I'm going to assume your operating system is Win XP; if it isn't, disregard this entirely and lemme know what we're working with. If you wanna try this route, print out the instructions first, and perform the recommended download and update steps.
Configure Windows Explorer to
Show All Files
Download and install
HiJackThis,
and make sure that it is installed to a folder of its own either in your Programs file or directly on your root drive (the drive on which Windows is installed, usually "
Drive C:\"). If you have already installed HiJackThis, be certain its in its own correctly placed folder, not a user-specific, temporary or desktop folder (to place HJT in its own folder, open Windows Explorer - Windows key + E - locate and select your root drive, the drive on which Windows is installed, and open that folder, right-clicking anywhere in that folder's blank space, select "New">"Folder", name the new folder "HJT", then download and extract, or if you already have the latest version somewhere else move, HJT into that folder). Launch the application, then, from its splash screen, choose "Miscellaneous Tools", or from the main start page, select "Config", then select "Search for updates online", confirm, and be sure your's is the latest version. Don't run a scan or fix anything yet. When running HiJackThis to scan or fix things, run it from its own folder,
WITH NO OTHER BROWSERS, WINDOWS, FILESHARING, EMAIL, OR MESSAGING APPLICATIONS OPEN OR RUNNING
Download, install, and update
CCleaner[/i][/u] per the instructions on the download page. Just download, install, and update it, don't do anything with it yet.
When that has been done,
- Locate and launch HiJackThis.
- Click the "Config" button.
- Click the "Misc Tools" button.
- Click the "Open Uninstall Manager" button.
- Click the "Save list" button, and specify where you would like to save this file. Remember where you saved it.
- Click the "Save" button; an instance of Notepad will open, displaying the Uninstall list.
- If you have saved the list, and know where it's been saved, just close that instance of Notepad, otherwise, save it to someplace you know you'll be able to find again.
- Exit HiJackThis without taking any further action.
Next,
- Locate and launch CCleaner.
- Click on the "Issues" icon (looks sorta like a blue Rubic's Cube).
- In the "Issue Scanning Settings" panel, see to it everything is selected (a green checkmark in each box)
- Click the "Scan for Issues" button, and be patient.
- When the scan has completed, see to it all "Problems" are selected (again, a green checkmarkin each box)
- Click the "Fix Selected Issues" button.
- When prompted to backup changes to the registry, choose "Yes", and note where this backup will be saved; you can specify a location, or accept the default, which will be a folder on your root drive named "CCleaner Registry Backups". Save the backup.
- When prompted, select and confirm "Fix all Selected Issues"
- When that has completed, click the "Cleaner" icon (looks sorta like a whisk broom)
- In the "Cleaner Settings" panel, under the "Windows" tab, see to it everything under each
subsection is selected (again, a green checkmark in each box).
- Click the "Applications" tab, and again see to it everything is selected.
- Click the "Analyze" button, and be patient.
- When the analysis has completed, click the "Run Cleaner" button, and confirm that you wish to proceed.
- When the cleanup has completed, exit CCleaner and reboot.
Immediately after your machine has completely rebooted, reboot once more, this time into
Safe Mode, logging on as Administrator.
When the machine has booted into safe mode, confirm you wish to proceed in safe mode.
Using Windows Explorer (Control key + the E key pressed simultaneously), search for and delete if found any file containing:
then look for and delete if found any folder named:
Now, while still in safe mode, locate and launch CCleaner. Run just a Cleanup (not "Issues"), and when that has completed, reboot normally, logging on however you usually do.
When the machine has fully rebooted, locate and launch HiJackThis once more, and run
ONLY another Uninstall List scan-and-save just as before. You'll have to name the report something to differentiate it from the already saved file; just sticking a number or letter onto the default filename,
before the ".txt" extension, will work fine
Post the 2 HJT Uninstall List reports to this topic, indicating which is which, and we'll see where we can go from there.
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