# Accidently clicked "OK" and downloaded GAIN, can't get rid of it **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 29, 2003, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidently-clicked-ok-and-downloaded-gain-cant-get-rid-of-it/204458 "2003-09-29T12:44:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidently-clicked-ok-and-downloaded-gain-cant-get-rid-of-it/204458/1 "2003-09-29T12:44:56Z")
I accidently clicked the wrong button and now I’ve got this damn GAIN advertising software on my computer here at work. I can’t find it to get rid of it. It is very annoying. I hate the people at GAIN. ---
**Author:** ![rekkah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee59a6/32.png) [@rekkah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rekkah)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidently-clicked-ok-and-downloaded-gain-cant-get-rid-of-it/204458/2 "2003-09-29T13:05:43Z")
What you need is[Ad-Aware](http://www.lavasoft.de) It may take several scans, but you should be able to get rid of it eventually. Good Luck - I know how insane that stuff can make you! ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidently-clicked-ok-and-downloaded-gain-cant-get-rid-of-it/204458/3 "2003-09-29T13:10:12Z")
Hey, WOW! Thanks! You’re the best! ---
**Author:** ![FP\_work](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/85e7bf/32.png) [@FP\_work](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FP_work)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidently-clicked-ok-and-downloaded-gain-cant-get-rid-of-it/204458/4 "2003-09-29T13:15:36Z")
If for any reason that doesn’t fix it do a google search for “SpybotSD” and install that. It’s very similar to Ad-Aware and sometimes one program will catch something that the other misses. ---
**Author:** ![FP\_work](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/85e7bf/32.png) [@FP\_work](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FP_work)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidently-clicked-ok-and-downloaded-gain-cant-get-rid-of-it/204458/5 "2003-09-29T13:18:55Z")
Actually, I’ve decided not to be lazy and have found the [SpybotSD](http://security.kolla.de/) link for you. Have a nice day. ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidently-clicked-ok-and-downloaded-gain-cant-get-rid-of-it/204458/6 "2003-09-29T13:38:52Z")
Allow me to second the recommendation for SpybotSD - it’s amazing what that program will find and eliminate. ---
**Author:** ![Svt4Him](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@Svt4Him](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svt4Him)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidently-clicked-ok-and-downloaded-gain-cant-get-rid-of-it/204458/7 "2003-09-29T18:31:59Z")
I used ad-aware, but found spybot to be a little better. If that still doesn’t work, try the site for gain, or do a search for help on uninstalling it. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidently-clicked-ok-and-downloaded-gain-cant-get-rid-of-it/204458/8 "2003-09-29T21:15:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by js\_africanus \* > \*\*I accidently clicked the wrong button and now I’ve got this damn GAIN advertising software on my computer here at work. I can’t find it to get rid of it. It is very annoying. I hate the people at GAIN. \*\* Ah, yes, those damn [gators](http://www.gatoradvertisinginformationnetwork.com/) again. ---
**Author:** ![lightingtool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/57b2e6/32.png) [@lightingtool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lightingtool)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidently-clicked-ok-and-downloaded-gain-cant-get-rid-of-it/204458/9 "2003-09-29T22:13:40Z")
I had gain on my computer, and it was pretty easy to get rid of. Just find the program you downloaded (in my case it was a video viewer thing) when you got GAIN, remove it, and GAIN will un-install itself. GAIN will tell you how to do this if you try to un-install it. Hope this helps, YMMV, etc. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidently-clicked-ok-and-downloaded-gain-cant-get-rid-of-it/204458/10 "2003-09-29T22:56:15Z")
Spybot is better if you’re tech savvy. If you’re “computer illiterate,” Ad-Aware is a better choice. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidently-clicked-ok-and-downloaded-gain-cant-get-rid-of-it/204458/11 "2003-11-09T23:47:57Z")
Can I pretty much delete everything that spybot & adware return to me, or will they return some things that I need? Do I need to be careful when deleting the results? ---
**Author:** ![JimSox5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5a626/32.png) [@JimSox5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimSox5)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidently-clicked-ok-and-downloaded-gain-cant-get-rid-of-it/204458/12 "2003-11-10T00:15:53Z")
I had Gator on my computer before, and nobody is sure how it got there. I thought my mom had downloaded it, so I left it alone, and she thought I downloaded it and so she left it alone. I could find any program is was connected to. I uninstalled it (I’m not completely sure how, it’s been a few years ago) and never any trouble with it since. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidently-clicked-ok-and-downloaded-gain-cant-get-rid-of-it/204458/13 "2003-11-10T00:53:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by js\_africanus \* > \*\*Can I pretty much delete everything that spybot & adware return to me, or will they return some things that I need? Do I need to be careful when deleting the results? \*\* Only once have I seen AdAware identify something that I actually wanted to keep, and that was an Internet Explorer plug-in called Sidestep. If you’re checking on flights at, say, [expedia.com](http://expedia.com), Sidestep pops up with a sidebar, and offers to search a bunch of other travel sites for you, looking for better deals. I installed it intentionally, but AdAware would have deleted it. However, it’s very easy to tell AdAware to ignore something, so it’s never bothered me about it again. Other than something like that, where you actually recognize whatever it’s found, you can safely delete the stuff. If you’re not sure, you can just let AdAware quarantine the items. It will move them to a safe location, so that they’re no longer active, but if you discover that you actually need them, you can restore them from quarantine. SpybotSD has a similar “recovery” option, in case it deletes something that it turns out you needed. Again, however, I’ve never known it to kill something that didn’t deserve killing!