Overview
Summary:
Vendor Notes:
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Category:
Search Hijacker: Any software that resets your browser's settings to point to other sites when you perform a search. Hijacks may reroute your info and address requests through an unseen site, capturing that info. In such hijacks, your browser may behave normally, but be slower. Search results when such a hijacker is running will sometimes differ from non-hijacked results.
Browser Helper Object: (BHO). A component that Internet Explorer will load whenever it starts, shares IE's memory context, can perform any action on the available windows and modules. A BHO can detect events, create windows to display additional information on a viewed page, monitor messages and actions. Microsoft calls it "a spy we send to infiltrate the browser's land." BHOs are not stopped by personal firewalls, because they are seen by the firewall as your browser itself. Some exploits of this technology search all pages you view in IE and replace banner advertisements with other ads. Some monitor and report on your actions. Some change your home page.
Toolbar: A group of buttons which perform common tasks. A toolbar for Internet Explorer is nomally located below the menu bar at the top of the form. Toolbars may be created by Browser Helper Objects.
Similar Pests:
Origins
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By This Group:
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Distribution
Distribution:
Prevalence:
Clot Factor:
The "Clot Factor" is a measure of how much a pest "gums up" a machine by adding registry entries, files, and directories. As more objects are placed in a machine, manual removal becomes more difficult and more error-prone.
Growth:
Operation
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Browser Performance:
Risks
Privacy Policy:
Detection and Removal
Automatic Removal:
PestPatrol detects this.
PestPatrol removes this.
Manual Removal:
Kill these running processes with Task Manager:
Unregister these DLLs with Regsvr32, then reboot:
Remove these registry items (if present) with RegEdit:
Remove these files (if present) with Windows Explorer:
Remove these directories (if present) with Windows Explorer:
After following the instructions above, you will still need to restore your original settings and prevent this from happening again.
Research
File Analyses:
- CWS.GonnaSearch: about.html · autosearch.dll · avp32.exe-1432e758.pf · basis.xml · error.html · gstb.exe-0691e3df.pf · install.exe · install.exe-29dfbb9e.pf · mgs_32.dll · options.html · ping.exe-31216d26.pf · searchaddon.dll · tb_buttons.xml · tb_commands.xml · tb_settings.xml · tmpinst.exe-2b141db4.pf · tmpinst1.exe-2e79a0e5.pf · tmpinst2.exe-0b51ed5b.pf · toolbar.crc · toolbar.dll · webinfo.dll