Kalvsys Nightmare

Just what I wanted on my first day back from vacation.

Warning: technobabble ahead.

I wasted lots of time today removing tons-o-crap from the secretary's computer. A Windows 98 machine. Internet Explorer pop-ups popping up everywhere! I did a couple of NAV scans and a couple of Spybot scans: they turned up lots of problems, but didn't fix the one I was wrestling with.

Finally, I found that it must be dealt with manually. It's KALVSYS, a "browser hijacker" (spyware/adware) that is, apparently, associated with something called Elite Tool Bar. The problem is, when you try to delete it from startup, it keeps getting replaced on the fly! (I use this to manage startup.)

Here's a fix. Reboot in Safe Mode. Delete all kalv*.exe files in the Windows\System32 folder. Remove all registry entries referencing kalvsys. Also, delete the EliteToolBar sub-folder in the Windows folder. Of course, only do these things if you know what you're doing. :-)

That seems to have taken care of the problem.

P.S. I can't believe it's 2005.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Mon. 01/03/05 05:35:02 PM
Categorized as Other.