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I need HELP!!!

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Hello,
Somehow a couple of wonderful (heavy on the sarcasm) programs known as weatherbug, 2nd thought, and PC Search have attached themselves to my daughter's PC. I am unable to manually delete these files as they have attached themselves to my system files like the fungus they are (a curse of boils on the creator of any program that can not be erased if it is not wanted). My question is, If I reload Windows will it erase these programs or is it a wasted effort. It is not financialy an option at this time to buy new software to eradicate these programs so if reloading windows 98SE is not an option I will need to reformat C: to take care of this problem unless someone in the REPUBLIC can help me.

Thank in advance for your time and assistance.

16 replies

by cg it

weatherbug? gods a Gator application. hate Gator crap. supposedly if you uninstall weatherbug the rest of the crap from Gator goes with it but in my experience it doesn't. So here's a link to PC Hell - Gator removal http://www.pchell.com/support/gator.shtml Note: GAIN is a pain real pain to get rid of if you don't uninstall the Gator application and choose remove GAIN also. Click the link on the PCHell web page for GAIN removal instructions note the guys over there don't like to tell you how to remove it so be persistant.

Also includes the Weatherbug removal process.

by tabcomputers2002

Weather bug does have an unistall program, but like D.R. says anything with gator holds on for dear life. After you use D.R. suggestions, I would download Ad-Aware and/or Spybot Search and destroy. Both are free and compliment each other nicely. I run both programs a couple times a week and am always suprised at what shows up out of nowhere.

Good luck.
Tim

by aquaris

Though its an oft repeated answer...but still

adaware from www.lavasoftusa.com

and/or spybot search and destroy..from

security.kolla.de

both free ware....

and have a reputation for keeping at least 95% of such pests at bay.....

and are good....

the other problem which one face constantly is

the sudden pop ups out of no where...of these

pests....

and google's search bar....to my experience is
the best....in stoping these renegades.....

beside giving an instant google access from within your browser...

hope it helps.

by p.erickson

Yes to the adaware, but also delete all Temporary internet files and all files in the C:\windows\temp folder The reason is that some of these programs are engineered to re-install themselves on your PC

by gh0ztalarm

Aaah weatherbug, the hellorific program mod that lets you so called tell the temp at schools and view there web cams....anyways, most of what i know about it is search for them in registry, but only if you know what your doing, delete them first, then, find the files and manualy delete them, otherwise gator will reevaluate them on your pc, another adware removal tactic. If you have to format c: remember to backup things that are important, hope it helps, and good luck

by pctech

Hi
You have already been given excellent advice with Ad Aware and Spybot Search & Destroy. I would like to add that both of these programs have updateable detection rules just as an anti virus program has updateable virus definitions. Make sure that you update these programs with the most current detection rules they have available. Ad Aware also has a "Custom Settings " tab you can use and make sure that all available options for a scan are enabled. Spybot Search & Destroy has an option to " Immunize " the registry. This is rather misleading for this is not what it actually does. Spybot will add lines to the HOST file that redirects the spyware back to the local computer when the spyware looks for its own updates. This is a very effective tactic that some viruses will use to trick your anti virus software into thinking it has no available updates when it checks for its own definition updates.
Ad Aware and Spybot may report that some files could not be removed after it attempts to do so and offer to run at the next reboot. Allow them to do so but also write down the files and their respective paths that Ad Aware can not remove. Reboot and come up in " Safe Mode ". Manually delete these files yourself that Ad Aware could not delete. Open REGEDIT and do a backup of the registry. FILE>EXPORT>ALL and save this to your "My Documents " folder. This will give you an opportunity to restore the registry in the event of an error. Search for the files in the registry using its search features that Ad Aware had detected. EDIT>FIND> and type the filename into the search box.
........ continued

by pctech

.... from previous post
There is another important thing to remember when using Ad Aware and Spybot and this is for computers running Win 2K or Win XP with multiple user profiles. You MUST scan with Ad Aware and Spybot under each profile by logging onto each profile, one at a time, and scanning for spyware. The reason for this is that each profile will store files specific to that profile, even spyware files.
The best pop up stopper that I have found, hands down, is Pop Up Stopper at http://www.panicware.com . There is a free version and a Pro version. While the Pro version offers more features, the free version will usually suit your needs and it can be disabled ( double click the hand icon on in the Task Bar )for forms that you need to appear on web sites.

I hope this helps you.

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