Thank you. I have seen this. I have been searching for how to get rid of this. When I turn my computer on it tries to connect to the internet by itself. It is due to StatBlaster. It is running all the time in the background. I can't get rid of it and it is driving me crazy.
Does anyone know this: can this Adware-StatBlaster get my credit card information? It is like a type of spy ware where they get passwords and bank information from you? I need to be able to register online for college summer school classes soon but I don't want to do this if this Adware program can get my credit card info. I am starting to panic.
Important: Create a folder on the C: drive called C:\HJT.
You can do this by going to My Computer (Windows key+e) then double click on C: then right click and select New then Folder and name it HJT. Unzip HijackThis into this folder.
(See this link for graphical instructions) Then run, scan, save log, then in notepad copy the FULL log by copy and paste as a reply to this post and an expert with HijackThis Knowldge, will have a go at giving advice. A lot of posters make mistakes here in copying and pasting so reread the left info sidebar called
Copy and Paste Please note the list of experts names below, very few forum regulars here have had this training.
DO NOT FIX ANYTHING WITH HIJACKTHIS WITHOUT EXPERT ADVICE, most of what it finds you need for normal MS Windows tasks.
Known Spyware HijackThis fighters in DellTalk - If you are, and are not on the list please PM Me.
TomCoyote (of
http://tomcoyote.org/forums/index.php fame)
YoKenny (Expert at TomCoyotes, Trusted Advisor Spywareinfo)
baskar1234 (Teaching Assistant at TomCoyotes, Trusted Advisor Spywareinfo)
ChrisRLG (Classroom Coordinator at TomCoyotes, Trusted Advisor Spywareinfo)
Tuxedo Jack (Teaching Assistant at TomCoyotes, Trusted Advisor Spywareinfo)
Yellowhammer (Trusted Advisor at Net-Integration, First Responder at Computer Cops)
tashi (Teaching Assistant at TomCoyotes, Trusted Advisor Spywareinfo)
therock247uk (In Training at TomCoyotes and Spywareinfo)
irelynmisses (In Training at TomCoyotes and Spywareinfo)
Texruss (Spyware Fighter at Wildersecurity, In Training at TomCoyotes)
PGPhantom (Trusted Advisor at Spywareinfo)
I, and the other hijack experts mentioned above, are in all those sites (and more) with the same login names. You might get one of us at those sites also to anwser your log, but other experts will also be available.
Thank you for your reply. I have downloaded SpyBot and that did not fix it.
I then downloaded SpySweeper and that did not fix it.
I then tried going into safe mode and trying to find the file that way. It is not found. I can search the computer and find the file in hidden files on the computer but in safe mode in Administrator mode it is not found.
I am very frustrated. I believe I will try the other suggestion tommorrow or maybe take the computer in to someone else. I am not sure what to do.
I need to register online for college classes so I need this fixed pretty fast. I am so thankful for all your help so far. Thank goodness you are here, you are such a help to all of us. Thank you again. I will decide on whether to do the Hijack tommorrow.
The removal information below was found here:
http://www.kephyr.com/spywarescanner/library/statblaster/index.phtml
StatBlaster -
From the vendor: "Get officially liscensed MLB pitch-by-pitch real time updates from every stadium around the league. StatBlaster provides live streaming statistics for each fantasy matchup you want tracked either in one league or across all your leagues. Whether you play fantasy sports on Yahoo!, ESPN, Sandbox.com, CBSSportsline.com, or any other site, StatBlaster will track ALL of your fantasy teams and matchups in real time." Source
StatBlaster may be installed WITHOUT the user's permission by ISTBar, RapidBlaster or Second Thought Adware.
StatBlaster may install third part software, such as Bargain Buddy, PurityScan, Keen Value, AdGoblin (AdsInContext), IEDriver (TurboDownload), SaveNow and Peper Trojan (Memory Watcher): "The StatBlaster installer may install, or provide options to install other 3rd party software that will show advertisments in the form of pop-unders, interstitials, banner ads, and/ or hyperlinks. A full list of our partners can be found at http://origin.statblaster.com/partners.html StatBlaster is provided free of charge, requiring no payment from you whatsoever; In exchange, installed with StatBlaster are some small programs from other companies. We hope that this exchange is agreeable to you, it helps us produce free software! If not, we apologize for any inconvenience - you may uninstall the bundled software and use StatBlaster for free, as our guest, or you may uninstall StatBlaster entirely. StatBlaster and the bundled software components are completely separate, and have their own uninstallers (through Add/Remove Programs)."
Manual removal
Please follow the instructions below if you would like to remove StatBlaster manually. Please notice that you must follow the instructions very carefully and delete everything that is mentioned. In most cases the removal will fail if one single item is not deleted. If StatBlaster remains on your system after stepping through the removal instructions, please double-check by stepping through them again.
* Start the registry editor. This is done by clicking Start then Run. (The Run dialog will appear.) Type regedit and click OK. (The registry editor will open.)
* Browse to the key:
'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Run'
* In the right pane, delete the value called 'UpdateStats', if it exists
* Exit the registry editor
* Restart your computer
* Start Windows Explorer and delete:
* %ProgramsDir%\Media\Media\
Note: %ProgramsDir% is a variable (?). By default, this is C:\Program Files
Chris, thank you for that reply, however I am wondering if this is the same thing I had. It came up when I would do a virus scan through McAfee. I finally was able to remove it but I did not have your instructions and somehow was able to remove it, I am still not exactly sure how I did it. I think what I did that worked was to search for the file that came up listed in potentially unwanted programs in McAfee and then I looked in hidden folders and found it and clicked to delete and it let me and then I deleted it from the recycle bin. The problem was I had tried repeatedly to do that in the past and it would not let me, it would say access denied, or something to that effect. I think (remember I am not sure) that the reason was because everything I found it in McAfee I would try to delete it but it would not let me and so then I would quarantine it. But it would come back the next time, I think the reason it let me delete it from the file was because that last time I tried deleting it, I had not quarantined it. I am not sure that is the reason, after all, everytime I found it before in files and folders it would say program, that last time it said application. I am giving this information in case this might work for someone else. If you find Adware-StatBlaster on your computer after running a virus scan, do not do anything to it. Instead, go to start, search, click on files and folders and type in part of the name of the file you found in McAfee unwanted programs. If it does not show up, click hidden files and search again. If it comes up and it gives the same exact file name and size as the one shown in McAfee, right click delete and see if it lets you send it to the recycle bin. If it does, then delete it from the recycle bin as well and then do a restart.
Also, I might add that I looked for Adware-StatBlaster in the control panel under add/remove programs and it was not there. I also looked for it in the registry and found nothing that looked like it. I imagine it was there in the registry but I couldn't find anything that looked remotely like it.
Important: Create a folder on the C: drive called C:\HJT.
You can do this by going to My Computer (Windows key+e) then double click on C: then right click and select New then Folder and name it HJT. Unzip HijackThis into this folder.
(See this link for graphical instructions) Then run, scan, save log, then in notepad copy the FULL log by copy and paste as a reply to this post and an expert with HijackThis Knowldge, will have a go at giving advice. A lot of posters make mistakes here in copying and pasting so reread the left info sidebar called
Copy and Paste Please note the list of experts names below, very few forum regulars here have had this training.
DO NOT FIX ANYTHING WITH HIJACKTHIS WITHOUT EXPERT ADVICE, most of what it finds you need for normal MS Windows tasks.
Known Spyware HijackThis fighters in DellTalk - If you are, and are not on the list please PM Me.
TomCoyote (of
http://tomcoyote.org/forums/index.php fame)
YoKenny (Expert at TomCoyotes, Trusted Advisor Spywareinfo)
baskar1234 (Teaching Assistant at TomCoyotes, Trusted Advisor Spywareinfo)
ChrisRLG (Classroom Coordinator at TomCoyotes, Trusted Advisor Spywareinfo)
Tuxedo Jack (Teaching Assistant at TomCoyotes, Trusted Advisor Spywareinfo)
Yellowhammer (Trusted Advisor at Net-Integration, First Responder at Computer Cops)
tashi (Teaching Assistant at TomCoyotes, Trusted Advisor Spywareinfo)
therock247uk (In Training at TomCoyotes and Spywareinfo)
irelynmisses (In Training at TomCoyotes and Spywareinfo)
Texruss (Spyware Fighter at Wildersecurity, In Training at TomCoyotes)
PGPhantom (Trusted Advisor at Spywareinfo)
I, and the other hijack experts mentioned above, are in all those sites (and more) with the same login names. You might get one of us at those sites also to anwser your log, but other experts will also be available.
pskelley
933 Posts
0
May 9th, 2004 00:00
McAfee does not seem to know much about this yet.
http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_121829.htm
Here is what Symantec has to say.
http://sarc.com/avcenter/venc/data/adware.statblaster.html
dnaleri
63 Posts
0
May 9th, 2004 14:00
Thank you. I have seen this. I have been searching for how to get rid of this. When I turn my computer on it tries to connect to the internet by itself. It is due to StatBlaster. It is running all the time in the background. I can't get rid of it and it is driving me crazy.
Does anyone know this: can this Adware-StatBlaster get my credit card information? It is like a type of spy ware where they get passwords and bank information from you? I need to be able to register online for college summer school classes soon but I don't want to do this if this Adware program can get my credit card info. I am starting to panic.
Thank you for any information.
ChrisRLG
3.9K Posts
0
May 9th, 2004 22:00
First :-
Spybot S&D and Ad-aware using the settings and links provided
Here
Failing those solving your problems a post of a hijackthis log for the experts to advise.
HijackThis From Here
or one of these other links:-
http://www.merijn.org/files/hijackthis.zip
http://www.aluriasoftware.com/tools/hijackthis.zip
http://mjc1.com/mirror/hjt/
Important: Create a folder on the C: drive called C:\HJT.
You can do this by going to My Computer (Windows key+e) then double click on C: then right click and select New then Folder and name it HJT. Unzip HijackThis into this folder. (See this link for graphical instructions)
Then run, scan, save log, then in notepad copy the FULL log by copy and paste as a reply to this post and an expert with HijackThis Knowldge, will have a go at giving advice. A lot of posters make mistakes here in copying and pasting so reread the left info sidebar called Copy and Paste
Please note the list of experts names below, very few forum regulars here have had this training.
DO NOT FIX ANYTHING WITH HIJACKTHIS WITHOUT EXPERT ADVICE, most of what it finds you need for normal MS Windows tasks.
Known Spyware HijackThis fighters in DellTalk - If you are, and are not on the list please PM Me.
TomCoyote (of http://tomcoyote.org/forums/index.php fame)
YoKenny (Expert at TomCoyotes, Trusted Advisor Spywareinfo)
baskar1234 (Teaching Assistant at TomCoyotes, Trusted Advisor Spywareinfo)
ChrisRLG (Classroom Coordinator at TomCoyotes, Trusted Advisor Spywareinfo)
Tuxedo Jack (Teaching Assistant at TomCoyotes, Trusted Advisor Spywareinfo)
Yellowhammer (Trusted Advisor at Net-Integration, First Responder at Computer Cops)
tashi (Teaching Assistant at TomCoyotes, Trusted Advisor Spywareinfo)
therock247uk (In Training at TomCoyotes and Spywareinfo)
irelynmisses (In Training at TomCoyotes and Spywareinfo)
Texruss (Spyware Fighter at Wildersecurity, In Training at TomCoyotes)
PGPhantom (Trusted Advisor at Spywareinfo)
You could also go to one of the more specalist forums where more experts will be able to help.
http://tomcoyote.com/forums/index.php
http://forums.spywareinfo.com/index.php
http://www.net-integration.net/cgi-bin/forum/ikonboard.cgi (Home of Spybot S&D)
http://boards.cexx.org/index.php
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/index.php
Do read the sites FAQ before posting, and advise your problem and what steps you have already done to try to cure your problem.
I, and the other hijack experts mentioned above, are in all those sites (and more) with the same login names. You might get one of us at those sites also to anwser your log, but other experts will also be available.
dnaleri
63 Posts
0
May 10th, 2004 00:00
Thank you for your reply. I have downloaded SpyBot and that did not fix it.
I then downloaded SpySweeper and that did not fix it.
I then tried going into safe mode and trying to find the file that way. It is not found. I can search the computer and find the file in hidden files on the computer but in safe mode in Administrator mode it is not found.
I am very frustrated. I believe I will try the other suggestion tommorrow or maybe take the computer in to someone else. I am not sure what to do.
I need to register online for college classes so I need this fixed pretty fast. I am so thankful for all your help so far. Thank goodness you are here, you are such a help to all of us. Thank you again. I will decide on whether to do the Hijack tommorrow.
DELL-Chris M
Community Manager
•
56.9K Posts
0
May 11th, 2004 11:00
The removal information below was found here:
http://www.kephyr.com/spywarescanner/library/statblaster/index.phtml
StatBlaster -
From the vendor: "Get officially liscensed MLB pitch-by-pitch real time updates from every stadium around the league. StatBlaster provides live streaming statistics for each fantasy matchup you want tracked either in one league or across all your leagues. Whether you play fantasy sports on Yahoo!, ESPN, Sandbox.com, CBSSportsline.com, or any other site, StatBlaster will track ALL of your fantasy teams and matchups in real time." Source
StatBlaster may be installed WITHOUT the user's permission by ISTBar, RapidBlaster or Second Thought Adware.
StatBlaster may install third part software, such as Bargain Buddy, PurityScan, Keen Value, AdGoblin (AdsInContext), IEDriver (TurboDownload), SaveNow and Peper Trojan (Memory Watcher): "The StatBlaster installer may install, or provide options to install other 3rd party software that will show advertisments in the form of pop-unders, interstitials, banner ads, and/ or hyperlinks. A full list of our partners can be found at http://origin.statblaster.com/partners.html StatBlaster is provided free of charge, requiring no payment from you whatsoever; In exchange, installed with StatBlaster are some small programs from other companies. We hope that this exchange is agreeable to you, it helps us produce free software! If not, we apologize for any inconvenience - you may uninstall the bundled software and use StatBlaster for free, as our guest, or you may uninstall StatBlaster entirely. StatBlaster and the bundled software components are completely separate, and have their own uninstallers (through Add/Remove Programs)."
Manual removal
Please follow the instructions below if you would like to remove StatBlaster manually. Please notice that you must follow the instructions very carefully and delete everything that is mentioned. In most cases the removal will fail if one single item is not deleted. If StatBlaster remains on your system after stepping through the removal instructions, please double-check by stepping through them again.
* Start the registry editor. This is done by clicking Start then Run. (The Run dialog will appear.) Type regedit and click OK. (The registry editor will open.)
* Browse to the key:
'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Run'
* In the right pane, delete the value called 'UpdateStats', if it exists
* Exit the registry editor
* Restart your computer
* Start Windows Explorer and delete:
* %ProgramsDir%\Media\Media\
Note: %ProgramsDir% is a variable (?). By default, this is C:\Program Files
dnaleri
63 Posts
0
May 11th, 2004 13:00
Chris, thank you for that reply, however I am wondering if this is the same thing I had. It came up when I would do a virus scan through McAfee. I finally was able to remove it but I did not have your instructions and somehow was able to remove it, I am still not exactly sure how I did it. I think what I did that worked was to search for the file that came up listed in potentially unwanted programs in McAfee and then I looked in hidden folders and found it and clicked to delete and it let me and then I deleted it from the recycle bin. The problem was I had tried repeatedly to do that in the past and it would not let me, it would say access denied, or something to that effect. I think (remember I am not sure) that the reason was because everything I found it in McAfee I would try to delete it but it would not let me and so then I would quarantine it. But it would come back the next time, I think the reason it let me delete it from the file was because that last time I tried deleting it, I had not quarantined it. I am not sure that is the reason, after all, everytime I found it before in files and folders it would say program, that last time it said application. I am giving this information in case this might work for someone else. If you find Adware-StatBlaster on your computer after running a virus scan, do not do anything to it. Instead, go to start, search, click on files and folders and type in part of the name of the file you found in McAfee unwanted programs. If it does not show up, click hidden files and search again. If it comes up and it gives the same exact file name and size as the one shown in McAfee, right click delete and see if it lets you send it to the recycle bin. If it does, then delete it from the recycle bin as well and then do a restart.
Also, I might add that I looked for Adware-StatBlaster in the control panel under add/remove programs and it was not there. I also looked for it in the registry and found nothing that looked like it. I imagine it was there in the registry but I couldn't find anything that looked remotely like it.
Message Edited by dnaleri on 05-11-2004 09:47 AM
ChrisRLG
3.9K Posts
0
May 11th, 2004 20:00
==========================
A post of a hijackthis log for the experts to advise.
HijackThis From Here
or one of these other links:-
http://www.merijn.org/files/hijackthis.zip
http://www.aluriasoftware.com/tools/hijackthis.zip
http://mjc1.com/mirror/hjt/
Important: Create a folder on the C: drive called C:\HJT.
You can do this by going to My Computer (Windows key+e) then double click on C: then right click and select New then Folder and name it HJT. Unzip HijackThis into this folder. (See this link for graphical instructions)
Then run, scan, save log, then in notepad copy the FULL log by copy and paste as a reply to this post and an expert with HijackThis Knowldge, will have a go at giving advice. A lot of posters make mistakes here in copying and pasting so reread the left info sidebar called Copy and Paste
Please note the list of experts names below, very few forum regulars here have had this training.
DO NOT FIX ANYTHING WITH HIJACKTHIS WITHOUT EXPERT ADVICE, most of what it finds you need for normal MS Windows tasks.
Known Spyware HijackThis fighters in DellTalk - If you are, and are not on the list please PM Me.
TomCoyote (of http://tomcoyote.org/forums/index.php fame)
YoKenny (Expert at TomCoyotes, Trusted Advisor Spywareinfo)
baskar1234 (Teaching Assistant at TomCoyotes, Trusted Advisor Spywareinfo)
ChrisRLG (Classroom Coordinator at TomCoyotes, Trusted Advisor Spywareinfo)
Tuxedo Jack (Teaching Assistant at TomCoyotes, Trusted Advisor Spywareinfo)
Yellowhammer (Trusted Advisor at Net-Integration, First Responder at Computer Cops)
tashi (Teaching Assistant at TomCoyotes, Trusted Advisor Spywareinfo)
therock247uk (In Training at TomCoyotes and Spywareinfo)
irelynmisses (In Training at TomCoyotes and Spywareinfo)
Texruss (Spyware Fighter at Wildersecurity, In Training at TomCoyotes)
PGPhantom (Trusted Advisor at Spywareinfo)
You could also go to one of the more specalist forums where more experts will be able to help.
http://tomcoyote.com/forums/index.php
http://forums.spywareinfo.com/index.php
http://www.net-integration.net/cgi-bin/forum/ikonboard.cgi (Home of Spybot S&D)
http://boards.cexx.org/index.php
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/index.php
Do read the sites FAQ before posting, and advise your problem and what steps you have already done to try to cure your problem.
I, and the other hijack experts mentioned above, are in all those sites (and more) with the same login names. You might get one of us at those sites also to anwser your log, but other experts will also be available.