FavSearch

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

Overview

Vendor Notes:

 From the doc:'FavSearch quickly searches through both the shortcut descriptions and URLs in your Internet Explorer Favorites list and returns a list of items containing any word, phrase, or partial word or phrase you specify. You can then simply double-click any item in the list of results to have Internet Explorer navaigate to its corresponding URL. This is especially useful if you have accumulated a large collection of Favorites and finding specific items in it has become tedious and frustrating. If you are using Internet Explorer 5 or later, installation of this program adds a new FavSearch button to Internet Explorer's toolbar plus a new menu item under the 'Tools' menu, giving you convenient access to the program whenever you are browsing the Web.'

Category:

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.

Variants:
  • FavSearch 1.0
  • FavSearch 1.5
    		•

    Similar Pests:

    		 Browser Helper Object

    Origins

    Author:

    		 Kyle Dusang

    Group:

    		 Harmony Hollow Software

    By This Group:

    		 FavSearch 1.0 ·

    Mailing Address:

    		 Harmony Hollow Software 17436 Romero Rd. Covington, LA 70435

    EMail:

    		 support@harmonyhollow.net

    URL:

    		 http://www.harmonyhollow.net

    Date of Origin:

    		 Variants from June, 2003 to June, 2004

    Distribution

    Prevalence:
  • FavSearch: 1.3%
  • FavSearch 1.0: 0.1%
    • More Info

    Clot Factor:
  • FavSearch: 4

    • 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:
  • FavSearch: Insufficient data to report growth
  • FavSearch 1.0: Insufficient data to report growth
    		•

    Operation

    Platform:

    		 Win95,Win98,WinME,Windows2000

    Storage Required:
  • FavSearch 1.0: at least 113 KB
  • FavSearch 1.5: at least 177 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 FavSearch 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:

    Clean Registry:

    Remove these registry items (if present) with RegEdit:

    Remove Files:

    Remove these files (if present) with Windows Explorer:

    Remove Directories:

    Remove these directories (if present) with Windows Explorer:

    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 03, 2005