Effing Surf Sidekick

[Vince]

I give up. Can't get rid of this POS "Surf Sidekick." Went to websites and used their crap. Unhooked from the internet and ran Spybot, etc., etc. Anyone have any other recommendations to rid my computer of this pain in the azz?

 

[Otter]

I give up. Can't get rid of this POS "Surf Sidekick." Went to websites and used their crap. Unhooked from the internet and ran Spybot, etc., etc. Anyone have any other recommendations to rid my computer of this pain in the azz?

Save the files you want, format your disk and reload windows. Sidekick is nasty, I fought with it on my other pc for weeks, finally just formatted and reloaded. Took me a couple hours to upgrade everything after I got windows installed but it was worth it.

 

[Vince]

Thanks Otter. Think I'm going to have to do just that. Re format & re load.

 

[itsbob]

Tools Needed for this fix:
HijackThis



Related Tutorials:
How to use HijackThis to remove Browser Hijackers & Spyware



Symptoms in a HijackThis Log (Maybe different entries but will contain the same domains and hostnames):


R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - {000AB005-FF12-42C2-8DF5-39E12E5F9C91} - C:\Program Files\SurfSideKick\SskBho.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SurfSideKick] C:\Program Files\SurfSideKick\Ssk.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [SurfSideKick] C:\Program Files\SurfSideKick\Ssk.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SurfSideKick 3] C:\Program Files\SurfSideKick 3\Ssk.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [CU1] C:\Program Files\Common Files\VCClient\VCClient.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [CU2] C:\Program Files\Common Files\VCClient\VCMain.exe
O20 - AppInit_DLLs: repairs.dll
O20 - AppInit_DLLs: repairs302972943.dll





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Removal Instructions:

Download HijackThis from the above link and extract it to c:\hijackthis.


Print out these instructions.


Close Internet Explorer and keep it closed throughout the entire removal process.


Enter the control panel by clicking on the Start menu, then clicking on Run.


Now type control in the Open field and press the OK button.


Double-click on the Add/Remove Programs icon.


Look for and uninstall the following entries if found in the Add/Remove Programs window.

Surf Sidekick
Surf Sidekick 2
Surf Sidekick 3

It may prompt about whether or not you are sure you want to remove this program. Reply Yes to this prompt. It will then uninstall the program.

If there is no Add/Remove Programs entry for this programs, click on Start, then Run and type the followin in the Open: field:

C:\Program Files\SurfSideKick 3\Ssk.exe /u

and press the OK button. A code will be displayed that it will ask you to enter. Enter this code and reboot. Once back to your desktop continue with the rest of the fix.


Navigate to the c:\hijackthis directory and double-click on HijackThis


When the program starts, double-click on the HijackThis icon and then click on the Scan button.


Put a checkmark next to the following entries if they exist:
R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - {000AB005-FF12-42C2-8DF5-39E12E5F9C91} - (no file)
R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - {000AB005-FF12-42C2-8DF5-39E12E5F9C91} - C:\Program Files\SurfSideKick\SskBho.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SurfSideKick] C:\Program Files\SurfSideKick\Ssk.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [SurfSideKick] C:\Program Files\SurfSideKick\Ssk.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SurfSideKick 3] C:\Program Files\SurfSideKick 3\Ssk.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [CU1] C:\Program Files\Common Files\VCClient\VCClient.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [CU2] C:\Program Files\Common Files\VCClient\VCMain.exe
O20 - AppInit_DLLs: repairs.dll
O20 - AppInit_DLLs: repairs302972943.dll


Then click the Fix button


Exit HijackThis.


Reboot your computer


Delete the following directories if they exist:

C:\PROGRAM FILES\SurfSideKick
C:\Program Files\SurfSideKick 3\
C:\Program Files\Common Files\VCClient\


Search for the following files and if found delete them:

Sskknwrd.dll
Ssk.log
SskUpdater.exe
Ssk.exe



Download the following reg file to your desktop. When it is finished downloading double-click on it and say Yes when it asks if you would like to merge the data.

Fixssk.reg [Download Link]

 

[MysticalMom]

Hijack This is awesome.

And if you have any more trouble go to http://www.bleeping computer.com
post your Hijack This log and they can help.

 

[Vince]

Thanks Bob.

Mystical. I've tried bleeping computer. No joy, but thanks anyway. Gonna try bobs remedy.