Wired News--Xupiter is an Internet Explorer toolbar that installs itself without users' permission, and is designed to be difficult to uninstall. Once active in a system, it periodically changes users' designated homepages to xupiter.com, redirects all searches to Xupiter's site, and blocks any attempts to restore the original browser settings.

The program attempts to download updates each time an affected computer boots up, and has been blamed for causing system crashes. Several versions of Xupiter also appear to download other programs, such as gambling games, which later appear in pop-up windows.

Xupiter offers an uninstall utility, but many said that it didn't work, and in some cases made things worse.

"When Xupiter first appeared, we spent a week trying to figure it out," said Mike Healan, of SpywareInfo. "There's a monstrous thread with over 26,000 page views where a couple dozen of us tested it until we figured what it did and how to deal with it."

"Xupiter seems to have the ability to reinstall itself if each and every component is not removed," Olexa said. "Computer novices might never really get rid of it."

Healan recommended Spybot Search & Destroy to eradicate the program.  more...

31 January 2003  |   permalink