VANITY: Need Help in getting rid of coolwwwsearch spyware!

Me | Me

[Sen Jack S. Fogbound]

I need some help in getting rid of a SPYWARE! It is called "Coolwwwsearch.**** The * being any name. I ran AD-AWARE which didn't show up. SPY-BOT showed up all of them and deletes them.

It keeps coming back!!

I wiped out the cookies folder, ran SPY BOT in SAVE mode to no avail. I use Norton Systemswork with AntiVirus and Zone Alarm.

I am running WIN XP with SBC DSL service.

[Sen Jack S. Fogbound]

Thanks in advance!

[Howlin]

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/miniremovalcw.html

[BipolarBob]

Do a websearch if Trend-Micro can't get it off.

[TomGuy]

Several solution programs via google search

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=remove+Coolwwwsearch

[Billthedrill]

Try THIS little tool.

This one can be a real b*tch.

[Carling]

These guys got rid of a nasty Spyaxe bug in about 3 hours.

It's a free site.

http://techsupportguy.com/

[Carling]

Oh, and stay off the porn sites. ;)

[Sen Jack S. Fogbound]

Good inputs, guys!

Yeah, I'll stay away from the porn sites! LOL

[gondramB]

I agree with Bill the Drill, Cool Web Shredder is the way to go.

http://www.intermute.com/products/cwshredder.html

[teenyelliott]

Cool Web Search never worked for me, even when I had the cool search thing.

If you still can't get rid of it, contact these guys:

Castle Cops

Read the HiJack this tutorial, and do what it says. These guys charge nothing, and I have used them a couple of times. They are great.

[AmeriBrit]

Also delete all your 'Restore' points then when you activate it again, remember to make a new 'Restore Point' immediately.
If you've never used 'HJT' before, be very careful you don't delete something that's vital to your O/S. You can receieve step by step instructions from Ed or Angus at SAF. www.suggestafix.com who will walk you through the removal if need be.

[Sen Jack S. Fogbound]

Thanks, guys!

I will give it a shot in the next few days!

[JennysCool]

I once got some shareware with that stuff attached. Finaly had to re-up my system to be rid of it. Good luck to you! And a Happy New Year without it!

[ThePythonicCow]

I also agree - cwshredder. From the Trend Micro web site:

Version 2.19
Released: November 2005

Trend Micro™ CWShredder™ Version 2.19 is the latest defense against the new Cool Web Search variants, and it is included in the new Trend Micro Anti-Spyware 3.0 [ click here to learn more ]

Click here to download the stand-alone version of CWShredder.

What is CWShredder?

CWShredder™ finds and destroys traces of CoolWebSearch. CoolWebSearch is a name given to a wide range of different browser hijackers. Though the code is very different between variants, they are all used to redirect users to coolwebsearch.com and other sites affiliated with its operators. [ Learn more ]

What's New With CWShredder?

CWShredder is now owned and maintained by Trend Micro.

CWShredder now cleans the CWS.Cassandra variant that includes a desktop hijack as well as a browser hijack.

Originally developed by Merijn Bellekom of the Netherlands, CWShredder™ was owned and maintained by InterMute until June of 2005 when InterMute was aquired by Trend Micro.

[goldstategop]

Get rid of bloatware Norton, turn on the Windows firewall and download WindowsOneCare. That will speed up your computer quite noticeably. While at Microsoft, also download Microsoft Anti-Spyware. They're both beta but I've had no problems with either of them. Then go to Javacoolsoftware and download SpywareBlaster to keep the crud like Coolwebsearch from ever installing in the first place. Beef up your security with a trojan scanner like Ewido Anti-Malware Suite. And for a final line of defense, consider a host intrusion prevention software like Pre-empt. You might all want to get IE-Spyad to lock down Internet Explorer and install a list of dangerous sites in the Restricted Zone of the browser so they can't run or install any Active X control or unwanted drive-by downloads if you happen to accidentally land on one of them. The best key to safe computing in Windows in a word, is prevention.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

[HOTTIEBOY]

These bot programs do not work!
They remove the damage and obvious tracks left, but the adware simply renames itself.

You must open your console with F8 at startup and physically rename the offending file using MSDOS and then delete the renamed file in Windows.

This is how a pro would do it if you sent the computer for him to clean out.
I have done it on my home unit and I can surf endlessly without any fear of spyware.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Great link. Thanks.

I did a search on their site for a problem I was having with a corrupted driver. One of the answers led me to a site that helped me decipher the hex-decimal codes from my blue screen message when the system stops....ran the recommended utility, identified the corrupted driver, removed the hardware and driver...problem solved.

[JTN]

If you are browsing with Firefox then I find that you can limit spyware by blocking cookies from the offending sites.

[goldstategop]

For a long time, I couldn't afford a Mac. Be warned: once you switch you'll love it so much you'll find yourself reluctant to move back to Windows. Security couldn't be simpler than turning on and maybe upgrading the built-in firewall. That's it. Mac users don't have to worry about viruses, worms and spyware.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")