Marsha has Babylon and possibly all kinds of other malware
All of a sudden I’ve got Babylon search on here and I can’t get rid of it. I’ve even found that when I try to download something from 4Shared, a My Start page pops up and I can’t get anything to download. Have you got any ideas on either of these things? Both are a real pain. Thanks in advance.
Our answer
Your best bet is to download Malwarebytes (free edition will work fine for you). The best and least confusing place to download Malwarebytes free is File Hippo. Here’s the link to the page and also the direct download link:
http://www.filehippo.com/download_malwarebytes_anti_malware/
Or download it directly from:
Install it and let it update but stop the scan. We want you to run it in Chameleon mode. And here’s how you do that:
After Malwarebytes has been installed press Windows Key + E and navigate to C:\Program Files (X86)\Malwarebytes and open the folder. Inside that folder is a subfolder called “Chameleon”. Open the Chameleon folder. You’ll see a dozen or so exe files with names like Firefox.exe, Rundll32.exe, Logon.exe — etc. Despite the name you see — they’re all Malwarebytes disguised as something else to fool the malware on your system.
Click on any one of the exe files in that folder. A Command prompt will open instructing you to “Press any key”. Press a key and the rest is automatic. Once the program starts running you’ll see various messages appear in the Command dialog. One of them is “Killing known malware processes” and this may take some time — depending on how infected your computer is.
When that is done, you’ll see the Malwarebytes program open and start scanning your computer. When it’s done scanning (10 to 20 minutes) you’ll see a list of malware which will be identified as PUP, Adware, and Trojan. All the Adware and Trojans found will be pre-checked, you’ll need to manually check the boxes next to those items identified as PUP (Potentially Unwanted Programs). Make sure you check them all — then click “Remove selected”. You be prompted to reboot your computer.
A note about Chameleon mode — Running Malwarebytes in Chameleon mode is similar to running it in safe mode and a lot less hassle for you.
After you’ve rebooted your computer, open your browser and click on Tools / Internet Options / Programs / Manage Add-ons. Disable Babylon in that dialog (and anything else you don’t recognize). In the Manage Add-ons you’ll see “Search Providers” – Disable Babylon and select Google or Bing (or whatever you want) there then close the dialog and close your browser.
You should be free from the curse of malware!
The light bulb went on when I read the article on Babylon.com. I just downloaded IE9 and it appeared as one of the search engines. I got a funny gut feeling about that name and deleted it. Then I came across your article regarding Babylon & the Malware that just might be on my computer. I downloaded Malwarebytes and followed your clear and easy directions and the program found 3 PUP programs. I was certainly glad that I only had 3! Thanks for all you do to help all of us keep our computer clean and tidy!!
HELLO ! Many thsnks for the info you provide ! Here is a question that has been bothring me for a week or so: A program “showed up” on my PC recently called “My PC Backup”. It appears to be from a firm named “Ascentive”.
Should I subscribe to their service ? Thank you. Bob
Dear User :
Babylon Offers a full service for all its products and features valid from the Babylon Store and on the world wide web
You can gain a full support and assistance on how to remove Babylon from your computer by the following ways :
Phone-18668086361 (US)
Email: Support@babylon.com
Website for Chat and Q& A : http://support.babylon.com/
Babylon holds more than 150 Million Clients worldwide, with reputation for 15 Years, Babylon has no intention to destroy that reputation and therefor offers help and assistance for anyone who seeks for , In order
to make sure the Software will work or be removed if the client requires it ,feel free to contact us,
Thank you in Advance
Babylon
We consider you to be unwanted software, a browser hijacker, and something we will automatically remove from every computer we find it on. Your installation methods are sneaky, and we’ve never yet had a Cloudeight Direct Computer Care customer who actually wanted your product on their computer. Nor have we yet to find anyone who actually intended to install your browser & search engine hijacker on their computer.
I don’t care how many computers you claim as “clients”. How many of those “150 Million Clients (sic)” actually intended to install your product. I would guess not a single one.
I don’t think we’ll be sending anyone to your site for support anytime soon. The 100% truth is — not a single person whose computer we have worked on wanted your product or even know how they got it. And removing your product by normal means (i.e. control panel) leaves the search engine hijacker behind. If you care to provide proof of how many of your supposed “150 Million Clients (sic)” actually intended to install your software — please provide that proof and we’ll publish it and issue an apology. In the 50+ computers we’ve encountered with your software installed, not a single one knew what it was or how they got it. That does not speak well for you furtive installation methods.
Provide proof that the majority of your users intentionally install your product, and we’ll publish it. The majority of users who end up with your product installed do so because they installed another program with which yours was bundled. If that is not so, provide proof and we’ll publish that as well.