[kmar58]

I installed a program called ARO 2013 in an effort to get rid of a Firefox installation. It didn't work so I uninstalled it. That was successful but the toolbar to ASO would not depart. My malware scanned it as suspicious and "deleted" it; I restarted computer but it was still on. I followed directions from their home site but it is still there. It doesn't uninstall from Programs/Features the typical way. It doesn't uninstall from the toolbar itself. I have read everything I can; some say it can be uninstalled but never "disabled" - I can't get it to do anything. It has slowed by computer down significantly.

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Hi kmar58,

Welcome to Geeks to Go!

My name is Donna and I'll be helping you to clean up your computer.

Please be patient with me as I am currently in training, and all of my responses to you have to be reviewed by my instructor before I post them. This may cause a delay between posts so your patience will be appreciated, though do keep in mind that you have the advantage, as you have 2 people examining your issue.

Please read this post completely before beginning the fix. If there's anything that you do not understand, please don't hesitate to ask before proceeding.

Please take note of the guidelines for this fix:

• Please note that we are all volunteers. We do have families, careers, and other endeavors just as you do that may prevent immediate responses that meet your schedule. Your patience and understanding will be greatly appreciated.
• First of all, the procedures we are about to perform are specific to your problem and should only be used on this specific computer.
• Do not make any changes to your computer that include installing/uninstalling programs, deleting files, modifying the registry, nor running scanners or tools of any kind unless specifically requested by me.
• Please read ALL instructions carefully and perform the steps fully and in the order they are written.
• If things appear to be better, let me know. Just because the symptoms no longer exist as before, does not mean that you are clean.
• Continue to read and follow my instructions until I tell you that your machine is clean.
• If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to ask before performing the task that I ask of you.
• Scanning with programs and reading the logs do take a fair amount of time, your patience will be necessary.

ARO 2013 by Sammsoft is a registry cleaner. We advise not to use this or any registry cleaner as there have been reports of them clearing out needed registry entries and messing up PCs. In addition, what they do clean up is so small that little or no advantages are noticed.

Modifying registry keys incorrectly can cause Windows instability, or make Windows unbootable. No registry cleaner is completely safe and the potential is ever present to cause more problems than they claim to fix.

Registry cleaners cannot distinguish between good and bad. If you run a registry cleaner, it will delete all those keys which are obsolete and sitting idle; but in reality, those keys may well be needed by some programs or windows at a later time.

To continue, I'll need to see a couple of logs to view what we are dealing with here. Please run the following diagnostic scans:

Please download AdwCleaner by Xplode and save to your Desktop.

• Double-click AdwCleaner.exe to run the tool.
  Note: Windows Vista, Windows 7/8 users right-click and select Run As Administrator.
• Click the Scan button.
• AdwCleaner will begin. Be patient as the scan may take some time to complete.
• After the scan has finished, click the Report button. A logfile (AdwCleaner[R0].txt) will open in Notepad for review.
• The contents of the log file may be confusing. Unless you see a program name that you know should not be removed, don't worry about it. If you see an entry you want to keep, please let me know about it.
• Copy and paste the contents of that logfile in your next reply.
• A copy of all logfiles are saved in the C:\AdwCleaner folder which was created when running the tool.

Next:

Please download OTL to your Desktop

• Double click on the to run the program. On Vista/Win7 or 8 right click select Run As Administrator to start the program. If prompted by UAC, please allow it.
• Make sure all other windows are closed and to let it run uninterrupted.
• Click the Scan All Users checkbox and
• Check the option for All under the Extra Registry section
• Click the Run Scan button. Do not change any settings unless otherwise told to do so. The scan won't take long.
  
• When the scan completes, it will open two notepad windows. OTL.Txt and Extras.Txt. These are saved in the same location as OTL.
• Please copy (Edit->Select All, Edit->Copy) the contents of these files and post them in your topic

• OTL.txt <-- Will be opened, maximized
• Extras.txt <-- Will be minimized on task bar.

Please post the contents of the following logs in your next reply:

OTL.txt
Extras.txt
AdwCleaner.txt

Thank you,
Donna

[DonnaB]

Hi kmar58,

Welcome to Geeks to Go!

My name is Donna and I'll be helping you to clean up your computer.

Please be patient with me as I am currently in training, and all of my responses to you have to be reviewed by my instructor before I post them. This may cause a delay between posts so your patience will be appreciated, though do keep in mind that you have the advantage, as you have 2 people examining your issue.

Please read this post completely before beginning the fix. If there's anything that you do not understand, please don't hesitate to ask before proceeding.

Please take note of the guidelines for this fix:

• Please note that we are all volunteers. We do have families, careers, and other endeavors just as you do that may prevent immediate responses that meet your schedule. Your patience and understanding will be greatly appreciated.
• First of all, the procedures we are about to perform are specific to your problem and should only be used on this specific computer.
• Do not make any changes to your computer that include installing/uninstalling programs, deleting files, modifying the registry, nor running scanners or tools of any kind unless specifically requested by me.
• Please read ALL instructions carefully and perform the steps fully and in the order they are written.
• If things appear to be better, let me know. Just because the symptoms no longer exist as before, does not mean that you are clean.
• Continue to read and follow my instructions until I tell you that your machine is clean.
• If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to ask before performing the task that I ask of you.
• Scanning with programs and reading the logs do take a fair amount of time, your patience will be necessary.

ARO 2013 by Sammsoft is a registry cleaner. We advise not to use this or any registry cleaner as there have been reports of them clearing out needed registry entries and messing up PCs. In addition, what they do clean up is so small that little or no advantages are noticed.

Modifying registry keys incorrectly can cause Windows instability, or make Windows unbootable. No registry cleaner is completely safe and the potential is ever present to cause more problems than they claim to fix.

Registry cleaners cannot distinguish between good and bad. If you run a registry cleaner, it will delete all those keys which are obsolete and sitting idle; but in reality, those keys may well be needed by some programs or windows at a later time.

To continue, I'll need to see a couple of logs to view what we are dealing with here. Please run the following diagnostic scans:

Please download AdwCleaner by Xplode and save to your Desktop.

• Double-click AdwCleaner.exe to run the tool.
  Note: Windows Vista, Windows 7/8 users right-click and select Run As Administrator.
• Click the Scan button.
• AdwCleaner will begin. Be patient as the scan may take some time to complete.
• After the scan has finished, click the Report button. A logfile (AdwCleaner[R0].txt) will open in Notepad for review.
• The contents of the log file may be confusing. Unless you see a program name that you know should not be removed, don't worry about it. If you see an entry you want to keep, please let me know about it.
• Copy and paste the contents of that logfile in your next reply.
• A copy of all logfiles are saved in the C:\AdwCleaner folder which was created when running the tool.

Next:

Please download OTL to your Desktop

• Double click on the to run the program. On Vista/Win7 or 8 right click select Run As Administrator to start the program. If prompted by UAC, please allow it.
• Make sure all other windows are closed and to let it run uninterrupted.
• Click the Scan All Users checkbox and
• Check the option for All under the Extra Registry section
• Click the Run Scan button. Do not change any settings unless otherwise told to do so. The scan won't take long.
  
• When the scan completes, it will open two notepad windows. OTL.Txt and Extras.Txt. These are saved in the same location as OTL.
• Please copy (Edit->Select All, Edit->Copy) the contents of these files and post them in your topic

• OTL.txt <-- Will be opened, maximized
• Extras.txt <-- Will be minimized on task bar.

Please post the contents of the following logs in your next reply:

OTL.txt
Extras.txt
AdwCleaner.txt

Thank you,
Donna

[DonnaB]

Hi kmar58,

It has been 5 days since I responded to your post. Do you still need help?

Donna

[Dakeyras]

Due to lack of feedback, this topic has been closed.

If you need this topic reopened, please contact a staff member. This applies only to the original topic starter. Everyone else please begin a New Topic.