Spyware
Every computer on the internet needs to be running spyware detection and removal program.
Very good resources for ad ware removal:
Spybot Search and Destroy
http://www.safer-networking.org/
Ad-aware
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/
Spyware reference link
http://www.cexx.org/webhancer.htm
SPYWARE Removal
Freeware is a great concept. Advertiser supported software that doesn't cost
you anything, but is it really free? All you have to do is give your name,
address, phone, e-mail, and some other general information. Not a bad
trade-off, right? But, what if your personal information was also stored
elsewhere on your hard drive, and transmitted your personal data via the
Internet back to advertisers in exchange for more advertising? Ah, now is it
free or is it spyware aka aware.
Spyware is Internet jargon for Advertising Supported software (Adware). It
is a way for shareware authors to make money from a product, other than by
selling it to the users. This way, you don't have to pay for the software
and the developers are still getting paid. If you find the banners annoying,
there is usually an option to remove them, by paying the regular licensing
fee.
What is Bonzi Buddy?
He's your interactive friend and traveling companion on the Internet! He walks, talks, sings, browses and searches the Internet with you. That's according to the website...he's also very annoying.
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How do I Remove Bonzi Buddy?
BonziBUDDY is easily removed following these instructions:
1) First you need to close the Bonzi Buddy Program. Click on Bonzi and say "Goodbye" to close him. Next, Right-click on the dollar sign icon next to your clock and choose "Exit."
2) Now click on Start > Programs > BonziBUDDY > Uninstall BonziBUDDY Bargain Hunting Tool and allow the uninstall program to finish.
3) Go to Start > Programs > BonziBUDDY > Uninstall BonziBUDDY and allow the uninstall program to complete.
4) Finally, restart your computer.
Sometimes the uninstall is not successful because a manual removal was tried previously, or a key file was deleted that the uninstall process needs. In these cases, reinstall the Bonzi Buddy software and then proceed with a normal uninstall shown above.
There is no need to delete any files first. All you need to do is visit
http://www.bonzi.com/bonzibuddy/bonzibuddyfreehom.asp
and download the BonziBUDDY files again. This will be a fast process if you already have most of the files installed, since the install will only download and install the files you don't have or ones that have been updated since your last download or update.
Once you have successfully run the install of BonziBUDDY again, just follow the instructions in #1 above to uninstall BonziBUDDY.
Clean up after Uninstalling
When BonziBUDDY is uninstalled, there are a few small files left in your BonziBUDDY directory that will remind Bonzi what your settings and preferences are should you ever decide to install him again. They are very small and will not harm your computer in any way, but it is safe to delete this folder if BonziBUDDY is already removed from your system.
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What is Gator?
Gator is your smart online companion that fills out forms and remembers passwords. Gator comes with the Offer Companion application, the premier application for saving money on the web. Yet Gator and Offer Companion are extremely polite, staying out of sight, popping up only when they can help you.
Although Gator isn't much of a nuisance, it does fall into a group of software known as spyware, sending information about buying habits, etc. for information purposes. For this reason, many people won't use it and want to remove it. The Gator company recently changed their name to Claria.
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How do I Remove Gator?
- Right click on the Gator icon in the System Tray and click on Exit.
- From the Windows Start button select Settings and then Control Panel.
- When the Control Panel window opens, double-click on the Add/Remove Programs icon.
- When the Add/Remove Programs Properties window opens, locate Gator in the list of installed programs. Click on it one time and then click on the Add/Remove button.
- Follow the on screen instructions. Place a check in the box for "Delete User Information" if you want user information removed from the Registry. DO NOT place a check in this box if you want the user data retained for a new install of Gator.
This will remove the Gator program from your computer.
Although the above instructions will remove the Gator E-Wallet information, you may still have GAIN (Gator Advertiser Information Network) software installed. GAIN helps keep many popular software applications and services free in exchange for delivering ads, information, and software based on the web sites you view.
Unfortunately, GAIN can only be removed by uninstalling the GAIN supported application. You cannot uninstall GAIN directly. Once the GAIN supported application has been uninstalled, GAIN will uninstall itself as well.
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What is Date Manager?
Date Manager is part of the GAIN system. The Gator Advertising Information Network. It is generally installed with Gator, although it can be installed as a separate application. It installs itself as a drive-by application loading simply by clicking OK on a pop-up ad that appears on your screen. Date Manager displays today's date in the system tray, provides one click access to a calendar, and allows you to quickly set reminder alerts. However, it does this at a price by serving pop-up ads to you courtesy of the GAIN network.
There are many freeware calendar programs that do the same thing as Date Manager, for a list and descriptions of these programs, click here.
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How to I Remove Date Manager?
- From the Windows Start button select Settings and then Control Panel.
- When the Control Panel window opens, double-click on the Add/Remove Programs icon.
- When the Add/Remove Programs Properties window opens, locate Date Manager in the list of installed programs. Click on it one time and then click on the Add/Remove button.
- Follow the on screen instructions.
Although the above instructions will remove Date Manager, you may still have GAIN (Gator Advertiser Information Network) software installed. GAIN helps keep many popular software applications and services free in exchange for delivering ads, information, and software based on the web sites you view.
Unfortunately, GAIN can only be removed by uninstalling the GAIN supported application. You cannot uninstall GAIN directly. Once the GAIN supported application has been uninstalled, GAIN will uninstall itself as well.
To see the GAIN supported applications on your computer, click on the following link and then continue down the page and click on the link to show you the GAIN support apps on your computer.
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What is Xupiter?
Xupiter Toolbar browser plug-in tools that gets installed on your computer through a popup ad or driveby installation that installs many times without your permission. It can also be loaded as an Active X control in Internet Explorer.
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How do I know if Xupiter has been downloaded on my machine?
The easiest way to tell if you have Xupiter on your computer is to check your Startup list in MSCONFIG.
Follow these instructions:
- Click on Start, Run
- Type MSCONFIG and press Enter
- Click on the STARTUP tab
- Look in the list for the following item
Xupiter Toolbar
- If this item is in the list. You have Xupiter installed. Uncheck it to
temporarily disable the toolbar.
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How do I Remove Xupiter?
Because there are multiple variants of the Xupiter toolbar, it makes it difficult to remove manually. If you want manual removal instructions for Xupiter please visit the following site
Xupiter Manual Removal
To remove this spyware automatically, you'll want to download Adware, Spybot, or another automatic detection and removal tool.
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