Overview
Summary:
Alias:
Category:
Adware: Software that displays popup/popunder ads when the primary user interface is not visible or which do not appear to be assocaited with the product.
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.
Downloader: A program designed to retrieve and install additional files, when run. Most will be configured to retrieve from a designated web or FTP site.
Error Hijacker.:
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.
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.
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:
Origins
Group:
Mailing Address:
Phone:
URL:
Date of Origin:
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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Advertising:
Storage Required:
Browser Performance:
Risks
Privacy Issues:
Security Issues:
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:
After following the instructions above, you will still need to restore your original settings and prevent this from happening again.
Research
File Analyses:
- Stop-Popup-Ads-Now: host.dll