VIP NetLink

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

Overview

Vendor Notes:

 from the website: 'VIP NetLink has the ability to provide 56K V.90 dial up Internet access through all the major cities in USA and can accommodate more than 5 million end users concurrently. This is done through strategic partnership with Tier 1 providers like Level 3, McLeod USA (Splitrock) and Verio which use state-of-the-art hardware such as Lucent Max TNT network access servers and Cisco switches and routers.'

Category:

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.

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.

Similar Pests:

 Homepage Hijacker · Browser Helper Object

Origins

Group:

 VIP NetLink Inc.

Mailing Address:

 VIP NetLink 6776 Southwest Freeway, Suite 600 Houston, TX 77074

Phone:

 (713) 785 1919 Fax: (713) 787 0675

URL:

 http://www.vipnetlink.com/

Date of Origin:

 April, 2003

Operation

Storage Required:
  • VIP NetLink: at least 1181 KB
    		•

    Browser Performance:

    		 Likely to slow performance of Internet Explorer.

    Risks

    Privacy Issues:

    		 Perhaps. 'We will collect, store, compile and utilize information about you and your use of the Services including, without limitation, information regarding the Web sites you visit. In addition, we will collect, store, compile and utilize information that you provide in response to our questionnaires, surveys and registration forms. We may provide certain information and data about you (including information about your computer system and platform) to third parties including advertisers, clients, marketing organizations and others that we may select.' -- from the License Agreement

    Detection and Removal

    Automatic Removal:

    PestPatrol detects this.

    PestPatrol removes this.

    Manual Removal:

    		 Follow these steps to remove VIP NetLink 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:

    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:

    		 January 29, 2005