<s>
SpySheriff	B-Application
is	O
malware	O
that	O
disguises	O
itself	O
as	O
anti-spyware	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
SpySheriff	B-Application
can	O
be	O
removed	O
by	O
an	O
experienced	O
user	O
,	O
antivirus	B-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
or	O
by	O
using	O
a	O
rescue	O
disk	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SpySheriff	B-Application
was	O
hosted	O
at	O
both	O
www.spysheriff.com	O
and	O
www.spy-sheriff.com	O
,	O
which	O
operated	O
from	O
2005	O
until	O
their	O
shutdown	O
in	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
typosquatted	B-Protocol
websites	O
also	O
attempted	O
to	O
automatically	O
install	O
SpySheriff	B-Application
,	O
including	O
a	O
fake	O
version	O
of	O
Google.com	B-Application
called	O
Goggle.com	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
2015	O
,	O
Goggle.com	B-Protocol
(	O
which	O
had	O
changed	O
ownership	O
following	O
a	O
lawsuit	O
by	O
Google	B-Application
)	O
hosted	O
a	O
survey	O
scam	O
and	O
displayed	O
links	O
to	O
Amazon	B-Application
items	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
beginning	O
of	O
2018	O
,	O
the	O
site	O
redirected	O
to	O
the	O
scam	O
site	O
tango-deg.com	O
and	O
others	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
from	O
October	O
2018	O
,	O
it	O
existed	O
as	O
a	O
simple	O
HTML	O
markup	O
with	O
a	O
top-level	O
heading	O
reading	O
,	O
"	O
Goggle.com	B-Protocol
Inc.	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
2019	O
,	O
the	O
website	O
became	O
a	O
WordPress	B-Application
blog	O
about	O
the	O
2020	O
United	O
States	O
presidential	O
election	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SpySheriff	B-Application
is	O
designed	O
to	O
behave	O
like	O
genuine	O
antispyware	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Removal	O
attempts	O
may	O
be	O
unsuccessful	O
and	O
SpySheriff	B-Application
may	O
reinstall	O
itself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Attempts	O
to	O
remove	O
SpySheriff	B-Application
via	O
Add	O
or	O
Remove	O
Programs	O
in	O
Control	O
Panel	O
either	O
fails	O
or	O
causes	O
the	O
computer	O
to	O
restart	O
unexpectedly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Attempts	O
to	O
connect	O
to	O
the	O
Internet	O
in	O
any	O
Web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
is	O
blocked	O
by	O
SpySheriff	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Attempts	O
to	O
remove	O
SpySheriff	B-Application
via	O
System	O
Restore	O
are	O
blocked	O
as	O
it	O
prevents	O
the	O
calendar	B-Application
and	O
restore	O
points	O
from	O
loading	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
can	O
overcome	O
this	O
by	O
undoing	O
the	O
previous	O
restore	O
operation	O
,	O
after	O
which	O
the	O
system	O
will	O
restore	O
itself	O
,	O
allowing	O
for	O
easier	O
removal	O
of	O
SpySheriff	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
SpySheriff	B-Application
can	O
detect	O
certain	O
antispyware	O
and	O
antivirus	B-Application
programs	I-Application
running	O
on	O
the	O
machine	O
,	O
and	O
disable	O
them	O
by	O
ending	O
their	O
processes	O
as	O
soon	O
as	O
it	O
detects	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
may	O
prevent	O
its	O
detection	O
and	O
removal	O
by	O
legitimate	O
antivirus	B-Application
programs	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
SpySheriff	B-Application
can	O
disable	O
Task	B-General_Concept
Manager	I-General_Concept
and	O
Registry	B-Protocol
Editor	I-Protocol
,	O
preventing	O
the	O
user	O
from	O
ending	O
its	O
active	O
process	O
or	O
removing	O
its	O
registry	O
entries	O
from	O
Windows	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Renaming	O
the	O
'	O
regedit	B-Protocol
 '	O
and	O
'	O
taskmgr	O
 '	O
executables	O
will	O
solve	O
this	O
problem	O
.	O
</s>
