A
AndyManchesta
From what i can find out this is a legitimate download
that comes with games related to http://www.popcap.com/.I
think there maybe some spying involved but it appears its
to track the usage of the games you play.
Its installed as a Active X (Downloaded Program Files)
and stays on your system but it can be removed if needed
by opening C:drive then the Windows folder then go to the
Downloaded Program Files folder and remove it from there
Heres some of the Privacy Policy from Popcap :
What information do we collect and why?
PopCap.com collects information in several ways depending
on whether you are playing single player games,
multiplayer games, or chatting. In most cases, this
information is purely voluntary. PopCap.com's main goal
for collecting this information is to provide you with
customized content on our site that is of interest to
you.
Optional Information
In order to provide our visitors with a better gaming
experience we may ask for optional information.
When you register to play one of PopCap.com's multiplayer
games, we create a unique name for your account based on
the username you request, (the "User ID"). This User ID
is used to track what games you play, as well as high
scores, and is your nickname to other users. If you
choose to give us the optional information, you can be
assured that PopCap.com will respect and retain your
privacy. However, such information may be disclosed to
authorities, if required by law.
I just got a copy of this loader from here :
http://www.popcap.com/games/popcaploader_v6.cab
And here's the malware scanner results for this :
AntiVir Found nothing
ArcaVir Found nothing
Avast Found nothing
AVG Antivirus Found nothing
BitDefender Found nothing
ClamAV Found nothing
Dr.Web Found nothing
F-Prot Antivirus Found nothing
Fortinet Found nothing
Kaspersky Found not-a-virus
ownloader.Win32.PopCap.b
NOD32 Found nothing
Norman Virus Control Found nothing
Panda Adware/popcaploader
UNA Found nothing
VBA32 Found Downloader.PopCapLoader
Then I got a older version from zone.msn
http://zone.msn.com/bingame/zuma/default/popcaploader_v5.c
ab
AntiVir Found TR/Hijack.PopCapLoa
ArcaVir Found nothing
Avast Found nothing
AVG Antivirus Found nothing
BitDefender Found nothing
ClamAV Found nothing
Dr.Web Found nothing
F-Prot Antivirus Found W32/Downloader.HU
Fortinet Found W32/Dloader.HU-dl
Kaspersky Anti-Virus Downloader.Win32.PopCap.a
NOD32 Found nothing
Norman Virus Control Found W32/DLoader.BUQ
Panda Adware/popcaploader
UNA Found nothing
VBA32 Found Downloader.PopCapLoader
There is obviously some privacy issues with this file and
the above results displaying this as a trojan downloader
is abit worrying but its probably because it tracks your
game usage but if you do not use this game often then
best to remove it i think,
This is from zone.msn:
To play any of the following games, you must install one
or more ActiveX control files. If one of these files
becomes corrupted, you will need to remove it before the
game will completely load.
To play AstroPop, Bejeweled 2, Insaniquarium,
Rocketmania, and Zuma on MSN Games you must install two
ActiveX controls, PopCapLoader Object and
PopCapLoaderCtrl Class files.
To remove (either use Downloaded program files or this
method from zone.msn)
Step 1
Close all open Internet Explorer windows.
Step 2
Click Start, point to Settings, and click Control Panel.
Step 3
Double-click Internet Options. In Microsoft Windows XP,
you may need to click the Network and Internet
Connections icon before clicking Internet Options.
Step 4
On the General tab in the Temporary Internet files
section, click Settings and then the View Objects button.
Step 5
For AstroPop, Bejeweled 2, Insaniquarium, Rocketmania,
and Zuma, click PopCapLoader Object once to highlight it.
Step 6
On the File menu, click Remove Program File. When you
are prompted to confirm the removal of the program file,
click Yes.
If you remove the PopCapLoader Object, you will also need
to remove the PopCapLoaderCtrl Class; repeat Steps 5 and
6 to remove this file.
Step 7
To Reinstall anytime :
Go back to your MSN Games Web page to reload the game.
The new controls will be reinstalled once the game begins
loading.
Regards
Andy
that comes with games related to http://www.popcap.com/.I
think there maybe some spying involved but it appears its
to track the usage of the games you play.
Its installed as a Active X (Downloaded Program Files)
and stays on your system but it can be removed if needed
by opening C:drive then the Windows folder then go to the
Downloaded Program Files folder and remove it from there
Heres some of the Privacy Policy from Popcap :
What information do we collect and why?
PopCap.com collects information in several ways depending
on whether you are playing single player games,
multiplayer games, or chatting. In most cases, this
information is purely voluntary. PopCap.com's main goal
for collecting this information is to provide you with
customized content on our site that is of interest to
you.
Optional Information
In order to provide our visitors with a better gaming
experience we may ask for optional information.
When you register to play one of PopCap.com's multiplayer
games, we create a unique name for your account based on
the username you request, (the "User ID"). This User ID
is used to track what games you play, as well as high
scores, and is your nickname to other users. If you
choose to give us the optional information, you can be
assured that PopCap.com will respect and retain your
privacy. However, such information may be disclosed to
authorities, if required by law.
I just got a copy of this loader from here :
http://www.popcap.com/games/popcaploader_v6.cab
And here's the malware scanner results for this :
AntiVir Found nothing
ArcaVir Found nothing
Avast Found nothing
AVG Antivirus Found nothing
BitDefender Found nothing
ClamAV Found nothing
Dr.Web Found nothing
F-Prot Antivirus Found nothing
Fortinet Found nothing
Kaspersky Found not-a-virus
ownloader.Win32.PopCap.bNOD32 Found nothing
Norman Virus Control Found nothing
Panda Adware/popcaploader
UNA Found nothing
VBA32 Found Downloader.PopCapLoader
Then I got a older version from zone.msn
http://zone.msn.com/bingame/zuma/default/popcaploader_v5.c
ab
AntiVir Found TR/Hijack.PopCapLoa
ArcaVir Found nothing
Avast Found nothing
AVG Antivirus Found nothing
BitDefender Found nothing
ClamAV Found nothing
Dr.Web Found nothing
F-Prot Antivirus Found W32/Downloader.HU
Fortinet Found W32/Dloader.HU-dl
Kaspersky Anti-Virus Downloader.Win32.PopCap.a
NOD32 Found nothing
Norman Virus Control Found W32/DLoader.BUQ
Panda Adware/popcaploader
UNA Found nothing
VBA32 Found Downloader.PopCapLoader
There is obviously some privacy issues with this file and
the above results displaying this as a trojan downloader
is abit worrying but its probably because it tracks your
game usage but if you do not use this game often then
best to remove it i think,
This is from zone.msn:
To play any of the following games, you must install one
or more ActiveX control files. If one of these files
becomes corrupted, you will need to remove it before the
game will completely load.
To play AstroPop, Bejeweled 2, Insaniquarium,
Rocketmania, and Zuma on MSN Games you must install two
ActiveX controls, PopCapLoader Object and
PopCapLoaderCtrl Class files.
To remove (either use Downloaded program files or this
method from zone.msn)
Step 1
Close all open Internet Explorer windows.
Step 2
Click Start, point to Settings, and click Control Panel.
Step 3
Double-click Internet Options. In Microsoft Windows XP,
you may need to click the Network and Internet
Connections icon before clicking Internet Options.
Step 4
On the General tab in the Temporary Internet files
section, click Settings and then the View Objects button.
Step 5
For AstroPop, Bejeweled 2, Insaniquarium, Rocketmania,
and Zuma, click PopCapLoader Object once to highlight it.
Step 6
On the File menu, click Remove Program File. When you
are prompted to confirm the removal of the program file,
click Yes.
If you remove the PopCapLoader Object, you will also need
to remove the PopCapLoaderCtrl Class; repeat Steps 5 and
6 to remove this file.
Step 7
To Reinstall anytime :
Go back to your MSN Games Web page to reload the game.
The new controls will be reinstalled once the game begins
loading.
Regards
Andy