CWS.MUpdate

· Overview ·
· Origins ·
· Operation ·
· Detection and Removal ·
· Research ·

Overview

Alias:

 Trj/StartPage.BD [Panda], Trojan.Win32.StartPage.bb [Kaspersky], Trojan.Win32.WebSearch.a [Kaspersky], Win32.Startpage.U [Computer Associates], Win32/SearchPage.U!Trojan [Computer Associates]

Category:

Hijacker: Any software that resets your browser's settings to point to other sites. 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.

Homepage Hijacker: Any software that changes your browser's home page to some other site. 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.

Trojan: Any program with a hidden intent. Trojans are one of the leading causes of breaking into machines. If you pull down a program from a chat room, new group, or even from unsolicited e-mail, then the program is likely trojaned with some subversive purpose. The word Trojan can be used as a verb: To trojan a program is to add subversive functionality to an existing program. For example, a trojaned login program might be programmed to accept a certain password for any user's account that the hacker can use to log back into the system at any time. Rootkits often contain a suite of such trojaned programs.

Similar Pests:

 Hijacker · Homepage Hijacker · Trojan

Origins

Group:

 CoolWebSearch.com

By This Group:

 CoolWebSearch ·

Date of Origin:

 July, 2003

Operation

Storage Required:
  • CWS.MUpdate: at least 57 KB
    		•

    Browser Performance:

    		 Likely to slow performance of Internet Explorer.

    Detection and Removal

    Automatic Removal:

    PestPatrol detects this.

    PestPatrol removes this.

    Manual Removal:

    		 Follow these steps to remove CWS.MUpdate from your machine. Begin by backing up your registry and your system, and/or setting a Restore Point, to prevent trouble if you make a mistake.
    Stop Running Processes:

    Kill these running processes with Task Manager:

    Remove Files:

    Remove these files (if present) with Windows Explorer:

    Restore Settings:

    After following the instructions above, you will still need to restore your original settings and prevent this from happening again. Here''s how.

    Research

    File Analyses:

    More Info:
  • AllTheWeb, AltaVista, AOL Search, Ask Jeeves, Google, HotBot, Lycos, LookSmart, MSN, Yahoo!
    		•

    Research By:
  • PestPatrol's Pest Research Center
    		•

    Last Revised:

    		 April 01, 2005