Major Performance / Security Problem with CCleaner v2

[jhodgski]

The internet performance on my PC has been extremely poor recently. After many hours of struggling, I've today only managed to find out the problem having had to resort to purchasing the ZoneAlarm Security Suite - which detected spyware/virus in the Yahoo! Toolbar that was installed by CCleaner v2.

 

I've now removed the Yahoo! crap from my computer and it's now performing fine again.

 

But a big sarcastic THANKS for including it in the first place - especially as I don't recall explicitly consenting to having it installed in the first place.

 

I realise the CCleaner guy has got to pay his rent, but shouldn't he be doing that by removing crap from people's machines rather than adding it...

[hazelnut]

When you download CCleaner and install it, the are a number of options for you to choose, one being the yahoo toolbar.

 

All you had to do was notice that option and it would not have installed.

 

Nothing was done behind your back, perhaps this may be the push that you need to get you to read what options you are installing on a software.

[unsober]

 

there it is

[cag4]

Alright you yutz's -- I didn't receive any notification that the yahoo toolbar and homepage hijacker would be downloaded with cccleaner -- it just installed without any screens.

 

Now, I've gone into the Add/Remove Programs control panel and removed the yahoo toolbar AND the Yahoo Installer application that you dumped on me... but of course that didnt' remove the toolbar, and now they are both gone from Add/Remove Programs.

 

How the H*ll do I get the stuff you dumped on my machine off? and that includes cccleaner of course.

 

I'm a long time cccleaner user... nobody will do business with you now... what were you thinking?

 

cag4

[cag4]

Here are the IE instructions from Microsoft... When asked, please let them know that it was a drive-by installation from CC Cleaner.

 

===============

 

How to Uninstall or Turn off the Yahoo! Companion Browser Toolbar

View products that this article applies to.

Article ID : 303047

Last Review : January 31, 2007

Revision : 2.2

This article was previously published under Q303047

The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.

SYMPTOMS

After you install the Yahoo! Companion browser toolbar, you may be unable to remove it or hide it. You may be unable to hide the toolbar when you click Toolbars on the View menu. There may be no entry for Yahoo in Add/Remove Programs.

 

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RESOLUTION

To remove the Yahoo! Companion browser toolbar, follow these steps:

1. Start Microsoft Internet Explorer.

2. On the Yahoo! Companion browser toolbar, click the Edit button (it appears as a pencil), and then click Remove Yahoo! Companion on the shortcut menu that appears.

 

NOTE: If you cannot see the Edit button, expand the Yahoo! Companion toolbar.

3. You receive the following message:

Uninstalling will remove Yahoo! Companion from your browser.

Do you still want to remove Yahoo! Companion?

Click Yes.

4. You receive the following message:

Yahoo! Companion has been uninstalled. Please restart your browser.

Click OK.

5. Quit Internet Explorer, and then restart it.

 

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MORE INFORMATION

Additional information about the Yahoo! Companion browser toolbar is available from Yahoo! at the following URL:

http://companion.yahoo.com (http://companion.yahoo.com)

Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

 

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[hazelnut]

Where did you download from?

 

When you installed, as quite clearly shown in unsober's screenshot, you are offered the choice of installing it or not.

 

Did you do a clean install?

 

There is no such thing as a drive by install of CCleaner.

 

You do not need to keep repeat posting the same thing, therefor your similar post has been removed. You have made your point.

[cag4]

I got the download from the email notification you guys sent.

 

You can "say" there's no such thing, and I'm glad you have a screenshot... but when I hit install (over top of my existing copy of CC Cleaner, it just told me to close open apps, then installed without the install options screen showing up.

 

cag4

[rridgely]

Sorry but there is no way that you didnt get the option to not install the yahoo toolbar. The yahoo toolbar does not hijack your browser/change your homepage. It is just a toolbar, it shouldn't redirect your searches, cause slowdown or anything like that.

 

To get rid of it download this:

http://filehippo.com/download_hijackthis/

 

(make sure your browser is closed before doing the below)

Run a scan with hijackthis and you will get a list of entries. Look in the 02 section for the yahoo toolbar and put a checkmark next to it. Press "fix checked" and exit hijackthis. The toolbar should be gone when you open IE.

 

Now go to C:/program files and delete the yahoo folder. Then run ccleaners' issues scanner to clean up the remnants.

[cag4]

Look -- I run a software development shop -- the one thing we don't say is "there's no way" that something could happen... users will figure out some way to make the wierdest stuff happen.

 

I'm hopeful that you didn't "intend" for the yahoo toolbar crud to install without first giving me the option of not having it install, but I'm telling you it did -- ignore the user experience at your own peril... I didn't start this thread, another user did, so I'm probably not the only one.

 

As for the homepage hi-jack, ok, not strictly... instead every time I opened the browser I got a pop up asking if I wanted to change my homepage to Yahoo and my search engine to Yahoo... it gave me the option of saying no, and a check box to say, "don't ask again", but guess what... every time I opened the browser I got the same pop-up again... I know, there's "no way" that could happen ;-)

 

I used the MS and Firefox methods to hose the yahoo toolbar and they worked just fine. 2+ hours after installing the updated CC Cleaner, my machine is back to where it was pre-install... I'm not spending any more time on it, and I'm bummed that I had a nasty experience with CC Cleaner, which up til now I really liked a lot... I'm just saying dig a little deeper into your installers and you might save a few more users.

 

good luck -- and out.

cag4

[Whiteshark]

I'have installed/reinstalled CCleaner at least 100 times in my life,

and it NEVER installed Yahoo! Toolbar. No needs to say more

[craigathus]

Every version of "CCleaner" that I have ever installed, has given me the option of not installing the Yahoo toolbar by unchecking the corresponding check box.

Read EULA's and watch what you're doing when installing any software.

[shieber]

If the option screenis not coming up on your machine(s) when you install, even when you install over a prior version, then it is not installing correctly. Not having the option screen show up is not be design but by mistake. Seems lots of programs recently have had the yahoo stuff as default add-on with option to not add. Nero for one. So long as I can refuse the yahoo, I don't mind. Yoy should probably contact the techs re why the program is not installing correctly on your machines (ie., mistakenly skipping the option screen before isntalling an update). It could be a matter of not using default directories for CCleaner--that sort of things cnfuses some programs when installing updates.