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  • Lavasoft is a PITA

    How do I get rid of their stupid browser??? I uninstalled it TWICE and now it doesn't seem to be in the control panel, I made Google my default browser, shut down & restarted my laptop and Lavasoft is STILL there. What did I miss?
    When you start at zero, everything's progress.

  • #2
    Do you mean the Lavasoft toolbar and it changing your search provider to Blekko.com? If this is what is happening, you may have a virus in your system that is making the change. Blekko.com pays people to direct them to their search page. A few malware writers have taken advantage of this and hid a redirect in some free programs.

    I found some removal instructions at http://www.2-viruses.com/remove-blekko-redirect-virus that match most of the other sites I checked. Here is a copy of their instructions.

    If you haven’t installed Blekko Toolbar yourself

    In this case, you are infected and should remove Blekko Virus, you must immediately perform a full system scan with an anti-malware program. There are several versions of trojans that distribute toolbars and you will need anti-malware program like Malwarebytes to determine the cause of infection. Then you should repeat the steps written bellow.
    If you have installed Blekko Toolbar, or see it in control panel

    If you have installed toolbar yourself and wish to remove it, follow following instructions :

    1. Go to control panel. Uninstall Blekko Toolbar. I would also recommend uninstall other software you do not know about that was installed on the same day.

    2. Open your browser. Go to extensions/pluggins. Check out that there is nothing Blekko related. Delete all extensions that are made by anything else than Microsoft, Adobe, Oracle, Sun or Google.

    3. You will have to reset your Search provider.

    On IE:

    Click arrow on the right of search box
    Do following
    On IE8-9 choose Manage Search providers
    On ie7 click change search defaults
    Remove Blekko from the list

    On Firefox :

    In url field type “about:config” (without the quotes) and do following =>
    Type “Keyword.url” in the search box. Right click it & reset it.
    Type “browser.search.defaultengine” in the search box. Right click it & reset it.

    On Google Chrome:

    Click wench icon on browser toolbar
    Select Settings
    Select Basics ->Manage Search engines
    Remove Blekko from list

    4. Scan with anti-malware program Malwarebytes, Spyhunter or Spybot S&D to confirm that everything got removed and cleaned.

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    • #3
      Shit. Yup, I think that's what happened. I had Ad-Aware but when I tried to start it, it asked me if I wanted to install an update. I hadn't updated that one in a while so I clicked yes. It supposedly "encountered an error" and couldn't update the program but I think it installed the Blekko thing instead. It also removed my Ad-Aware shortcut entirely.

      Thanks for the instructions!! I'll try it.

      UPDATE:
      Well. Um. None of that is working. I tried running MalwareBytes and it stops working about 38-40 minutes into the full scan. I opened a browser and went to "manage add-ons" and "search providers", and disabled the Lavasoft search engine but it's still there; I can't click "remove" - that selection is grayed out. Changing the search provider on the control panel doesn't work either. I delete the Lavasoft one and enter Google instead, click "apply" and then "OK" but when I open a browser, it's still the Lavasoft one.

      What else can I do?
      Last edited by MoonCat; 04-26-2013, 04:12 AM.
      When you start at zero, everything's progress.

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