Anyone know how to get rid of MyWebSearch toolbar?

[bjornkeizers]

I'm trying to remove this ******* piece of **** adware/spyware toolbar called 'MyWebSearch' from a PC, but I'm not having much luck.

I tried Ad Aware with the latest definitions, no luck. I deleted reg keys, fiddled with MSconfig, I tried several removal tools (including the one on their site) ran some virus checks, numerous reboots, deletes and scans later, the ******* thing is still there.

Does anyone have a clue as to get rid of this? I have half a mind to book a plane ticket right now and introduce the ****** who made this to Mr. 9mm. If I find who made this, I would exterminate him/her, their family, their pets, and burn their house down in a nice little bonfire.

In short, I'm pissed.

[Janak Parekh]

MyWebSearch is particularly notorious, as it updates itself faster than the spyware makers can take it down.

Try Googling -- the last time I had it, I found some removal solution there.

--janak

[upplepop]

I did a search on :google: for "remove MyWebSearch" and these first two results look promising:

http://www.free-web-browsers.com/support/remove-mysearch.shtml

http://www.kephyr.com/spywarescanner/library/websearchtoolbar.emailplug/index.phtml

[bjornkeizers]

Yes, well, obviously I tried Googling already :cry: I also Alltheweb'ed and Jeeves didn't know what to say either.

Upplepop,

The first one is actually a shareware spyware remover - well, it's shareware, whether or not it removes the crap is another story. It'll install, scan, find ****, and to remove it, you have to register 8O

The second one looked pretty promising to me as well. I removed the key, restarted my PC, hit search to find the file and... Guess what popped up? You get three guesses, but you're only going to need one!

[Pat Logsdon]

I'd recommend a 2 pronged approach. First, stop using IE and start using Firefox. Second, run SpyBot Search and Destroy. (http://www.safer-networking.org/en/mirrors/index.html) Make sure you use the Immunize function in SpyBot. :D

[bjornkeizers]

spybot cant gt rid of this one - Several people tried it.

Unfortunately, the infected PC is a family PC, and some people just wont listen to expert advise.

And yes, *I* dont use IE anymore; I only use Crazy Browser & Firefox. IE is pure evil.

[Kati Compton]

Try these?

http://www.nwfusion.com/newsletters/web/2003/1208web2.html

http://forums.spywareinfo.com/index.php?showtopic=12812

http://pcpitstop.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=58800

[Janak Parekh]

Unfortunately, the infected PC is a family PC, and some people just wont listen to expert advise.
If it's running XP, make sure to apply SP2 as soon as you can. That'll at least lock down IE a few notches and make things like this harder. Of course, you have to get rid of the thing first. :(

--janak

[PetiteFlower]

Unfortunately Spybot seems defunct, the definitions haven't been updated in many months. Which is a shame because I really liked it. Though of course now when I go to the web site it says the definitions were updated on 8/10. So maybe I need to re-download and install the main program...wish it would have given me some kind of indication of that when I tried to dl definitions!

[ctmagnus]

I got rid of a few installations of this garbage a few months ago and it went mostly fairly easily. Have you checked the task manager to see if there's anything extraneous running in there?

[Janak Parekh]

Unfortunately Spybot seems defunct, the definitions haven't been updated in many months.
Yes - you should try updating your Spybot. I just ran it two days ago and had definitions from 8/11/04. Worked fine, if a little slow.

I got rid of a few installations of this garbage a few months ago and it went mostly fairly easily. Have you checked the task manager to see if there's anything extraneous running in there?
To the best of my knowledge, it's gotten progressively worse the last few months. Apparently the MyWebSearch folks release a new version every few days or something. They're also rather shady.

--janak

[bjornkeizers]

Thanks Kati, I'll see if there's anything interesting.

Yeah, I checked task manager - nothing I can recognize as such. I tried every trick I know: reg edititing, fiddling with MSconfig, AdAware... I'll give Spybot a try just in case, but I doubt it'll have much luck.

If people such as ourselves have a hard time getting rid of this, it must drive the average computer user to absolute madness.

<edit>

Well, FWIW, I think I figured out where this crap came from. In one of those threads I read it says that it comes with Cursor Mania - And guess what folks? I think I saw my sister playing with that a while ago..

[Pat Logsdon]

Well, FWIW, I think I figured out where this crap came from. In one of those threads I read it says that it comes with Cursor Mania - And guess what folks? I think I saw my sister playing with that a while ago..
Ah yes - the "cute" spyware lure. I recall a recent conversation with my wife about something along those lines:

Me: If you see any cute smilies, don't click on them.
Wife: Why not?
Me: They're spyware. They'll kill your computer.
Wife: But...they're cute!
Me: So are tigers. That doesn't mean I'm going to pet one.
Wife: *Eyes narrow* You're a jerk.
Me: True, but at least my computer works.

:mrgreen:

[Kati Compton]

If people such as ourselves have a hard time getting rid of this, it must drive the average computer user to absolute madness.
Ah - but that's the thing. They don't realize it's bad. They might even be upset if it disappears. Did you see on some of those links everyone talking about how they loved the smiley central software, and how they really wanted to reinstall it even knowing that it's spyware because they missed it?

It's rather scary.

[mrkablooey]

Ah yes - the "cute" spyware lure. I recall a recent conversation with my wife about something along those lines:

Me: If you see any cute smilies, don't click on them.
Wife: Why not?
Me: They're spyware. They'll kill your computer.
Wife: But...they're cute!
Me: So are tigers. That doesn't mean I'm going to pet one.
Wife: *Eyes narrow* You're a jerk.
Me: True, but at least my computer works.

Now the next time this (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=275947&highlight=#275947) happens, you'll know why!!! :lol:

[David Prahl]

Another down-and-dirty utility that flat-out works is called "HijackThis!". You might give a go and see what other crap you have on your system.

When did all this spyware mess start? I don't remember anything like it 5 or 6 years ago. :|

[divajess]

If you have Spybot 1.2, you're going to want to go to www.download.com and download Spybot 1.3. It's quicker, does a better job, and accepts the new updates.

Another thing that may get rid of the MySearchBar stuff is something called The Cleaner. I have to get rid of stuff like this on customers' computers ALL the time (spyware is a specific problem that conflicts with a dataserver connection on our software), and this one is a doozy. Spybot 1.3 SHOULD get it though. If it asks you to run Spybot 1.3 upon system reboot, say yes.

:)

[PetiteFlower]

When did all this spyware mess start? I don't remember anything like it 5 or 6 years ago. :|

You know, I wonder if it was there 5 or 6 years ago and nobody realized it at the time. I wonder if it's just gotten more press and become more mainstream/prevalent recently....I mean popups and browser hijacks were happening 5-6 years ago, I got my home page reset a few times even back then, but it didn't have a name :)

[Janak Parekh]

You know, I wonder if it was there 5 or 6 years ago and nobody realized it at the time. I wonder if it's just gotten more press and become more mainstream/prevalent recently....I mean popups and browser hijacks were happening 5-6 years ago, I got my home page reset a few times even back then, but it didn't have a name :)
It was very rare 5-6 years ago for a simple reason: we didn't have always-on Net access. With always-on/broadband, there's a much greater profit incentive, as adware/spyware/malware can stream ads, collect usage stats, etc. all the time.

--janak