Winfixer 2005

[Tina]

Somehow, Winfixer got onto my Windows XP system. I can't
gt rid of its annoying messages, even though I de-installed
it. Trend keeps telling me it is legitimate software but I
think it is malware. Anybody got any experience with it
and how to get rid of it?

 

[Engel]

Open Microsoft AntiSpyware and send a suspected spyware
report from the Tools Menu.

For maximum effectiveness, proceed as follows:


Update your Microsoft Antispyware definitions. Is your
antivirus application also up to date?

Restart the machine in safe mode and Login as
Administrator


Do a full, deep scan with Microsoft Antispyware (and,
ideally, your antivirus as well) Is your antivirus
application also up to date?

Get HijackThis from

http://tomcoyote.org/hjt/hjt199//HijackThis.exe

and let it Scan your system and Save Log. (Save it where
you can find it again.) then send the log to:

(http://aumha.net/viewforum.php?f=30)
(http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/forum22.html)
(http://castlecops.com/forum67.html)
(http://forums.maddoktor2.com/index.php?showforum=17)
(http://www.spywarewarrior.com/viewforum.php?f=2)
(http://forums.spywareinfo.com/index.php?showforum=18)
(http://www.wilderssecurity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=24)
(http://boards.cexx.org/viewforum.php?f=1)
(http://www.malwarebytes.biz/forums/index.php?
showforum=5)
(http://forum.gladiator-antivirus.com/index.php)
(http://www.dslreports.com/forum/security)

Since HijackThis does not (yet) come with a install
routine, create a folder via Windows Explorer for
HijackThis, then move the file to this folder.
This way any backups created are saved in a legit folder.
In too many instances where the user runs HijackThis from
a temp folder and any backups are lost if that temp folder
is cleaned out.
You should also make sure you are using the latest
version each and every time you run HijackThis, as there
are new detections added all the time.

Unzip, double-click "HijackThis.exe" and Press "Scan".

When the scan is finished, the "Scan" button will change
into a "Save Log" button.
Click: "Save Log" (generates: "hijackthis.log") HijackThis
Tutorial (recommended read)

http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/htlogtutorial.html#o8
For Hijack this

Lavasoft also has a HijackThis section at their Forum.

Good luck

Engel

 

[Alan]

NOT malware, NOT even close.

It's a utility program designed to scan and fix any
system, registry and hard drive errors.

Before jumping to conlussions about what an application
is, simply go online and pefrorm a search, as I did. I
used Google, and found a lot of information about the
application. You can go to
http://shareup.com/WinFixer_2005-download-33043.html, as
well as, winfixer.com. If Trend Micro's scanner said it
isn't spyware, then it probably isn't.

As for getting rid of the popups, you can try
http://paretologic.com/?id=purchase9&p=2&g=28, and
download the trial version of XoftSpy to try to remove
the popup.

If you used the Add or Remove feature of XP to uninstall
the application this could be the root cause of the
problem, as this feature doesn't always remove all parts
of the application. The uninstaller for many
applications is a simplified version of the one used to
install the application, and might not remove all parts
form the system. It's this uninstaller that Add or
Remove Programs uses when uninstalling the application.

I'm wondering if it was a trial version that you
installed while installing another application, which is
possible. What you might want to do is explore any
CDs/DVDs of software that you installed on the system to
see if they contain WinFixer 2005. If you find one, you
can try installing the application from the installer,
reboot the system, and then run the installer again to
remove it. This way the application mihgt be completely
removed.

Alan

 

[Black Diamond]

Hey,

Kind of strange that you say it is not malware, but you point people to what looks like a link for spyware removal software with possible cash incentives associated with the link.

Did you sign up for this?

http://paretologic.com/affiliates.aspx

Winfixer is spyware/malware/paininbutt software that causes nothing but trouble on any PC where I have encountered it.

I am still looking for a way to easily remove it from any system.

NOT malware, NOT even close.

It's a utility program designed to scan and fix any
system, registry and hard drive errors.

Before jumping to conlussions about what an application
is, simply go online and pefrorm a search, as I did. I
used Google, and found a lot of information about the
application. You can go to
http://shareup.com/WinFixer_2005-download-33043.html, as
well as, winfixer.com. If Trend Micro's scanner said it
isn't spyware, then it probably isn't.

As for getting rid of the popups, you can try
http://paretologic.com/?id=purchase9&p=2&g=28, and
download the trial version of XoftSpy to try to remove
the popup.

If you used the Add or Remove feature of XP to uninstall
the application this could be the root cause of the
problem, as this feature doesn't always remove all parts
of the application. The uninstaller for many
applications is a simplified version of the one used to
install the application, and might not remove all parts
form the system. It's this uninstaller that Add or
Remove Programs uses when uninstalling the application.

I'm wondering if it was a trial version that you
installed while installing another application, which is
possible. What you might want to do is explore any
CDs/DVDs of software that you installed on the system to
see if they contain WinFixer 2005. If you find one, you
can try installing the application from the installer,
reboot the system, and then run the installer again to
remove it. This way the application mihgt be completely
removed.

Alan

>-----Original Message-----
>Somehow, Winfixer got onto my Windows XP system. I can't
>gt rid of its annoying messages, even though I de-
>installed it. Trend keeps telling me it is legitimate
>software but I think it is malware. Anybody got any
>experience with it and how to get rid of it?
>
>.
>