# I can't get rid of Purity Scan or Search Squire! Help!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-rid-of-purity-scan-or-search-squire-help/231224
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [February 26, 2004, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-rid-of-purity-scan-or-search-squire-help/231224 "2004-02-26T02:55:10Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@teemingONE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teemingONE)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2004, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-rid-of-purity-scan-or-search-squire-help/231224/1 "2004-02-26T02:55:10Z")
I’ve been bombarded by ads for the past few days. Purity Scan has been in my computer for about a week now. Search Squire just downloaded itself today. And this thing called Delfin has been in my computer since I got it (like in January). I have Ad-Aware, Spybot, and Spysweeper. All these programs detect them, but none of them can get rid of them. Is there a way to manual delete these things?
( Also, this thing called Ad-server is downloaded right into my computer. When I click the History button in my IE, its not in the regular History spot, its in the My Computer folder. I ran Norton, and it detected it, but it couldn’t do anything about it.)
Can anyone help?
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### Author:  [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2004, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-rid-of-purity-scan-or-search-squire-help/231224/2 "2004-02-26T04:13:06Z")
[www.doxdesk.com](http://www.doxdesk.com) has manual removal instructions for a lot of crud. Here’s SearchSquire:
[http://doxdesk.com/parasite/SearchSquire.html](http://doxdesk.com/parasite/SearchSquire.html)
He doesn’t have anything for PurityScan but make sure that you’ve updated Adaware and Spybot before you try and use them to clean P.S. off.
Check the same Registry location as for SearchSquire, you will probably also find an entry that points to PurityScan.
If you are comfortable going into the Registry I can give you a couple of other things to check (I have to do this on a daily basis at work).
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### Author:  [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2004, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-rid-of-purity-scan-or-search-squire-help/231224/3 "2004-02-26T05:11:15Z")
> [@teemingONE](#):
>
> Search Squire just downloaded itself today.
Well, no, it doesn’t really work that way. Something _you did_ started this download. Possibly unintended; they are designed to trick people into doing this.
So while the links people have given to Ad-Aware, Spybot, and other sites will help clean these parasites off your computer, you also need to be a bit more careful in your own actions if you want to _keep_ your computer clean.
Sometimes we have to be nasty, suspicious, even near-paranoid to keep the spammers & spyers off our computers. But **we** have to do it.
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### Author:  [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2004, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-rid-of-purity-scan-or-search-squire-help/231224/4 "2004-02-26T09:11:01Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#):
>
> Well, no, it doesn’t really work that way. Something _you did_ started this download. Possibly unintended; they are designed to trick people into doing this.
>
> So while the links people have given to Ad-Aware, Spybot, and other sites will help clean these parasites off your computer, you also need to be a bit more careful in your own actions if you want to _keep_ your computer clean.
>
> Sometimes we have to be nasty, suspicious, even near-paranoid to keep the spammers & spyers off our computers. But **we** have to do it.
Not neccesarily so. If there is already one of the evil little proggys in the machine active, it can download and install others. Also, if your security level is set to low it can do it on its own without asking.
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2004, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-rid-of-purity-scan-or-search-squire-help/231224/5 "2004-02-26T13:23:55Z")
In addition, some install themselves via Active-X controls by merely visiting a website. Security can be set to prevent this, but it isn’t something the home user is usually aware of.
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### Author:  [@desdinova](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/desdinova)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2004, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-rid-of-purity-scan-or-search-squire-help/231224/6 "2004-02-26T14:49:43Z")
> [@bdgr](#):
>
> Not neccesarily so. If there is already one of the evil little proggys in the machine active, it can download and install others. Also, if your security level is set to low it can do it on its own without asking.
What are some typical examples of programs that download and install buddies? I have a this co-worker who seems to always have some computer problem or another, and every single time I try to solve it I have to clear out a half dozen separate spy/ad/mal/crap-ware programs… half the time those were what was causing his problem in the first place. This is pretty much a bi-weekly ritual here, and it’s getting a little old.
Of course, it would probably help if I set all of his security settings as high as they’ll go, but then every other website he visits either won’t function or prompt him to run javascript or some active-x control, and then I’m spending even more time in there. I guess the only permanent solution is he needs to be less ignorant of computers…
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2004, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-rid-of-purity-scan-or-search-squire-help/231224/7 "2004-02-26T16:04:41Z")
Ah, users. :rolleyes:
Your first step would be to go to his computer and install [Spyware Blaster](http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html). This will stop drive-by Active-X installation (and some others that users bring upon themselves). The best thing is that it doesn’t have to run in the background – install it, update the definitions, and block everything. You just have to drop by every few weeks and update the settings.
There’s no way to be sure, but be wary of most file sharing programs. In addition, if you see a program heavily advertised via popups that is also offered for free, then it’s something to avoid (how do they pay for the ads?).
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### Author:  [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2004, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-rid-of-purity-scan-or-search-squire-help/231224/8 "2004-02-26T18:43:03Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#):
>
> Ah, users. :rolleyes:
>
> Your first step would be to go to his computer and install [Spyware Blaster](http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html). This will stop drive-by Active-X installation (and some others that users bring upon themselves). The best thing is that it doesn’t have to run in the background – install it, update the definitions, and block everything. You just have to drop by every few weeks and update the settings.
>
> There’s no way to be sure, but be wary of most file sharing programs. In addition, if you see a program heavily advertised via popups that is also offered for free, then it’s something to avoid (how do they pay for the ads?).
In the I.E. security area, there’s a way to set it up to query you before running any Active-X applet on a page. Then you tell it yes or no depending on how much you trust that page. (I.e., the Hotmail homepage uses Active-X, as does the P.M. function of VBB – if PMs were enabled here, they’d use Active-X. Those you can click OK on – and if you end up on some bizarre page you don’t trust the proprietor of, you check “no” and it reports that not all the page will load properly because you’ve disabled Active-X – but it also prevents it from changing your homepage to Joe’s Flybynight Google-Wannabe Clone or Enlargeyourpenis-dot-com.
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### Author:  [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2004, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-rid-of-purity-scan-or-search-squire-help/231224/9 "2004-03-12T19:00:05Z")
I’m having the same problem as the OP with PurityScan. I’ve run and updated both AdAware (which finds it and “removes” it but it’s still there) and SpyBot. How do I get this (expletive) off of my XP computer? (Registry edit ideas welcome!)
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### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2004, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-rid-of-purity-scan-or-search-squire-help/231224/10 "2004-03-12T19:18:20Z")
Download and install [HijackThis!](http://download.com.com/3000-2144-10227352.html), and post the log here, or you can go to [the SpywareInfo forum](http://www.spywareinfo.com/forums/index.php?showforum=30), which is also a good place to get spyware advice… All you have to do is identify the offending spyware, and HJT will remove it from your registry.
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2004, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-rid-of-purity-scan-or-search-squire-help/231224/11 "2004-03-12T19:24:22Z")
Here’s a description of PurityScan:
> [@](#):
>
> The PurityScan Ad Server (WINSERVS) is installed on computers when the user visits [www.purityscan.com](http://www.purityscan.com) and initiates the “FREE Scan” to scan your computer for potentially offensive material. In reality, the product installs its own pop-up ad serving software on your computer that will display pop-up ads when you surf the web. The product does NOT provide a standard uninstall in the Control Panel and places itself inside your startup group so it starts every time you start your computer!
Nice, huh? 🙂
Here are some [instructions for removal](http://www.kephyr.com/spywarescanner/library/purityscan/index.phtml).
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### Author:  [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2004, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-rid-of-purity-scan-or-search-squire-help/231224/12 "2004-03-15T19:23:12Z")
**RealityChuck** , I tried that twice and had no luck. After being completely fed up of having pop ups for a week, I went to purityscan to find out who to write an e-mail littered with the f-bomb in it. Turns out that they have a very good uninstall program to download. I uninstalled it two days ago and haven’t had a pop-up since. I’ve been hesitant to post this up here before checking it for a couple days and running ad-aware and spybot first (both of which turned up nothing). So it seems that I got rid of 'em.
Here’s the link in case someone gets a case of the purityscan crabs:
[Uninstall](http://www.purityscan.com/uninstall.html)