Searchprotectbyconduit help!

[Blinkin]

Hi Gang, it's the computer idiot again.

I discovered that I have Searchprotectbyconduit on my computer. As I am currently overdrawn on my bank account, credit cards, etc.. so I can't buy a stick of gum, if I could find a stick of gum to buy.

So... anyone out there able to tell me how to find a free removal tool, or how to do it manually? Remember that I do not speak technese and probably better with words of less than 3 syllables.

Please, Please, Please help!

[Oreo]

There is a step by step removal guide here with pictures.

[Oniya]

From what I read about the program, there's an uninstaller that you can run from the Add/Remove Programs Control Panel.  Locate the entry for Searchprotect and click 'Remove'.

[Blinkin]

Thanks for the help, hopefully I'll be able to remove it without killing either myself or the computer.

I have no idea where it came from, but it's usually not enough to just uninstall programs like this and I wanted to get all of it.

[Rogue]

I'm going to post this again, but the Program malware bytes is what we use to get rid of anything malicious we don't want on our cpu. Also, may I ask which antivirus you are using?

[Blinkin]

I use Microsoft Security Essencials, which did not pick this up. I found it in my add/remove programs and looked it up because I didn't know what it was.

Usually, just unistalling something like this doesn't solve the problem, and because of the thing, I really can't search for a removal tool or directions to get rid of it completely. WILL malwarebytes get rid of all of it?

I Do have malware bytes on the system, but I downloaded it a few days before being urged by someone who has a lot more experience than I do to go to Security Essencials.

There is also an older version of spybot, but it never worked well with my screen reader so it wasn't really working for me.

I'm a little intimidated by the step-by-step, so if an anti-virus will get rid of everything (Including the IE effects), I'll try it.

[Rogue]

Okay. This is second hand advice from every single techie I know who has worked IT and from every computer engineer/scientist I know. Microsoft is a last ditch effort to get anything done other than the OS itself and the Office programs. I looked up the reviews just to check and while it's neck and neck with malware bytes, Microsoft Essentials is a drain on your system based on the reviews alone. Malware bytes is considered top of the line and it's gotten anything that's messed with my cpu.

Antivirus: there are two free anti viruses that are considered better than a lot of pay fors including mcafee and definitely better than norton. They are Avast and AVG. Avast has literally gotten everything ever on my computer and saved a friend's flash drive. And that's just the free one. They also have payed versions that have additional features that aren't necessary for pretty much any internet usage. AVG is basically the competitor that is about on par, but I prefer Avast personally. Mainly because you can run a boot time scan, which I recommend doing immediately. It takes time because it goes through every file and it's not something you want to run every start up, but it should find and isolate the issue.

Avast can be found at: http://www.avast.com/en-us/index
AVG can be found at: http://free.avg.com/us-en/homepage

I hope you get this fixed. :)

[Blinkin]

Ok, I downloaded AVG, ran a scan and it came up clean... so...

searchprotectedbyconduit IS something that I don't want... or so all of the websites (except for conduit.com) says is a bad thing that has detrimental effects on computers... malwarebytes is listed on the removal site as one of the steps to remove it, so apparently that application detects it... but two different anti-malware/virus/adware applications has failed to detect it.

I looked at Advast, I actually had it for about 3 years, but while I loved it, I kept having trouble with getting it to update. When I went to the site, it was so cunfusing trying to figure out what was what, I just went to AVG.

So, I have on this system...

Malwarebytes, spybit, Microsoft Security Essencials and AVG... none of which detects anything. IS there anything to worry about even if my add/remove programs list the offending application?

I'm so frigging confused that it's not funny.

[Oreo]

You should be able to get most of it by clicking the Start button, then select Control Panel, and click on Uninstall a program.
Seach and uninstall BrotherSoft Extreme2 B1 Toolbar, Search Protected by conduit, Conduit Apps Toolbar and any other program developed by Conduit. On some computers these programs might be renamed or missing, search for any program developed by Conduit or unknown application, and uninstall it from your computer.

I can't recall if there is a date associated with the information. If so, it might give you a clue of where you got the toolbar from.

[Trieste]

Searchprotectbyconduit isn't actually a virus, so expecting a virus program to pick it up is somewhat silly. It's essentially a search hijacker - kind of like the ask.com toolbar. At worst, it's adware, although I'm not sure it even rises to that particular level of badness. Malwarebytes may or may not actually help with something as mild as searchprotect.

Just go to control panel and uninstall. Seriously, it will take care of MOST of the problem. The walkthrough that Oreo linked in her first reply goes through how to restore your browser settings. If you have difficulty with the screenshots in the walkthrough, we can help with that.

While there is no substitute for safe browsing practices, Microsoft Security Essentials is pretty much fine on newer systems. The fact that you have a dinosaur of a computer might mean that it's advisable to use AVG or Avast because of the system resource allocation - not necessarily the virus definitions. (Although I haven't actually noticed a heavier load from MSE as opposed to AVG or Avast.)

[Blinkin]

Well... Searchprotectedbyconduit is no longer in the add/remove programs. So, I suppose that either AVG killed it or it vanished on it's own.

I haven't restored my webbrowser settings yet, I dread trying to rebuild my favorites, but I'll probably have to do it anyway...

I lost this thing for 3 weeks the first of may because of malware and had to have an expert clear and fix the system. It's been running slow since then and I'm a bit hyper-sensitive about it. Getting a new system is out of the question as I simply don't have the resources for a new system, much less the accessible software, which cost more than the system does.

On the bright side, AVG killed an attempt to infect first thing this morning, so I'm fairly happy with it (again). I admit that since loosing my sight, I've become more of a computer idiot mainly because of the tempermental and massive expense to replace anything that allows me to access  a computer to begin with. It is my link to the world because I can't go grocery shopping, pay bills conveniently or a dozen other things that I use the computer for... so, I get anxious whenever something pops up.

I thank everyone again for the understanding and assistance. I think that I have now gone through every major anti-virus out there at least once, including the two big named brands. The best that I ever had was a little $10 application that I used for years and kept my computer running with an amazing track record. Unfortunately, when I had to change systems, I no longer had the CD and had to go to something else as that little program, updated almost daily, couldn't be found anywhere. Every time I've had anyone do work on the thing(s), they would add their own preference of anti-virus and over time, I've got quite a collection. lol

[Trieste]

I definitely understand the uneasiness surrounding losing your system. AVG is good - you might want to remove other ntivirus programs on your computer since they can sometimes conflict with one another.

My university runs a spam/phishing/malware watch list out of our lab, and we also run analyses as to how many hours it takes major antivirus software companies to put out a patch or an update with the most recent threats in them. Usually the first is Kaspersky. The rest have variable lag times behind them. But Kaspersky isn't free to my knowledge, so...

[Oreo]

Have to agree Kapersky isn't free, but I'm willing to pay the minimal fee for the safety I get. I've been using it for two years now and have had nothing slip past its scans. It finds things that Spybot and MalwareBytes miss. Instead of allowing me to open a page with a suspected virus, it scans and blocks the page before it opens. Granted, I don't get to see the picture or info, but it's way better than cleaning up afterward.

If you are able to afford it down the line I highly recommend it.

[Blinkin]

Down the line, I'm sure that I'll look at it. At the moment, after paying for the repair cost at the first of the month, it's been a broke food month and next month is going to be another broke food month. Thank God for overdraft protection!

It's a good thing that I actually like Mac and Cheese... although you can't get me to touch Spam (Stuff Posing As Meat) with a 10 foot pole, surgical gloves and a haz-mat suit... The last time I had it, I had gas that made a dog fart seem like a warm spring breeze and the dogs actually left the room in protest. lol

[Vekseid]

I lost this thing for 3 weeks the first of may because of malware and had to have an expert clear and fix the system. It's been running slow since then and I'm a bit hyper-sensitive about it. Getting a new system is out of the question as I simply don't have the resources for a new system, much less the accessible software, which cost more than the system does.

If you can get your hands on a chromebook and see if chromevox works on it, that will be a vastly cheaper option for you if it does.