quote:
Originally posted by CookieRevised
No, it isn't... It has always been very easy, and always been the same: just uninstall Plus! and follow the intructions (closing every browserwindow, entering the check-number, ...)
CookieRevised, you are someone who knows all those ins & outs, all about Plus!'s version of LOP, etc.
Before I knew just what LOP was, I had enormous trouble getting rid of it. Once I realised it was the Plus! sponsor program, it was relatively easy to get rid of. But this was the third time I'd had it.The other two, uninstalling Plus! didn't work, because I'd used Ad-Aware once, & changed IE settings & rooted it out another time.
The third time, the fact that I'd not managed to uninstall it the first two times, along with various registry changes - random-string sturtup item's have a funny tendency to be viruses or spyway - completely disabled the Plus!-bundled LOP uninstaller. I found out it was a harmless version coming with Plus! near the end of this episode.
The reinstall w/ LOP, uninstall both, reboot, then reinstall w/out LOP didn't work... I had to root it right out, & this is LOP - it's not an easy thing to remove manually; in fact, I'm sure it'd be "well-nigh impossible" for most people.
Once I did finally root it out, eveything went back to normal as far as Plus!, LOP, & uninstallation go. But I have to be careful with Ad-Aware etc.; I can't just exclude LOP, because I might get one of the normal versions. No matter what you say or how cut back it is, it's still LOP, & behaves as such. One tiny change & it's ununistallable.
It also prevents you shutting down the process iexplore.exe; it respawns with another name if you kill it's own process, & reacts to anything & everything the way a virus/trojan would - it creates renamed copies & hides itself away, while making sure you didn't stop/alter the one you tried to.
It changes, disguises itself (Yes, it
does - All those redirected shortcuts & funny names), & prevents the average user knowing anything about it other than that their browser has apparently been hijacked w/out their permission (Kinda implied in the word "hijacked," I know.)!
All this may seem off the point, but if you knew nothing about LOP, or worse yet the reputation of it's nastier cousins, you'd go after all the anti-spyware/adware you could lay your virtual hands on! And once you've touched it, you've got problems when it comes to for removal. If you ran an anti-adware program, you've got no chance.
In these cases, simply performing Patchou's removal procedure might not work, as LOP has changed & spread. I realise the need for a sponsor - if Patchou works on Plus! full-time, as he does, then Patchou deserves the money. But that doesn't mean that LOP is in any way a harmless piece of flotsam. It's, & I almost quote traxor, without changing what he says, "a compact piece of
adware which won't cause
much damage."
It is adware, I concede, not spyware, but it's from C2Media; they have a disturbing attitude that privacy & personal choice don't matter one whit. Look at what they gave Patchou in the first few releases including LOP - it even changed the computer name. He may have made them stop that, but the attitude remains, & they shouldn't be trusted too far by anyone with
any idea what malware is.
For all these reasons, I stand by my earlier statement that you should
always say No to the sponsor program. Patchou needs an income, so leave it there, but as long as I'm not saying this on his behalf (That'd leave him broke & I don't think he deserves that), then No's the better option.
Vehemently,
Fred Greg.
Please note: I realise I am putting forward an extreme viewpoint - I make no apologies for the fact. I feel very strongly about anything unauthorised. I do, however, apologise if I've offended anyone at all. I've no intention to do that. If that's the case, sorry.
/ –
Is that so? 
