AVG FREE edition- BE AWARE!!!

[Sidney]

I made the mistake of downloading the AVG free edition 2013. AVG has been good to me over the years for a good free antivirus. HOWEVER, the 2013 edition has a major flaw.
It automatically gives you a toolbar and something called AVG secure search (browser), which is impossible to uninstall.

After I tried and tried to get rid of it, I researched it, and on the AVG forums and other places found out that this is some kind of adware/ or possibly even a virus. The real problems start only when you try to uninstall the corrupted files. Welcome to hell. LOL

The only way I was able to get rid of it was to uninstall the entire program, (after which it was still there) and run system restore TWICE. I had also had to delete several files manually from the program files on my hard drive.

I am one of the fortunate ones because from what I read, this "bug" deems most computers unable to even run system restore.

The name of the file is DSPDlg_IE. And once its in your system is almost impossible to get out.

Also, I want to add, that during my hours long quest to rid myself of this pain in the arse, I found that when I tried to manually delete that specific file that it would take me to a NORTON link. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

From what I found, the paid edition is fine. But the free edition released for 2013 also does not do full scans. It does a "pretend" scan.

Just want to prevent anyone else from having this nightmare.

Oh I forgot to mention, I also had to uninstall Chrome and re-install it. After that the problem was resolved but not without running restore.

[Tesla_WTC_Solution]

thank you for this!
my computer runs like TOTAL ARSE and when I disabled AVG it IMMEDIATELY fixed my browser's typing speed issue...

you saved my Elife

[Hervé]

Posted by Wantsthetruth74 (here)
[...]

I am one of the fortunate ones because from what I read, this "bug" deems most computers unable to even run system restore.

The name of the file is DSPDlg_IE. And once its in your system is almost impossible to get out.

[...]

I am not sure what OS you use but if it's Win 7, you can then perform the restore from the install disk as it bypasses the hard drive filesystem files installation.

To get rid of the file... good old DOS commands at start-up may help?

[Bill Ryan]

-------

Or...... get a Mac.

[Sidney]

I do have windows 7 but my computer did not come with a disc. : ( But I did get rid of it by doing restore, but I read that some people have had complete system failure from this one malicious file. But it sure sounds like something stinks over at AVG this year.

[ThePythonicCow]

I have not verified this, so it could be wrong, but looking over the various web pages and forums discussing this issue, the following seems to have the clearest explanation of what is going on with the Free AVG toolbar, and how to remove it: http://www.guardi.us/blog/how-to-remove-avg-toolbar/

[Sidney]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
-------

Or...... get a Mac.

HAHA, one of the first things on my list when I win the lotto!! : )

[HORIZONS]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
-------

Or...... get a Mac.

Always the best solution. Been using a Mac since 1995 and have NEVER had a problem.

[Sidney]

Posted by Paul (here)
I have not verified this, so it could be wrong, but looking over the various web pages and forums discussing this issue, the following seems to have the clearest explanation of what is going on with the Free AVG toolbar, and how to remove it: http://www.guardi.us/blog/how-to-remove-avg-toolbar/

The toolbar is not the problem. Its the AVG secure search browser. I was able to get rid of the toolbar pretty easily, but it was located in the same place in my program files as the browser, which is the one that had embedded itself in several different location all over the place. Oh I forgot to mention, I also had to uninstall Chrome and re-install it. After that the problem was resolved but not without running restore.

[Carmody]

be careful about quickly click-click-clicking your way to unwanted software on your PC.

When i install adobe's pdf reader or java, each program will ask me if I want to install some browser or whatnot. I very carefully unclick all the pre-ticked boxes.

Same goes for AVG. Read carefully and slow down. Un-tick those pre-ticked boxes.

[Dennis Leahy]

When I install any software that has an "automatic" or "manual" (or "advanced") setting, I always use advanced/manual. Then, you MAY have the option to opt out, turn off automatic things, and keep extras from downloading. IIRC, Java always wants to install the McAfee suite (which I hate with a passion), for another example.

So, when I installed AVG Free edition, I said no to the toolbar and secure search functionality. It did not install, and I have had no problems.

It does scan incredibly faster than it used to and I had figured that it had gotten better about marking new files and only scanning them. It would be a complete waste of time (or worse, I'd be unprotected) if this is true:

"the free edition released for 2013 also does not do full scans. It does a "pretend" scan."

Now I'm a gonna have to do some researchin...

Dennis

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by Carmody (here)
Read carefully and slow down. Un-tick those pre-ticked boxes.

According to the explanation in what I linked in Post #6 above (http://www.guardi.us/blog/how-to-remove-avg-toolbar/), the Free AVG installer does not give you a click box to disable installing the browser toolbar. They just state in their user agreement (that long piece of text that only a few lawyers have ever read) that by installing AVG, you agree to also install the toolbar.

I have not verified that this is so .

¤=[Post Update]=¤

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
So, when I installed AVG Free edition, I said no to the toolbar and secure search functionality. It did not install, and I have had no problems.

Aha - sounds like Dennis has done the "research" on this, and there is a check box, if you step through the installation carefully enough.

Thanks, Dennis!

[Sidney]

And I have stumbled across this article, verifying what I already knew.
http://dottech.org/101609/avg-secure...ar-is-malware/

I will have to keep my eye out to see if it comes back later. Can't wait. : /
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AVG Secure Search Security Toolbar is malware, avoid it more than the plague
ASHRAF MARCH 24, 2013 84 EMAIL ARTICLE | PRINT ARTICLE


I’ve been reviewing software since dotTech was born back in October 2008. By now, over four years on, I have become very good at avoiding crapware that comes bundled with many programs, notably toolbars; I can only remember one time in the past few years when I have accidentally installed crapware.

A few weeks back I ran across avast Browser Cleanup, a program that claims to be able to remove browser toolbars and unnecessary add-ons. The features of avast Browser Cleanup looked interesting so I wanted to test the program to see if it was worth posting about on dotTech. As such, I needed to have some toolbars installed on my computer (because, after all, I can’t know if avast Browser Cleanup actually works if I have no toolbars to test it on). So I went out and installed AVG Secure Search Security Toolbar, Ask Toolbar, and Bing Bar (directly from their respective websites) and then tried to remove them with avast Browser Cleanup. To my delight, avast Browser Cleanup was able to remove all three toolbars from my browsers. Or so I thought.

I’m one of those people who like to keep an eye on Windows Task Manager to see what processes are running on my computer. If I ever see a process unknown to me, I investigate to ensure it is legitimate. A few days after removing AVG Secure Search Security Toolbar, Ask Toolbar, and Bing Bar from my computer with avast Browser Cleanup, I noticed a process ‘vprot.exe’ was running. Never having seen it before, I started looking into it; my first step was right-clicking on vprot.exe and opening the file’s location. To my surprise, vprot.exe lead me to C:\Program Files\AVG Secure Search which contained AVG Secure Search Security Toolbar, a toolbar I thought I had already removed.

At this point I was raging at avast Browser Cleanup, thinking the program didn’t properly remove AVG Secure Search Toolbar. What I didn’t know at the time is avast Browser Cleanup did its job just fine; the problem was (is) AVG Secure Search Toolbar keeps coming back after being uninstalled/removed/deleted.

When I discovered AVG Secure Search Toolbar was still installed on my computer, I went to Add/Remove Programs to uninstall it. The only problem? AVG Secure Search Toolbar’s uninstaller didn’t work. I even tried running ‘Uninstall.exe’ directly from C:\Program Files\AVG Secure Search, but still no luck. With a seemingly broken uninstaller, I decided to simply delete C:\Program Files\AVG Secure Search thinking that would be the end of it.

A few days passed and out of the blue I was prompted by Firefox that AVG Secure Search Toolbar wanted to install in my browser. I thought to myself: “WTF, didn’t I just delete this a few days ago?” I, of course, blocked AVG Secure Search Toolbar from installing in Firefox and then went to check C:\Program Files\AVG Secure Search to see what is up. To my surprise (and horror), AVG Secure Search Toolbar was back as if I never deleted it! At the same time, I noticed AVG Secure Search Toolbar was also residing in C:\ProgramData\AVG Secure Search, so I thought to myself: “Maybe that is why AVG Secure Search Toolbar came back — I didn’t delete the ProgramData folder last time and only deleted the Program Files folder“.

Upon seeing the return of AVG Secure Search Toolbar, I once again tried to uninstall it and once again ran into the same issue — broken uninstaller. So I decided to again manually delete AVG Secure Search Toolbar, except this time I made sure to delete both C:\ProgramData\AVG Secure Search and C:\Program Files\AVG Secure Search. I even used Eraser to securely erase them, just for the heck of it.

For the moment it appeared that AVG Secure Search Toolbar was gone. However, guess what happened the next day? I found AVG Secure Search Toolbar was back!

When seeing this piece of **** was back (again), I repeated the same procedures of trying to uninstall it but upon fail due to broken uninstaller, I decided to pull out the big guns. I used Comodo Programs Manager to force uninstall AVG Secure Search Toolbar and delete all related files, folders, and registry entries. Again, for the time being, it appeared that I got rid of AVG Secure Search Toolbar. But then a few hours later, I noticed it was back. Again.

Now, at this point, I was frustrated beyond belief. I decided I’d try to remove AVG Secure Search Toolbar one last time to see if I was successful. So I went to Google to see if anyone had tips on how to remove it. I found out that AVG Technologies provides an official uninstaller/remover for AVG Secure Search Toolbar. Upon seeing this uninstaller, I thought to myself: “Wow, this must be it. This must be how to remove this bloody crapware.” Oh how I wish I was right.

After downloading AVG Secure Search Toolbar’s official uninstaller, I ran it and it told me it had successfully removed AVG Secure Search Toolbar from my browsers and computer; it even reset my browser homepages to default. Cool. Or not — the next day AVG Secure Search Toolbar returned, yet again.

That, as I just mentioned, was my last attempt to try to remove AVG Secure Search Toolbar. My computer is due for a reformat anyway, so I figured I’ll get rid of AVG Secure Search Toolbar vis-a-vis the reformat I’m going to do; I wasn’t about to go waste more time trying to remove this crap. However, then I had an idea. What if the reason AVG Secure Search Toolbar keeps coming back is if its installation was (is) corrupted? That would also explain the broken uninstaller. Of course, this was a shaky theory (because a broken program doesn’t continually reinstall itself) but it was worth a shot. So I downloaded AVG Secure Search Toolbar’s installer from AVG’s website and reinstalled AVG Secure Search Toolbar. Then I reran the official AVG Secure Search Toolbar uninstaller. Anyone want to guess what happened next? Yep, AVG Secure Search Toolbar’s official uninstaller seemingly removed AVG Secure Search Toolbar… only for AVG Secure Search Toolbar to return after a few hours.

I am currently typing this article with AVG Secure Search Toolbar still on my computer (although I have it blocked from my browsers). I have tried everything I can think of to get rid of this crap but it keeps coming back, just like malware. What makes matters worse is the fact that AVG Secure Search Toolbar is not be some rogue developer; it is by AVG Technologies, a company that makes anti-virus and other security software (AVG AntiVirus Free, AVG AntiVirus, AVG Internet Security, AVG Premium Security, etc.) used by millions upon millions of people around the world. Yet their toolbar behaves nothing better than malware. In fact, I had an easier time removing Ask Toolbar — a toolbar infamous as the worst of the worst crapware — than AVG Secure Search Toolbar.

As luck may have it, I’ve never been an AVG user to protect my computer, data, and files; for one reason or another, I’ve always gone with AVG’s competitors, notably Avira and Avast. Now I’m glad I’ve never used AVG. If they have a malware-like toolbar, I can’t see how their anti-virus — and releated programs — will be any better. And, based off my experience with AVG Secure Search Toolbar, I’d recommend everyone using AVG security software to switch as soon as possible. It just isn’t worth it.

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by Wantsthetruth74 (here)
The toolbar is not the problem. Its the AVG secure search browser.

. Not only do I not do the necessary research, I don't read very well either.

Guess I had better just stick to this Linux box that I know.

( One last attempt: This post, and the response by "Jon" of AVG Customer Support, may be useful: http://nojesusnopeas.blogspot.com/20...s-malware.html )

[Sidney]

You would THINK and ANTI-VIRUS service, wouldn't do this kind of sneak shiit. I will never use another product from them.

[Bryn ap Gwilym]

Posted by Paul (here)
I have not verified this, so it could be wrong, but looking over the various web pages and forums discussing this issue, the following seems to have the clearest explanation of what is going on with the Free AVG toolbar, and how to remove it: http://www.guardi.us/blog/how-to-remove-avg-toolbar/

Excellent find.
Far too many folk just download stuff willy nilly without fully reading or understanding the policy that intends to trap them into a contract & in turn signing away their freedom.
The way this hooks onto IE may suggest that this could be with MS blessing & totally flushing it out from the system may not be as straight forward as that article states.
It would be interesting to know of what has been left behind in the registry.


I can not stress enough that folk should be using a GNU/UNIX operating system that stands for Freedom & not using any of the proprietary software os.
Distrowatch

[DeDukshyn]

I ditched AVG years ago - pure crap now.

As much as I hate Micro$oft, I use their "Security Essentials" -- which has worked flawlessly for me. It runs silently in the background and rarely bothers you at all - the odd task bar note that it is taking care of some issue for you and that you don't need to do anything.

And it's free. Early versions were crap, but it is well honed now with one of the best detect rates. I tested it one day, by going to a site that had malicious code on it, to see how it compared to my Symantec system on the work network. Symantec in its attempt to contain the issue, kept shutting down the browser (IE), but then, (lol) IE's auto-recover feature kept immediately bringing it back to that page! This iterated a few times until the malicious code had totally taken control of my work PC. Went home tested on Security Essentials - a little notification in the taskbar that it had stopped all threats. Life went on normally.

Like I said, I hate MS products, but this is one that has been good to me.

[RMorgan]

Posted by Bryn ap Gwilym (here)

Posted by Paul (here)
I have not verified this, so it could be wrong, but looking over the various web pages and forums discussing this issue, the following seems to have the clearest explanation of what is going on with the Free AVG toolbar, and how to remove it: http://www.guardi.us/blog/how-to-remove-avg-toolbar/

Excellent find.
Far too many folk just download stuff willy nilly without fully reading or understanding the policy that intends to trap them into a contract & in turn signing away their freedom.
The way this hooks onto IE may suggest that this could be with MS blessing & totally flushing it out from the system may not be as straight forward as that article states.
It would be interesting to know of what has been left behind in the registry.


I can not stress enough that folk should be using a GNU/UNIX operating system that stands for Freedom & not using any of the proprietary software os.
Distrowatch

I agree with you.

For people who use the PC just for regular tasks, like internet browsing, typing texts and these kind of things, Linux is very good.

I gave my mom my old notebook after installing Linux Mint on it, and she never called me to ask me to repair her computer again. It´s virus free and runs much better than Windows; It brings old computers back to life.

OpenSUSE, Ubuntu, Lubuntu, PClinux, Mint; All are very good and stable distros.

I totally dislike Windows, but I have to use it. I have no choice; All software I use to work are not available for Linux, and the similar opensource alternatives are simply not good enough. If it wasn´t for that, I would quit Windows forever.

MacOs is not viable for me either; Powerful enough Apple computers are just too expensive; I can buy a much better PC for half the price.

As for Windows antivirus software; Avast free is very good; For those who want something lighter, Panda Cloud antivirus free is very good as well. Always use a good spyware preventive software, like Malwarebytes free.

Raf.

[DeDukshyn]

Posted by Wantsthetruth74 (here)

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
-------

Or...... get a Mac.

HAHA, one of the first things on my list when I win the lotto!! : )

Keep in mind -- when everyone has a MAC -- no one will be writing viruses for windows anymore ... but the will still be writing them. It has already started: http://www.techspot.com/news/51689-n...onnection.html

Then the issue will be that since everyone thinks MACs are invulnerable, this will be its vulnerability.

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by RMorgan (here)
I gave my mom my old notebook after installing Linux Mint on it, and she never called me to ask me to repair her computer again. It´s virus free and runs much better than Windows; It brings old computers back to life.

Linux runs on everything from cell phones (Android) to some of the biggest iron out there (I was working on Linux for 1000 CPU, multi-terabyte RAM systems when I last worked, in 2008.)

¤=[Post Update]=¤

Posted by DeDukshyn (here)

Keep in mind -- when everyone has a MAC -- no one will be writing viruses for windows anymore ... but the will still be writing them. It has already started: http://www.techspot.com/news/51689-n...onnection.html

Then the issue will be that since everyone thinks MACs are invulnerable, this will be its vulnerability.

True, MAC gets less attention because it has less market.

True, MAC is not invulnerable.

But ... also true ... Unix and its derivatives (BSD, OS X, Linux, ...) have an inherently better operating system design from a security point of view, having been targeted at multi-user systems since its very early days.