The Malware Dictionary

The Latest Computer Adware, Spyware, and Virus Info!

My Web Search Removal Tips

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My Web Search is an Internet Explorer toolbar that is bundled with the Fun Web Products suite of applications. Other programs in the suite include Cursor Mania, My Mail Signature, My Mail Stationary, PopSwatter, My Way website portal, and Webfetti. My Web Search is sometimes labeled as Spyware, although a better categorization of the program is as a computer annoyance. All of the programs in the suite of products uses tracking cookies which could be exploited to obtain personally identifiable information about your computer usage. The utilities will also use computer resources when installed on your computer and are found by most of the current anti-spyware programs.

My Web Search will also “hi-jack” your default homepage attempting to have you use their default portal for the Internet Explorer homepage. The results returned to you when using the tool will force you to view responses from Ask.com’s search portal. Although, this practice is not directly considered adware, it is considered an aggressive tactic to drive the user to using a specific resource providers data and resulting advertisements.

My Web Search's Uninstall Screen. Steve Sims from Wikimedia Commons

My Web Search's Uninstall Screen. Steve Sims from Wikimedia Commons

How Do You Remove My Web Search?

The first step to removing My Web Search from your computer is through the add/remove programs feature of your operating system. To remove My Web Search:
1 – Select the Start menu on your computer and choose the “Control Panel” menu option.
2 – Choose the Add/Remove programs menu option and then find My Web Search on the list of installed programs.
3 – Single left click the add/remove program button beside My Web Search. If you see these programs listed from the Fun Web Products Suite you will also want to remove them from your computer:
My Way Speedbar (AOl, Yahoo, Outlook, Outlook Express, IncrediMail, or Smiley Central)
Search Assistant – My Way
4 – Restart your computer in Windows safe mode by depressing the F8 key during the rebooting process.
5 – Open your computer’s local or C drive in your file explorer. Then, open the Program files folder
6.- RIght click and delete the following folders: FunWebProducts, MyWebSearch.
7 – Restart your computer and My Web Search will be removed.

Files Associated with My Web Search

%program_fiels%\MyWebSearch
%program_files%\MyWebSearch\bar\1.bin\mwsbar.dll
%program_files%\MyWebSearch\bar\mwssetup.exe
%program_files%\MyWebSearch\srchastt\1.bin\mwssrcas.dll
%program_files%\MyWebSearch\srchastt\mwssrcsp.exe

Registry Values Associated with My Web Search

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop@^SCRNSAVE.EXE^=^C:\WINDOWS\system32\f3PSSavr.scr
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\MenuExt\&Search@^http://edits.mywebsearch.com/toolbaredits/menusearch.jhtml?p=ZRxdm185YYIN
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar@^{F4D76F09-7896-458a-890F-E1F05C46069F}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run@^MyWebSearch Plugin
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar\WebBrowser@^{07B18EA9-A523-4961-B6BB-170DE4475CCA}
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar\WebBrowser@^{37B85A29-692B-4205-9CAD-2626E4993404}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes@^DefaultScope^=^{56256A51-B582-467e-B8D4-7786EDA79AE0}
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\URLSearchHooks@^{9CB65206-89C4-402c-BA80-02D8C59F9B1D}
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar\WebBrowser@^{FE063DB9-4EC0-403E-8DD8-394C54984B2C}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar@^{FE063DB9-4EC0-403e-8DD8-394C54984B2C}
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\URLSearchHooks@^{0A94B116-4504-4e26-AB05-E61E474AA38B}
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes@^DefaultScope^=^{56256A51-B582-467e-B8D4-7786EDA79AE0}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar@^{8EAB99C9-F9EC-4b64-A4BA-D9BCAE8779C2}

Automatically Removing My Web Search from Your Computer

After you have taken manual action to remove My Web Search from your computer, you should run updated anti-spyware or anti-virus software to ensure you have fully removed the program automatically from your computer along with its associated registry entries.

Win32.CasinoOnNet – Computer Adware

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CasinoOnNet Adware

CasinoOnNet Adware

Casino-on-Net is one of the more popular on-line casinos that you can find on the Internet. The only problem, however, is that the software application that the company asks you to download to your computer serves as computer adware and computer spyware. The company does inform the user about the advertisements and data collection when registering on the website, however, many users don’t connect this information with the terms adware and spyware until something bad occurs on their computer.

Win32.CasinoOnNet Adware Description

Casino-On-Net helps provide the casino additional funds by serving advertisements on your computer while you are gambling. The computer sypware function of the software will collect your personal information and can provide to third parties or approved contractors by the casino. The information that the software collects includes your contact information; specifically, name, email adderss, snail mail address, phone number, banking and credit card numbers, and other survey related data that you may fill out while on-line.

Win32.CasinoOnNet Adware Manual Removal Instructions
The first step that you can attempt is to navigate to your computer’s add/remove programs menu and select the ‘add/remove’ button next to the Casino On Net program name. Then, depress the ‘ctrl+alt+del’ keys on your keyboard simultaneously. Select the Task Manager and single left click each of the following processes followed by the ‘end task’ menu option.

Casino On Net Processes to Kill:

biuninst.exe
casino.exe
casinoonnet.exe
dlhelperexe.exe
downloadinstaller.exe
Unregister Casino On Net Dynamic Link Library Files

Find these DLL’s on your computer by performing a search through your computer’s Windows Explorer: bszip.dll, mmi.dll, shared.dll, sounddrv.dll. Then, to un-register the known DLL (dynamic link library) files associated with Casino On Net, first open your computer’s DOS prompt by selecting the “Start” menu and typing “command” in the search text box. Next, navigate to the directories that each of the DLL files are located and type the following command: “regsvr32 -u dllfilename.dll followed by the enter key. After you unregister each DLL, delete the file. You will not be able to delete the DLL files until unregistered from the Operating system.

Remove the Casino On Net Directory

Delete the following folder from your computer and any files remaining in the folder on your computer: “[local drive]:\Program Files\casinoonnet”

Win32.CasinoOnNet Adware Automatic Removal
If you can’t remove Casino On Net manually, you will want to attempt automatic removal using an updated anti-virus and anti-adware program such as Malwarebytes.

How Does Adware Work?

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Adware is considered to be any computer software that will display, download, or automatically play advertisements on your computer while the parent application is being used. Some adware is designed to violate your privacy and acts as a benign form of Spyware and is considered privacy-invasive. Many variants of Adware can also bog down your computer with the number of advertisements and increased bandwidth usage if they are designed to display contextual advertisements on your computer as well as work in conjunction with other computer malware to negatively impact your computer. 

Adware Applications

Adware is typically bundled with other software that you want to use. Developers that include adware with their applications use it as a means to help make additional money on the cost of making the software and many say it allows them to reduce the cost of their product. Many users see adware as an uninvited interruption or distraction from their computer work. This is even after a lot of adware embedded applications include in their End-User License Agreement a statement to the effect that the user agrees to the installation and display of advertisements with the software product.
Adverse Effects of Removing Adware
Before you start removing all adware on your computer, you need to take a look at what application is the culprit for the ads. If it is a free, or low cost version of you favorite program, putting up with the Ads may be the “cost of war” for using the reduced cost version of the product. Conducting a basic search on Malware Dictionary or Google to see if the Adware is listed as a rogue program or not. If it is benign, you may find it more useful to keep using the shareware with the Ads than to lose the program altogether. Many bundled applications will cease to work if you remove their Adware component. Good adware will also typically let you remove it through the “Add/Remove Programs” feature in Microsoft Windows.

Internet Optimizer Spyware

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Description of Internet Optimizer

Internet Optimizer is also known as DyFuCA and it is a spyware program, which will redirect the Internet Explorer error pages to the ad pages. Whenever a user follows up a broken link or else enters the erroneous URL, they will be able to see a page of ads. This program will abuse your system by posing as the error page hijacker and will annoy you with ads and poses risk to the stability, security and privacy of the system. Thus, it gives major inconvenience to the users using the infected system.

Installation of Internet Optimizer Spyware

Once the Internet Optimizer is installed, it will download the ads from the servers and will display them on the desktop of the infected system. Additionally with it, it will install the privative BHO so that it monitors the will communicate the browsing habits of the users so that they will be able to contextualize the popups. The EULA on the internet-optimizer.com tells us that this software will send only the information on browsing but whereas if the program is bundled and it is downloaded even without the consent of the user and then the EULA will never be presented. This will download only the ads but at the same time, it will download the updates as well.

Symptoms of Internet Optimizer Spyware

System and internet connection will be slowed down, new shortcuts will appear on the desktop, homepage of the browser will be changed or will be redirected, popups keep on occurring and e-mails will be sent even without your consent.

Internet Optimizer Spyware Removal Steps

Internet Optimizer significantly slow down your computer. As a result, you should remove Internet Optimizer using an anti-spyware program if you are not savvy with registry modifications and computer security. Click here for automatic removal instructions for removing Internet Optimizer.

Win32.ZangoShoppingReports Adware

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Description of ZangoShoppingreports Adware

ZangoShoppingReports is an adware that pops up the ads to the infected system. It is a kind of unethical adware, which displays ads and even without the consent of the users, it directs the user to e-commerce and business websites. This adware is designed in such a way that it is difficult to uninstall it. This adware will display the targeted advertising into the infected systems while the user is browsing the internet and it will be based on the search items that are entered in to search engines.

Installation of ZangoShoppingreports Adware

When ZangoShoppingreports is installed on the computer, it will perform the actions such as:

Creating the folders like ‘%ProgramFiles%\shoppingreport’ and %APPDATA%\shoppingreport’ and creates the files such as ‘%ProgramFiles%\shoppingreport\cs\persist.dbs’ and ‘%APPDATA%\shoppingreport\cs\persist.dbs’

Characteristics of ZangoShoppingreports Adware

Displays advertisements

Records personal keystrokes or data

Hijacks the internet browser

Downloads files that are unsolicited

Allows remote influence

Disables system or programs that are running

Exploits the security flaw

Unauthorized phone calls are made

Distributes various threats

Using the cookies, it tracks the browsing activity

With the help of installed applications, it tracks the browsing activity

Without the user consent, installs programs

Inadequate uninstall procedures  

Excessive resources of the system is used

Insufficiency privacy consent and disclosure

Performs silent updates

Fraudulent claims are made regarding the spyware detection and removal as well.

Symptoms of ZangoShoppingreports Adware

Some of the following changes in the computer will indicate the presence of the ZangoShoppingreports.

Presence of the folders such as ‘%ProgramFiles%\shoppingreport’ and ‘%APPDATA%\shoppingreport’ and presence of the files such as %ProgramFiles%\shoppingreport\cs\persist.dbs’ and %APPDATA%\shoppingreport\cs\persist.dbs’

Zango ShoppingReports Adware Removal Steps

Zango Shopping Reports Adware will significantly slow down your computer. As a result, you should remove Zango Shopping Reports Adware using an anti-spyware program if you are not savvy with registry modifications and computer security. Click here for automatic removal instructions for removing Zango Shopping Reports.

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