Can't Remove Program

[Autarkus]

I was searching the web recently, and I visited a page which installed (without asking me, don't ask how) something called 'Home Search Assistent' (no, I didn't misspell it, that's how it appears on my add/remove programs list)
I tried removing it but I get a message that says "Problem with shortcut: Unable to open http://looking-for.cc/uninstall/HomeSearchAssistant.html"

I'd reboot in Safe mode and delete it if I knew where it was. Search function turned up no files marked 'Home Search'

The effects of having this program are:
Every time I open my browser, the home page has been reset to the Home Search page (the address bar shows about:blank but using the search bar gets a screen in the onemoresearch.net domain). A bunch on porn links are likewise added to my Favorites list every time I open my browser.
I get popups every 5 minutes while browsing, which try to sell me things, one of which is a software product that removes adware.
What unbelievable chutzpah! To install adware that tries to sell me a tool for removing adware!

[Heon2574]

http://www.twistedforums.com/forums/...php/t-489.html

The solution was to reinstall Windows.

google search for some more "remove HomeSearchAssistant"

What browser are you using? Do you have SP2 installed?

[rightcoast]

Here ya go, check out reply number 6. It works almost all time, not sure why it doesn't every time. That is your only hope from my experience at work with that one. Even Hijackthis can't get rid of it by itself.

http://www.computing.net/security/ww...rum/12346.html

This might help too:
1. The free utilities "about:buster" and "HSRemove" can remove some of the HSA variants. Download the programs from the following site and run them. Read the instructions on the download pages carefully:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4289.html
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4286.html

2. At the above site there is also a "spyware" removal tutorial which has more information on general prevention/removal techniques and tools; you should give it a read:

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=35407

Good luck, I'll help however I can, this is one of the toughest to remove.

[Autarkus]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I don't have some of the tools mentioned, such as Hijackthis, and I haven't downloaded SP2 yet because it will take over 3 hours on my crappy dialup connection. I will download SP2 tonight and see if anything changes.

[glc]

Don't even THINK of installing SP2 on a spyware infected system. This will only cause more problems.

[Chiquito]

Can I sympathize with you!!! I had the same thing happen to me and the only good thing about this and this thread is that now I know that I'm not the only one. I was going through google looking for something when boom, it scared the h--l out of me cause it took over the web page. I must have clicked on the red X in the corener about 25 times before the whole screen was taken over and there waasn't any Xs's anymore or anything just what they wanted including porn. I thought someone had sent a little smurf through the DSL line, like the one in the Elm Street movies or Gremlin movies. Since I didn't know too much about computing or how to get info, I mean I bougtht software and tutorials and what not,I even called a Supertech friend of mine all to no avail.
So in my quest I had downloaded a spyware program Called X soft or something, it got the highest recommendation on Cnet. It was supposed to be free till the the program automatically takes you to the Pay Page. Well since I didn't like it I tried to delete it and it ended up being the same thing as the spy ware. I said to myself,this is the pitts, you can't let it beat you, so I tried to understand it and I found out that spyware goes directly to the REGISTRY, so bingo if I know where its at I know where to start. Before this I had trouble with the Yahoo browser,it wouldn't let me run certain programs without it taking over. So I started with something that I could understand its code,not programming but like its descriptive extensions I started with the yahoo browser. I would go to the task manger and delete the yahoo files so it wouldn't work in that session. Some times you can delete a file or stop it and it will continue and I found out that most of the time there is more than one file associated with and action and some are intentionally hidden. Anyway when I was sure that I knew all the files associated with the program I went to the registry and took the chance, and it worked. Also you can learn alot fron the tutorials here at PCMech. I'm not much good yet and I have a lot to learn especially from some of the peeps yet but I told you my story so maybe you can get something out of it because I can understand how fustrating it can be. Good luck Chiquito!!!