandboxing, HTTPS upgrading, active content blocking, tracking blocking, phishing protection, and similar privacy-oriented features.
However, if you want true anonymity, we suggest you employ a powerful VPN - it can encrypt all the traffic that comes and goes out of your computer, preventing tracking completely.
Lost your files? Use data recovery software
While some files located on any computer are replaceable or useless, others can be extremely valuable.
Family photos, work documents, school projects - these are types of files that we don't want to lose. Unfortunately, there are many ways how unexpected data loss can occur:
- power cuts
- Blue Screen of Death errors
- hardware failures
- crypto-malware attack
- even accidental deletion
To ensure that all the files remain intact, you should prepare regular data backups. You can choose cloud-based or physical copies you could restore from later in case of a disaster. If your backups were lost as well or you never bothered to prepare any, can be your only hope to retrieve your invaluable files.
From our report of Apr 2021 · not reviewed since
How to remove Windows AntiBreach Patrol?
If you noticed Windows AntiBreach Patrol on your computer, you immediately check it with one of these programs: , , .
They will help you to remove all malicious files from the system.
1. Reboot your computer to Safe Mode with Networking. Just reboot your PC and, as soon as it starts booting up, start pressing F8 repeatedly. 2.
Loggin as the same user as you were in normal Windows mode. 3. Now click on IE or other browser and select 'Run As' or 'Run As administrator', enter your Administrator account password (if needed).
4. Enter this link to your address bar: https://www.2-spyware.com/download/hunter.exe and download a program on your desktop. Launch it to kill the malicious processes and remove its files.
The latest parasite names used by FakeVimes:
Questions about Windows AntiBreach Patrol
Is taskmanger.exe safe?
It depends on where the file is and who signed it, not on the name. Open Task Manager, go to the Details tab, right-click taskmanger.exe and choose Open file location. A file inside Program Files or System32 with a valid digital signature from a known company is usually part of a legitimate program.
A file in AppData, Temp or ProgramData with no signature, especially one that restarts itself after you end it, is suspicious. If you cannot tie the process to anything you installed, uninstall recent unfamiliar programs and run a Microsoft Defender Offline scan.
Can I end taskmanger.exe in Task Manager?
Ending an unknown process is safe in the sense that Windows will warn you before you close anything critical, and a restart brings back whatever Windows needs. Ending taskmanger.exe will not remove it, though: if a task or startup entry launches it, it returns at the next sign-in.
Use ending the process as a test. If something important stops working, it belonged to a program you use. If nothing changes and it comes back by itself, find and disable its starter, delete the file and scan the PC.
Should I reset my PC because of Windows AntiBreach Patrol?
Only if the signs point to deeper access. Reset when you see an unfamiliar process called taskmanger.exe in Task Manager again after removal, when Windows Security cannot start or update, when remote access tools you did not install keep appearing, or when you simply cannot trust the PC any more.
Otherwise, the plan in this guide plus an offline scan is enough. If you do reset, choose Remove everything and Cloud download for a fresh copy of Windows, restore only documents and photos, and reinstall programs from their official sites. Change important passwords from the clean system afterwards.
I let a technician connect to my PC because of Windows AntiBreach Patrol. Is it safe now?
Not until you check. While connected, the caller could install other programs, create a user account or look at saved passwords. Disconnect from the internet, uninstall the remote access program and anything else installed during the call, and run a full scan and the Microsoft Defender offline scan.
From another device, change your e-mail and banking passwords and turn on two-step verification. If the caller opened your online banking, call the bank today. A reset of Windows is the safest option if you cannot tell what was done.
Do I need to buy antivirus after removing Windows AntiBreach Patrol?
No. Windows 11 and Windows 10 include Microsoft Defender in Windows Security, which provides real-time protection, scheduled scans, the offline scan and protection against unwanted apps at no cost. Keep it switched on and updated, and turn on Reputation-based protection under App & browser control.
If you prefer a third-party product, buy it from the vendor's own site after reading independent test results, never from a pop-up or a phone call. The lesson of Windows AntiBreach Patrol is that security offers which arrive unasked are the ones to avoid.
What if I paid Windows AntiBreach Patrol?
Contact your bank or card issuer the same day, explain that the payment went to a fake security program and ask for a chargeback. Keep screenshots of an unfamiliar process called taskmanger.exe in Task Manager, the payment receipt and any e-mails.
If you gave card details in the program, ask the bank to block and replace the card. Then uninstall the program and run a full scan in Windows Security. If you also called a number and let someone connect to your PC, uninstall the remote-access tool they used and change your passwords from another device.
Why does Windows AntiBreach Patrol look so official?
Because copying the design costs nothing and makes people trust it. The program behind an unfamiliar process called taskmanger.exe in Task Manager borrows Windows colours, icons and wording, sometimes even the name of a well-known security brand. None of that gives it access to real security information.
A real alert can be checked in seconds: open Windows Security from the Start menu and look at Protection history. If nothing is listed there, the official-looking window is fake, and the program that draws it is what needs to be removed.
What should I do if I already clicked or replied to Windows AntiBreach Patrol?
Stop all contact, do not click anything else and secure your accounts right away. If you typed a password, change it at once from a clean device, then turn on two-factor authentication.
If you gave card or bank details, call the bank on the number printed on your card and ask to block or replace it. If you installed something or allowed remote access, disconnect from the internet and follow the removal plan. Keep screenshots and the message, because they help when you report it.
Will Fortect remove Windows AntiBreach Patrol?
Fortect scans Windows for malware and unwanted programs and repairs the system files and settings they change, and its free scan shows what it finds on your PC before you decide anything.
For Windows AntiBreach Patrol, follow the plan above as well: the browser steps take back permissions and settings that no scanner treats as a threat, and uninstalling the program that brought it removes the source.
Run Microsoft Defender's full scan and, if anything was found, its offline scan as a second opinion. If the symptoms are gone after the plan and both scans are clean, there is nothing more to do.
Sources
- FTC: How to recognize, remove and avoid malware (read October 7, 2026)
- Microsoft Learn: Microsoft Defender Offline (read October 7, 2026)
- Microsoft Learn: How Microsoft names malware (read October 7, 2026)