I got a popup from Messenger Plus to download an update and as well as updating Plus for me it also installed some scumware called something like coolfreesearch which took me about an hour to get rid of.

A happy bunny I am not.

Hi wonkotsane,

It seems while installing Messenger Plus! you have installed the sponsor program by mistake: you selected I ACCEPT, install the sponsor in the installation program. Please note this is not spyware it's simply a small search bar for Internet Explorer so Patchou (the creator of Messenger Plus!)  so he can make a living off it...

If before doing the below you have attempted to remove the sponsor program by any other method, like spyware and adware removal tools, messed around in the registry or tried to delete files you must install Messenger Plus! again with the sponsor program before doing this...

To uninstall it go to Add/Remove Programs in the control panel and double click on "Messenger Plus!" (or click on Remove). Then "Messenger Plus! - Setup" is displayed.
Click on the Uninstall button. after a couple of seconds, the program will ask you if you want to keep your preferences, it is suggested to say "Yes".
Then you'll be asked to type in the number displayed in the box then click Uninstall.
Now you must click Yes when asked to confirm the uninstall...If you're asked to close Internet explorer or any program do so. Now restart your computer and the sponsor program will be gone.

Ahhh dont worry, i dont think it did it automaticly... ill think you;; find in the setup there was a screen that said Sponsor Agreement. This is 110% Optional, so you just have to press refuse and it doesnt install. If you wish to uninstall it jsut uninstall and install again without the sponsor, ( i know youve worked that out now but anyway for future reference)

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Originally posted by reisyboy
Ahhh dont worry, i dont think it did it automaticly... ill think you;; find in the setup there was a screen that said Sponsor Agreement. This is 110% Optional, so you just have to press refuse and it doesnt install. If you wish to uninstall it jsut uninstall and install again without the sponsor, ( i know youve worked that out now but anyway for future reference)

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It is possible to have 110% , jus not sure how to explain it. Anyway 110% just makes sure they know

Ok, I didn't see any message giving me the choice but that doesn't mean it wasn't there.  As for a better search utility, it slowed my broadband connection down to dialup speeds, installed loads of favorites AND SET A STARTUP ENTRY TO A PROGRAM NAMED WIPEDRIVE.EXE.  Coupled with the fact that you have to hack about with the registry to remove this software I can only draw the logical conclusion that it is fully fledged Scumware.  I thought Messenger Plus was a trustworthy piece of software but I will certainly be keeping a very close eye on it in future.

Can someone officially linked to Messenger Plus in some way please explain to me about the WIPEDRIVE program that comes as part of the scumware, the way the deleted files restore themselves and the lack of an uninstall option?  I am a Community Leader at vbCity.com/DevCity.net and I feel sure that our 130,000 members (some of which I know use Messenger Plus) will be extremely interested to know more about this.

This link:

http://shoutbox.menthix.net/showthread.php?tid=21598

is from Patchou, the author of Messenger Plus!. It clearly states how to uninstall the sponsor and then install plus! again without it. The sponsor is completely optional.

And about wipedrive.exe - I think you'll find you agreed to install it, so I don't really know what your moaning about. Just follow the above instructions please. As for posting on codeguru etc, there really is no need, I again will say installing the sponsor is completely optional.

Tah,

Hah

I would like to point out the original poster said he got a message to UPDATE msgplus.  There is no install screen..  It simply asked to update msgplus and then it just went ahead and loaded my machine with all this crappy SCUMWARE that even Ad-aware couldn't remove.  I had to manually edit my registry, and track down several program directories it tried to hide throughout my machine.

Once again, just to confirm - I originally installed msgplus over a year ago, and every installation I've done since then I've always made sure to NOT accept the sponser agreement.. This time the updater decided I needed the scumware and screwed my system over...

It's really a shame to see such a great piece of software resort to Kazaa style methods to generate income.  I certainly hope this was a huge mistake and it never happens again, but somehow I doubt that very much.

quote:

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Originally posted by nyboe
I would like to point out the original poster said he got a message to UPDATE msgplus.  There is no install screen..  It simply asked to update msgplus and then it just went ahead and loaded my machine with all this crappy SCUMWARE that even Ad-aware couldn't remove.  I had to manually edit my registry, and track down several program directories it tried to hide throughout my machine.

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quote:

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Originally posted by nyboe
Once again, just to confirm - I originally installed msgplus over a year ago, and every installation I've done since then I've always made sure to NOT accept the sponser agreement.. This time the updater decided I needed the scumware and screwed my system over...

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code:

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INPUT "install sponsor"?
If "yes" then
  InstallSponsor
Else
  DoNothing
End If
InstallPlus

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Originally posted by nyboe
It's really a shame to see such a great piece of software resort to Kazaa style methods to generate income.  I certainly hope this was a huge mistake and it never happens again, but somehow I doubt that very much.

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Originally posted by wonkotsane
Ok, I didn't see any message giving me the choice but that doesn't mean it wasn't there.

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Originally posted by Hah
And about wipedrive.exe - I think you'll find you agreed to install it, so I don't really know what your moaning about.

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I can understand your frustration but even if the program's name looks strange, do you actually think that Messenger Plus! installs somethign that format your hard disk when the computer starts? . Wipe Drive could simply be the name of a software that ensures all the temporary files generated by the ads are properly removed everytime you start your computer, which would be a very good thing. You don't always have to assume the worse you know.

The sponsor program is only designed to generate money, through advertisement. It is absolutely not interested in deleting any of your files .

Patchou, I'm an amateur developer myself and I respect your right to generate revenue for yourself.

WIPEDRIVE is a highly suspicious name for something that doesn't do anything nasty to your hard drive.  You probably wouldn't install anything that would format a users hard drive but did you even notice the WIPEDRIVE file?  You don't even know what it does so how do you know whether it's harmless or not?  I bet you don't even use the search thing yourself because it slows your connection down, pops up ads all the time and it takes between 10 and 20 seconds to navigate between pages when it's running.  I've had a previous version of this scumware which installs itself silently using exploits and uses similar methods to avoid deletion.  Any "helper" application that restores itself when you delete it is scumware by my definition and pretty much everyone elses I should imagine.  There are 2 classes of software that have a legitimate reason to do this and that is security/antivirus software and system software.  This search thing is neither and you know as well as I do that it is a parasite.  You are condoning software that has the ability to illegally install itself on computers using browser exploits and security loopholes.  This, to me, doesn't send out a very good message about how trustworthy your product is.  Message Plus is a fantastic piece of software and I love it bits but all this is overshadowed by the scumware that you are promoting.

quote:

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Originally posted by wonkotsane
I'll take this as the official response

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Originally posted by wonkotsane
I've had a previous version of this scumware which installs itself silently using exploits and uses similar methods to avoid deletion.

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The file is installed in c:\program files\poke for cool and is installed by this scumware.  It was installed by this scumware when it illegal forced itself onto my computer last time.

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The sponsor program bundled with Plus is custom-built to be less dodgy than other versions. I don't think it's fair to judge Plus based on your previous experience with other programs.

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Originally posted by wonkotsane
when it illegal forced itself onto my computer last time.

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Originally posted by wonkotsane
I'm not the only one who agrees that this scumware is neither useful nor legitimate.

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Originally posted by wonkotsane
the consensus is that this is not a welcome addition

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Originally posted by wonkotsane
I've pm'd Patchou today offering to help find an alternative

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Originally posted by wonkotsane
because when word spreads about this I can see a lot of people turning their backs on Messenger Plus

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Originally posted by Tochjo
There are indeed many people who now consider it spyware and don't install it.

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Originally posted by Anubis
that's obvious to any one who takes notice of installations

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Originally posted by wonkotsane
when word spreads about this I can see a lot of people turning their backs on Messenger Plus - certainly, in my circle anyway.

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Originally posted by CookieRevised

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Originally posted by pharees
when word spreads about what? the fact that you cant understand the words "I ACCEPT install the sponsor program"

you cant complain about 'scumware' that YOU AGREED to install, its your own fault an no one elses. Don't try and put off other people from installing a great program like Plus just because you were too stupid to read what you were signing up for

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That realy doesn't help... He has problems with the content of the sponsor, he's not arguing the fact that the sponsor is/isn't optional....

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Originally posted by wonkotsane
WIPEDRIVE is a highly suspicious name for something that doesn't do anything nasty to your hard drive.  You probably wouldn't install anything that would format a users hard drive but did you even notice the WIPEDRIVE file?  You don't even know what it does so how do you know whether it's harmless or not?

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quote:

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Originally posted by wonkotsane
I bet you don't even use the search thing yourself because it slows your connection down, pops up ads all the time and it takes between 10 and 20 seconds to navigate between pages when it's running.

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I can assure you and every other person here, I was NOT asked any more questions beyond would you like to update msgplus!.

It installed it self, and added crap all over my PC.  You can tell me as much as you want that it's not possible, but it obviously is.  The other interesting part is I'm by far not the only person claiming this on the boards and all the staff here says is "It's not possible".

So, I'm going to take the same stance several other mods on other large boards are doing. I'm letting all my members know about this bug, and to watch out for msgplus.  I hope at some point you'll change your practices, but it's far more likely we'll just have to use a competing piece of software.

I should have seen the writing on the wall once you announced "optional" spyway.

quote:

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Originally posted by nyboe
I can assure you and every other person here, I was NOT asked any more questions beyond would you like to update msgplus!.

It installed it self, and added crap all over my PC.  You can tell me as much as you want that it's not possible, but it obviously is.  The other interesting part is I'm by far not the only person claiming this on the boards and all the staff here says is "It's not possible".

So, I'm going to take the same stance several other mods on other large boards are doing. I'm letting all my members know about this bug, and to watch out for msgplus.  I hope at some point you'll change your practices, but it's far more likely we'll just have to use a competing piece of software.

I should have seen the writing on the wall once you announced "optional" spyway.

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quote:

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Originally posted by nyboe
The other interesting part is I'm by far not the only person claiming this on the boards and all the staff here says is "It's not possible".

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If you want to diss Patchou, you can leave. This is a forum for Plus! and its fans. While I agree that this question is a legitiment question, you are going about it in a very unreasonable manner and should change your tone. I know for a FACT that the update feature invokes the same installer and makes sure you have the option of not installing the sypware. Just because your too slow to take notice does not, under any cicumstances, make it OK for you to whine at other people. If you want help, ask. If you want to flame, leave.

I really have to point out that the sponsor program doesn't force itself on your computer... if you unisntall Messenger Plus!, it will unisntall the sponsor, and that's about it. The sponsor is uninstalled thousands of times a day (with 60,000 daily installs, you can understand why) and the only people who complain are generally people who try to be smart, delete files/registry entries themselves, use tools like Adaware and then are surprised the sponsor program can't even find its uninstallation program anymore.

I always check my stats and currently, around 65% of my users install with the sponsor, 35% without. That's more than 20,000 people who chose "I refuse" everyday, I think the message is clear enough. And as for being useful, yes it is. It doesn't slows down your navigation, at all, helps do searches on the web (that's the main source of revenue if you want to know so if the majority of its users didnt find it useful, I wouldn't be earning a thing. Hundred of thousands of searches are made on this search bar everyday by my own users) and it does popups up many windows (because thats annoying and because I want to keep my users happy).

Patchou

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Originally posted by wonkotsane
I'm sorry, perhaps I've entered a parallel universe where WIPEDRIVE means something other than WIPE DRIVE.  For christs sake are you stupid?  If I set a startup entry on your computer of "format c:" would you not complain?  You're either naive or paid by Messenger Plus because I can't think of any other reason for such a monumentally stupid answer such as the one you posted.

I'll take this as the official response then and make it my mission to tell as many people as I can (and that's a hell of a lot of people on the internet, believe me) about this scumware.  I respect the author's right to get paid for his software but he also has a responsibility to ensure that the scumware he's installing with his product isn't harmful.  The owner of the scumware is british and if WIPEDRIVE does what the name suggests then it's illegal under UK law.

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I guess you shouldn't disassemble anything but feel free to do so,  I have nothing to hide .

I also installed the update to Plus, but I accidently installed the sponser. I would like to point out that it is my own fault, as I did the usual next, next, accept, yes, install routine that most people do.
For those of you who think the choice to install the sponser is not in the update, you are wrong. Not 20 minutes ago did I see it there. Also, I did not get any program called wipedrive.exe installed on my computer, in my startup, so I believe that perhaps that is from some other piece of spyware that has been loaded onto your system.

I would just like to thank you, Patchou, for actually giving us a choice to install the sponser, wether or not we actually we bother to read the install agreement , and thank you for continually updating plus and making it better.

Thank you
I guess I can close the thread on these good words.