Hello everyone,

In the past year and a half or so I’ve repaired over 350 computers. In this series I’m describing the very repair tools that I use daily. If you would like, you can see the entire series (up to this point) by following these links: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 10.1, part 10.2, part 10.3, part 10.4, part 10.5, part 10.6, part 11, and part 12.

Part 10.7: Continuing what I started in part 10, 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4, 10.5, and 10.6, I’ll continue to show you the repair tools that I have on my USB flash drives and tell you what they are used for. The software tool that I’m describing today is just flat out awesome, and I’ve been using it on every computer that I work on.

Take a look below at some of the malicious programs that I see everyday (In previous posts I’ve mentioned the detection and removal of these programs: here, here, and here).

Shop At Home Toolbar, Inbox Toolbar, Ask Toolbar, MapsGalaxy Toolbar, CouponBar, Babylon Toolbar, VAFMusic4 Toolbar, Snap.do, WebCake, Blekko Search Bar,Yontoo WebSearch Toolbar, Default Tab, SaltarSmart, Win32/AddLyrics, Delta-homes.com (redirect), RegClean Pro, VideoDownloadConverter Firefox Toolbar, UtilityChest Toolbar, TotalRecipe Toolbar, TelevisionFanatic Firefox Toolbar, Shop To Win, Search Protect, Recipe Hub Toolbar, PricePeep for I.E., MyPC Backup, My WebSearch (Popular Screensavers), Marine Aquarium Lite Toolbar, I Want This, Homepage by Mindspark Interactive, Crawler Toolbar, Coupon Alert, Babylon ObjectInstaller, Advanced System Protector, Visual Bee, V9.com, Conduit Search, etc., etc., etc……………….!!

These malicious items cause annoying pop-ups, pop-unders, banners, and coupons. They change Windows start-up settings and Internet browser settings. They change the homepage, redirect browser searches, and generally make  Internet browsing experience hell! They will incessantly try to sell you something. Ultimately they will ruin the computers functionality!

Many of these vicious little programs primarily bundle with third party software, most often freeware and shareware. Many others will gain access to your machine when a pop-up is clicked on. They will rush in in bunches and seem to multiply before your very eyes. Pop-up after pop-up until they drive you crazy!!

BUT HAVE NO FEAR! You can get rid of these creepy critters with the great program AdwCleaner (I always download it from bleepingcomputer.com)

AdwCleaner is a program that searches for and deletes Adware, Toolbars, Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUP), and browser Hijackers from your computer.  By using AdwCleaner you can easily remove many of these types of programs for a better user experience on your computer and while browsing the web.

The types of programs that AdwCleaner targets are typically bundled with free programs that you download from the web.  In many cases when you download and install a program, the install will state that these programs will be installed along with the program you downloaded.  Unless you perform a Custom install, these unwanted programs will automatically be installed on your computer leaving you with extra browser toolbars, adware, and other unwanted programs.  AdwCleaner is designed to search for and remove these types of programs.

Professor Randy says: These malicious programs have no right to ruin your computing experience. Get rid of them by using the great free program AdwCleaner, and enjoy your computing experience once more.