Windows Tutorials - Herong's Tutorial Examples

∟Spyware Adware Detection and Removal

∟Spyware: SurfBuddy - sbuddy.dll

This section provides a tutorial example on remove spyware 'SurfBuddy' and related files sbuddy.dll.

Symptom: Unknown.

HijackThis Report: I ran HijackThis on my friend's system and saw this line: 

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SurfBuddy] rundll32 
   "C:\Program Files\SurfBuddy\sbuddy.dll",run

Quick Research: I did a Google search on "SurfBuddy remove" and located the following related message from http://www.surfapps.com/sbuddydll.html: 

"sbuddy.dll" is a spyware package currently circulating the internet.
It was not developed and is not included with any surfapps.com 
software, and it is not part of surfapps.com's SurfBuddy Surf 
Companion software. Please view our Privacy Policy for more 
information about Surfapps.com's policies on spyware.

What I Did:

1. Looked at c:\program files\SurfBuddy, found the file, and failed to delete it directly: 

>dir c:\program files\SurfBuddy
   sbuddy.dll
   ...

>rmdir c:\program files\SurfBuddy
   sbuddy.dll in use

2. Run HijackThis > "Open the Misc Tools section" > "Delete a file on reboot", select c:\program files\SurfBuddy\sbuddy.dll, and reboot the system.

Result: SurfBuddy is gone.

Table of Contents

 About This Book

 Introduction to Microsoft Windows

 Introduction to Windows Explorer

 Introduction to Internet Explorer

 "Paint" Program and Computer Graphics

 GIMP - GNU Image Manipulation Program

 JPEG Image File Format Quality and Size

 GIF Image File Format and Transparent Background

 "WinZip" - ZIP File Compression Tool

 "WinRAR" - RAR and ZIP File Compression Tool

 FTP Server, Client and Commands

 "FileZilla" - Free FTP Client and Server

 Web Server Log Files and Analysis Tool - "Analog"

►Spyware Adware Detection and Removal

 What Is Spyware

 "HijackThis" - Spyware and Browser Hijacker Detector

 "HijackThis" Report Entry Types

 Spyware: WebBar - htwtb.bin and bar.dll

►Spyware: SurfBuddy - sbuddy.dll

 Spyware: WebSpecials - webspec.dll

 Spyware: DSSAgent - DSSAgent.exe

 Transponder: Best Offer - farmmext.exe

 Spyware: dinst.exe - dsr.dll

 IE Addon Program Listing and Removal

 Vundo (VirtuMonde/VirtuMundo) - vtsts.dll Removal

 Trojan and Malware "Puper" Description and Removal

 VSToolbar (VSAdd-in.dll) - Description and Removal

 Spybot - Spyware Blocker, Detection and Removal

 Setting Up and Using Crossover Cable Network

 Home Network Gateway - DSL Modem/Wireless Router

 Windows Task Manager - The System Performance Tool

 "tasklist" Command Line Tool to List Process Information

 "msconfig" - System Configuration Tool

 Configuring and Managing System Services

 Windows Registry Key and Value Management Tools

 Startup Programs Removal for Better System Performance

 Winsock - Windows Sockets API

 Java on Windows

 Glossary of Terms

 Outdated Tutorials

 References

 Full Version in PDF/ePUB