How to Get Rid of Privoxy?

Started by Stranger Come Knocking, September 22, 2015, 11:26:51 PM

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Stranger Come Knocking

So I have a problem.  It's called Privoxy.  From what I can gather, it's a legit program (not a virus) but it's like a leech and I can't get rid of it.  I don't want to use a proxy server. Ever.  It probably came in on a bad download.  Whatever; I'm just glad I can still use my computer.  Anyway, my stats:

OS: Windows 10 (but it carried over from Windows 8, if that means anything)
Browser: Opera

It reads Safe by every antivirus I've run it through.
I have tried simply blocking the address and port (it's always the same) but it just kind of gets ignored.
Tìtstewan suggested getting rid of it through Task Manager.  That let me delete the files and I emptied my Recycle Bin but it still comes back.
It does not show up under program list to uninstall.
It shows up under Program Files (x86) as "Gamma Task Menager"
It also appears to sometimes tweak the display settings on my computer.  Hard to explain, just makes things a little bit off.
It does not appear to have anything to do with the browser itself, but I'll take suggestions.

I want to get rid of this thing.  It's annoying and I don't like it.  And if I can avoid downloading another program to get rid of it, I would like to exhaust all options first.
I will not die for less
I dug my grave in this
Will I go before I fall
Or live to slight the odds?

These are my books.  You should check it out.  Speculative sci-fi murder mystery historical fiction.

Wllìm

I'm not familiar with Privoxy, but I did some searching. It seems that Privoxy indeed is not malware, it is in fact a legit proxy server implementation. It could however be misused to insert ads in web pages, and so on. Therefore I assume that you have some other malware (probably this Gamma Task Menager thing) on your computer that installs Privoxy to do this, and re-installs it whenever it notices it is gone. Hence, you should target this, not Privoxy.

Let me try to give some hints:


  • Which anti-virus software do you use? Try scanning the files from Gamma Task Menager.
  • If you boot your computer in Safe Mode, does it start also?
  • If not, it is probably in the list of programs Windows starts at boot. You can check this in the Startup tab of the Task Manager and try removing it from there (from Safe Mode! Otherwise it'll just add itself back in).

I hate to be pessimistic, but honestly, the only way to be really sure a malware infection is completely gone, is to re-install your operating system... :(

Tìtstewan

Well, after some searching, the problem is not Privoxy, it's that "Gamma Task Menager". There are ways to remove it (also manually), but nobody knows what that thing has done with your computer and after reading some "manuals" how to remove it... let me keep it short, the most effective way to remove it: save all your important files and programs to a USB stick/external HDD and reinstall windows.

-| Na'vi Vocab + Audio | Na'viteri as one HTML file | FAQ | Useful Links for Beginners |-
-| Kem si fu kem rä'ä si, ke lu tìfmi. |-

Stranger Come Knocking

#3
Quote from: Wllìm on September 23, 2015, 12:32:03 AM

  • Which anti-virus software do you use? Try scanning the files from Gamma Task Menager.
  • If you boot your computer in Safe Mode, does it start also?
  • If not, it is probably in the list of programs Windows starts at boot. You can check this in the Startup tab of the Task Manager and try removing it from there (from Safe Mode! Otherwise it'll just add itself back in).
1. On Windows 8 we used Norton, and that never detected a threat.  On Windows 10 we're using Avast (free version).  Still no threat detected. :/
2. How do I boot in Safe Mode on W10?  I have yet to figure that one out. ;_;
3. GTM doesn't show up in the program list or in task manager; Privoxy only shows up in task manager.

Quote from: Wllìm on September 23, 2015, 12:32:03 AM
I hate to be pessimistic, but honestly, the only way to be really sure a malware infection is completely gone, is to re-install your operating system... :(
:'(

Edit: Is there something fun I can do in Command Prompt to get rid of it? :)
I will not die for less
I dug my grave in this
Will I go before I fall
Or live to slight the odds?

These are my books.  You should check it out.  Speculative sci-fi murder mystery historical fiction.

Toliman

Quote from: Stranger Come Knocking on September 23, 2015, 05:05:37 PM
Quote from: Wllìm on September 23, 2015, 12:32:03 AM
I hate to be pessimistic, but honestly, the only way to be really sure a malware infection is completely gone, is to re-install your operating system... :(
:'(
True, it's unpleasant, but it's only really sure ...

Tìtstewan

Quote from: Stranger Come Knocking on September 23, 2015, 05:05:37 PM
Edit: Is there something fun I can do in Command Prompt to get rid of it? :)
No, there is no simple command to get rid of it.
This is one rare serious page about how to remove that thing I've found on the internet:
http://support.emsisoft.com/topic/17344-emissoft-security-center-told-me-to-post-to-remove-malware/?p=131523
^this could be very helpful for you. But as always, backup your important stuff (music, videos, important documents etc).
You could do the same steps mentioned in the linked post (at least, running the mentioned scanners), but without copy-pasting the huge code, because:
QuoteNOTICE: This script was written specifically for this user, for use on that particular machine. Running this on another machine may cause damage to your operating system

---

However, a clean install of windows would be faster and you can be very sure that there will no file/exe/etc of that unwanted program, just my opinion, of course.

-| Na'vi Vocab + Audio | Na'viteri as one HTML file | FAQ | Useful Links for Beginners |-
-| Kem si fu kem rä'ä si, ke lu tìfmi. |-

Stranger Come Knocking

Quote from: Tìtstewan on September 24, 2015, 06:49:02 AM
Quote from: Stranger Come Knocking on September 23, 2015, 05:05:37 PM
Edit: Is there something fun I can do in Command Prompt to get rid of it? :)
No, there is no simple command to get rid of it.
This is one rare serious page about how to remove that thing I've found on the internet:
http://support.emsisoft.com/topic/17344-emissoft-security-center-told-me-to-post-to-remove-malware/?p=131523
^this could be very helpful for you. But as always, backup your important stuff (music, videos, important documents etc).
You could do the same steps mentioned in the linked post (at least, running the mentioned scanners), but without copy-pasting the huge code, because:
QuoteNOTICE: This script was written specifically for this user, for use on that particular machine. Running this on another machine may cause damage to your operating system
Irayo for the webpage. :) But we're probably going to have a friend do the wipe-and-reinstall. :-/ He does military work like that, so hopefully he knows what he's doing. ;D And besides that, we don't save anything directly to the computer.  Learned that lesson one too many times.

Irayo ma frapo for your input.  Going to leave this thread open (unless a mod closes it) in case someone else has some insight or the same problem.

---

However, a clean install of windows would be faster and you can be very sure that there will no file/exe/etc of that unwanted program, just my opinion, of course.
I will not die for less
I dug my grave in this
Will I go before I fall
Or live to slight the odds?

These are my books.  You should check it out.  Speculative sci-fi murder mystery historical fiction.