I didn't install that...

That's real bad!

How to (not) install junk programs on your computer.

From time to time people bring their computers to me and they tell me, "It's not working right. I get popups and stuff." 

So I slyly ask them, "Did you install anything recently?"

"No, I don't think so." Or they reply, "No, but my [children, cousins, neighbors, etc] used it and when it came back it didn't work right anymore."

Let me guess, you have several toolbars, your home page is either called "MyWebSearch" or "Conduit" and when you click on a link it takes you somewhere unexpected.

So how did you get these programs installed? The unofficial name for them is "PUP" (Potentially Unwanted Programs). I decided to give some illustrations and some removal tips. Perhaps I can save you a few dollars and a trip to the local computer repair shop. Don't worry I don't think I will suffer from a lack of work.

What you need to learn to do is look for extra programs that are trying to "sneak" along with another install. Here are a few...and some are extremely sneaky.

Several culprits

Adobe Flash Player. Flash itself is not a problem but have a look at this:

See the "Optional offers". Even Google likes to get into the act. Simply uncheck the offers.

Ever wonder where McAfee Security Scan comes from?

Java is yet another:

These programs are actually important and useful. 95% (maybe more) of all Windows computer have them installed. But be careful.

Then you have the really sneaky ones:

I decided to download some YouTube video and I found this nifty software called FreeSmartSoft Downloader. Safe? No. I found this in the user agreement :)

(c) Support Services.

FreeSmartSoft may provide you with support services related to the SOFTWARE PRODUCT ("Support Services"). Any supplemental software code provided to you as part of the Support Services shall be considered part of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT and subject to the terms and conditions of this EULA. 

Wonder what "supplemental software" is?

No, Optimizer Pro is not useful.

The next series was from an install of PowerISO, something useful but contained a total of 3 junkware installers. In fact Chrome marked it as malicious. (A little side note: The version I downloaded from CNet was clean, this version was straight from PowerISO's site. Nasty.)

BTW Pay attention to things like this.

Search Protect certainly messes with your internet, it does nothing to protect you.

I guess you can't call them dishonest, but how do you skip this install?

Oh, there it is.

Deja Vu?

Why do they do this? To make money. It's advertising.

Another sneaky trick played by some "legit" download sites is to put an advertisement on their download page that says "DOWNLOAD NOW". Here is an example from bleepingcomputer.com, I clicked on the download button which took me to the download page complete with an ad that is begging me to download something.

The tricky part is that the download will start automatically, but if you are not observant or impatient and you click on the "Start Download" button you will get the next webpage.

Not at all what I wanted to download.

Removal tips

1. Go to Programs and Features and begin uninstalling the junk. To find this screen click on your Start button and type: "Programs" and the icon should appear. This part can be a little tricky because some drivers and required system programs can appear here. I look for programs named Search Protect, Default Tab, Coupon [anything], Savings [something], or any other generically named software published by no one familiar (ie. not Microsoft or Google).
2. Download, install and run MalwareBytes. Make sure you get it from the right place, especially if you are attempting to download straight to an infected computer. www.malwarebytes.org is the correct site. Download the free version and at the last step of the install uncheck the box that says "Malwarebytes Pro Trial". Next run the Malwarebytes scan and quarantine all the items found.
3. Download and run TDSSKiller from Kaspersky. Download from this list. (Sometimes I run this first)
4. If you are having trouble downloading or running #3 and #4, you might have to go for the bigger guns. Try scrolling down to the Kaspersky virus removal tool here. Or Emsisoft standalone scanner from here. Just remember my point about the "Start Download" button. This download starts automatically.
5. If that doesn't work, maybe you do need professional help. No pun intended.
6. There are cases where virus removal leads to other problems. I have had computers where the viruses were removed but the computer was left in a broken state. You may even need to re-install windows or "Reset to Factory".

Prevention Tips

1. Use Firefox or Google Chrome. As noted above Chrome marked the one installer as malicious. These are browsers and essentially replace Internet Explorer.
2. Find the Adblock extension for Firefox or Chrome.  These extension eliminate the ads on the websites you visit. Often times the ads attempt to lure you into clicking on them in order to install their bad programs, and it cleans up the webpage.
3. Run an anti-virus, and please make sure it's getting it's updates. If it says your subscription has expired, you are not getting the updates. Yes I have a preference, but I have found that almost any anti-virus is better than no anti-virus. If you like free you can try Avast, Avira, AVG, Panda Cloud, or Microsoft Security Essentials. If you want something better try Norton, GData, ESET, Trend Micro, or F-Secure.
4. Be observant. Does it look like a junk program? It probably is.
5. Is the site you are visiting a bit sleazy?
6. I really shouldn't have to mention this but it is a well known fact that porn sites are big distributors of viruses...'nuf said.
7. Buy a Mac, Chromebook, or run Linux...ok most of you won't and that's fine :) They are less susceptible, but not perfect.

When Mom's away

Boys really shouldn't be left home alone.

They can tend to do things that shouldn't be done... Last week my wife and 4 of my children went south from Monday until Friday. That left me and my 8 year old son home alone...what could go wrong?

So what did we do besides upgrade networks?

Unfortunately I couldn't take the entire week off of work so I let my son use my laptop while I tried to work...I think he played more than his quota of computer games. He did however learn a little of SmallBasic.

First of all we painted Jesse's room.

The Blue Room.

We both agreed with one thing, we missed Mom's cooking...Raman noodles, again. 

Then we did firewood..no that's not my son. :)

By Thursday night we had quite a pile. Thanks Ceegan, Tanner, and Glennie.

Oh we had fun, although we were very happy to have everyone back, safe and sound. I felt like I had a lot of one on one time with my son. We had to share all of life for most of 5 days.

Oh NO! My Computer has ay-der and wanings reports!

Scammers R Us called me

WARNING!: Please do not let these folks connect to your computer! If you receive a call like this DO NOT let them connect to your computer!

Now enough of the warnings. I got a call from the "Windows Technical Department from Microsoft" (sounds better if you read this with a thick accent) this evening and instead of witnessing to them I was feeling mischievous and decided to record the call. It was UN-believable, my computer had ay-ders on it... say what? I was informed that the ay-ders were some sort of virus and the warnings were corruptions. (I was rolling my eyes) Any computer will have at least a few errors and probably quite a few warnings because, well software is not perfect. Most errors are meaningless and most warnings are benign although us techie types go looking through the error log when there are problems. It's kind of like your Service Engine light in your car...if it's running fine, what's the point. :) There's a motorhead somewhere that is going to send me an informative e-mail about Service Engine lights.

Anyway, there were some good lines in the conversation, for example, click on "OK, or continue or other positive command at the bottom of the screen." Really? For some reason they switched callers part way through, not sure if the Event Viewer was too technical for the first one.

I quit when it was time to connect to my computer. I was not familiar with "Show My PC" and so I was quickly Googling it to see what it is. From what I gathered is that "ShowMyPc" is just another wrapped up VNC service although interestingly enough it is a paid for service. They did not seem to offer a "For Free" version. My guess is that if you could figure out the user if you had all the right info. Also from some quick research I figured out they want to charge you to continue protection on your computer...yeah right!

What really needed to happen would have been for me to relate the good news of the Gospel to these fellows...who knows where they were really calling from perhaps from a country that is closed to the Gospel. But I didn't. How many opportunities do I miss?