Solved Kiwee Toolbar removal problems.

The Kaspersky Log was completely blank - it had found nothing and reported nothing so the report page was blank. The scan page reported how many items it had looked at and how long it had taken.
Thanks for the advice. My big mistake was not to realize that updates to webshots never simply jump out of the screen suddenly at you, inviting you to update.
I will keep the MBA-M and wipe the other stuff, and follow the rest of your instructions. Once more many thanks for the time and effort you have given to helping me sort this.

 

No worries. Glad I could help out .

 

PostScript to the Kiwee Toolbar issue...

I wrote to both American Greetings and Webshots about the chaos caused by the Kiwee Toolbar. I thought you may like to see the correspondence exchanged:

Quote
Having taken more than 16 hours to have the Kiwee toolbar uninstalled by a malware technician, I am afraid I will be having nothing further to do with either Webshots or the Kiwee Toolbar.

I suggest you may want to give far wider publicity to the solution to this problem which has been created if you are to rescue webshots from the adverse publicity it will have generated.

You are clearly unaware that none of the solutions you list, actually work in removing the kiwee toolbar - they are the SOPs for dealing with unwanted software. Had they worked I would not have required the services of a malware technician to resolve the problems created.

UNQUOTE

On 19 February 2010 21:44, wsprioritysupport <prioritysupport@webshots.com> wrote:

Hello,


We apologize for the issues that you’re experiencing with the Kiwee toolbar. This was not a Webshots error, but a Kiwee update error. We do apologize for this.



To correct them, first follow the instructions to install or upgrade the current version of the Webshots Desktop Application software; once you have completed that, follow the steps to uninstall the Kiwee toolbar and the Webshots Desktop Application. Then you must re-install the Webshots Desktop Application again to install the updated version.





How to Install the Webshots Desktop Application Software



Go to: http://www.webshots.com/page/apps?app=kwtb

Click the "Download now!" button .

Save the executable file to your desktop.

Click on the WebshotsDesktopSetup.exe file.

Click "Run" and then follow the installation instructions—you will need your Webshots member name and password.





How to Uninstall the Kiwee Toolbar



Click on the Start button and then select Control Panel.

Double click on Add or Remove Programs.

Click on Kiwee Toolbar and then click Remove or Uninstall.

Repeat the uninstall process for all Kiwee programs, including Kiwee chatbar, Kiwee toolbar for Firefox, or Kiwee toolbar for Internet Explorer.



How to Uninstall the Webshots Desktop

1. Click on the Start button and then select Control Panel.

2. Double click on Add or Remove Programs.

3. Click on the Webshots Desktop icon to uninstall.

4. When you’re asked, "Would you like to delete all downloaded Webshots collections and files?" Select No. This will keep your photos when you reinstall the software.







IF the instructions above don't work for you, please follow the steps below. You may also want to print these directions so you can easily follow them.



1. Close all web browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.).



2. Right-click on the Webshots Desktop Application icon in the system tray (by computer clock) and then select Exit the Webshots Desktop.



3. Open the Task Manager by either right-clicking on the task bar or holding down the Ctrl+Alt+Delete keys simultaneously and then selecting Task Manager.



4. Click on the Processes tab.



5. Highlight the following items (you may not have all of them):



-AGCoreService.exe

-kwtbaim.exe

-pythonservice.exe

-bootstrapper.exe.



6. Click the End Process button.



7. Open My Computer, double click to open the local or C: drive and then double click on the Program Files folder



8. Delete the AGI folder. Right click on this folder and then left click on Delete from the dropdown menu. Follow these same directions to delete the folders in steps 9, 10, and 11 and 12.



9. Delete the UnifiedToolbar folder.



10. Delete the Kiwee Toolbar folder.



11. Delete the Webshots folder. Be careful to not confuse this with the Webshots Data folder containing all your downloaded photos.



12. Open My Computer again, double click to open the local or C: drive, and double click on Documents and Settings. Now, double click on All Users and then double click on Application Data.



13. Delete the AGI folder.



14. Now, go to http://www.webshots.com/page/apps?app=kwtb and reinstall the Webshots Desktop Software, following the instructions above in How to Install the Webshots Desktop Application Software.



If you have other questions or need additional help, please email Webshots Customer Support at prioritysupport@webshots.com or call us at 800-222-8815.



Thank you,

Laura O

Your Customer Support Representative

www.Webshots.com




Original Message Follows: ------------------------
Melanie M.

You need to be aware that the Kiwee toolbar is one of the most destructive pieces of malware it has ever been my misfortune to have downloaded onto my p.c. It has taken a malware technician 16 hours to uninstall it, over three days. I would strongly recommend you take steps to deal with this issue before you are inundated with lawsuits from aggrieved p.c. users.

I suggest you take a look at www.windowsbbs.com if you need corroboration of the havoc it is causing.





On 19 February 2010 19:54, wsprioritysupport <prioritysupport@webshots.com> wrote:

Hello



Thank you for contacting BlueMountain.com Customer Support.

The Kiwee website is owned by our parent company,American Greetings.



If you have further questions or concerns, don't hesitate to contact us.



Thank you,

Melanie M.

Your Customer Support Representative

BlueMountain.com




Original Message Follows: ------------------------



To:IR Investor Relations (####)
Subject: American Greetings and the Kiwee Toolbar

Would you please confirm whether American Greetings is connected with the Kiwee Toolbar software program?

 

Want to try it? I wouldn't. Then again, I might try it out on my Virtual XP and see if their new procedure removes it.
I will let you know what happens.

 

Crunchie, did I strike you as stark raving mad?!
I wouldn't touch either Webshots or Kiwee ever again. I have no intention of playing around with their suggested solution... we already know that part of it doesn't work anyway. I guess as you are into sorting this kind of thing and have a "research" p.c. to play with, go for it, but I have learnt my lesson! I may bring you something else someday to help me with, but I don't think it will be removing Kiwee ever again

 

Ok. I have installed the new package and so far it has changed my desktop background and put a calendar on the desktop too.
Uninstalled all 3 components from add/remove with no problem. AGI folder still present in Program Files.
Just going to reboot the VM to see what happens.

After a reboot the AGI folder was removed. Only thing left was a Webshots folder in the application data folder.
IE's homepage was still set to Webshots homepage. Changed back with no problem.
Noticed that my login has changed from automatic to having to sign in (on the VM).
Desktop background was left blank. Changed back no problems.
There was no sign of the kiwee toolbar though. The only reference in add/remove was to the webshots software.
They look to have added to their Q&A here; http://www.webshots.com/support/kb/Webshots_Software.html#105

 

Thanks for that research - I am sure it will also be useful to others who have not had the benefit of your help so far. I suspect Webshots will also be reassured by your experiment.
By the way, I upgraded to a paid-up version of the antimalwarebytes software - it has already, in the past ten hours, blocked three sites which would have done damage...

 

MBA-M is well worth the outlay, imo.