CONDUIT

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All of a sudden this has begun showing up on wife's computer. She does not recall requesting it and seems to just have invited itself to install on her PC. It seems to come and go. Yesterday I found it in her Add/Remove and today it is not there!! She did have it pop up this morning when she was about to open to go to some site. She had to make a choice: yes or no. I yelled in and told her no but then I started to be concerned about it and that is when I checked the Add/Remove in the Control Panel. A check with Google and it seems to be some kind of toolbar--great; we need another toolbar. Anyone come across this item? And her computer specs are the same as mine as shown in my signature. As always, TIA.

Special note to the above message : When I started this thread I did it with an incorrect title. I called my thread "CIRCUIT. LTD". See: http://discussions.virtualdr.com/sho...d.php?t=247313 The correct title should have been "CONDUIT". This an attempt to make a "do over".

[SpywareDr]

Have you tried using Windows' "System Restore"?

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Doc, I probably should not have bothered to correct my incorrect thread because the attempted correction may be leading to additional confusion. Whatever conduit is, it is no longer listed in her Add/Remove. I suppose when she clicked on no for her answer to it's question, it went away. Strange but perhaps that is the way it works. She does not want another Toolbar!! And I assume it was installed when she was installing "something else".
Thanks for your reply but System Restore will be needed this time.

[SpywareDr]

Thanks for your reply but System Restore will be needed this time.

Assuming you mean "will NOT be needed", that is good news.

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Perfect assumption Doc. I am getting more careless every day with key words but I don't recall ever seeing apps remove themselves from Add/Remove before.

[und3rtak3r]

The machines I found that had "Conduit" software installed.. and it isnt just conduit named toolbar.. also had "Install.exe" on any extra installed Drives (drive partitions etc), it was a hidden/system file, on xp systems it was also on c:\ on Vista and above only on the extra drive/partition

As I am not a Malware removal 1st responder so feel it best that I don't recommend a particular procedure to confirm the system clean. Essentially I have used the basic procedures that are being used in these forums..

In IE .. have you checked the search providers? any unusual providers there?

I find that it is suspicious that it appeared then disappeared.. and it is not appearing in your add/remove list when you have not removed the app..

To prevent these things from even knocking on the door I use the following
- PSI - to help me keep All my Apps up-to-date (esp java and Flash player)
- Spywareblaster - an oldie.. to do a basic lock down on the browser
- Open DNS - opendns.org.. read their about page for a full story.

IF suspicious activity happens.. caution.. always caution.. better being a little paranoid and a clean system..

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I also use Spywareblaster and Malwarebytes and sometimes the Superantispyware. I then ran each of these but saw nothing was reported other than tracking cookies. I do vaguely recall seeing a few words to the effect "the next Bing or maybe the words said about working with Bing and something about Microsoft". Now, I am--maybe--hoping for it's return so that I can try to capture more about it.

[foxy]

Are you using Firefox? It has appeared in my programs too, and I think it's part of the newest Firefox 3.6.10, but I don't have a toolbar.

[dneilson]

The newest Firefox is 3.6.13.

[buf]

IE8 however, I did try FF just recently and turned it off the same day. Doubt that my wife tried FF.

[foxy]

You turned off FF or Conduit?

[buf]

FF turned off. Conduit turned itself "off"--just disappeared from her Add/Remove as reported in one of the above posts.

[foxy]

You have to customize FF to get it just the way you want it, and add your own selection of add-ons. As it comes out-of-the-box, it's a bore and not much better than IE.

So has anyone decided what Conduit is, when you DON'T have the toolbar?

[SpywareDr]

So has anyone decided what Conduit is, when you DON'T have the toolbar?

http://www.conduit.com/

[foxy]

Phooey, just a new slant on social networking.