Friday
2009-01-10, 20:03
The following instructions have been created to help you to get rid of "TracksFree" manually.
Use this guide at your own risk; software should usually be better suited to remove malware, since it is able to look deeper.
If this guide was helpful to you, please consider donating towards this site (http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=donate).
Threat Details:
Categories:
malware
rogue
Description:
TracksFree is a program that scans for usage tracks still present on the system. It declares merely harmless tracks as high security risks. When the user wants to clean these so called threats, he has to purchase a license.
Removal Instructions:
Desktop:
Please remove the following files from your desktop.
To check where they are pointing to, right-click them and choose "Properties" from the context menu appearing.
Shortcuts named "Tracks Free.lnk" and pointing to "<$PROGRAMFILES>\Tracks Free\tracksfree.exe".
Quicklaunch area:
Please remove the following items from your start quick launch area text to the "Start" button in the taskbar at the bottom.
To check where they are pointing to, right-click them and choose "Properties" from the context menu appearing.
Quicklaunch symbols named "Tracks Free.lnk" and pointing to "<$PROGRAMFILES>\Tracks Free\tracksfree.exe".
Autorun:
Please use Spybot-S&D (http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=spybotsd), RunAlyzer (http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=runalyzer) or msconfig.exe to remove the following autorun entries.
Entries named "tracksfree" and pointing to "<$PROGRAMFILES>\Tracks Free\tracksfree.exe".
Installed Software List:
You can try to uninstall products with the names listed below; for items identified by other properties or to avoid malware getting active again on uninstallation, use Spybot-S&D (http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=spybotsd) or RunAlyzer (http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=runalyzer) to locate and get rid of these entries.
Products that have a key or property named "Tracks Free_is1".
Files:
Please use Windows Explorer or another file manager of your choice to locate and delete these files.
The file at "<$PROGRAMFILES>\Tracks Free\tracksfree.exe".
The file at "<$PROGRAMFILES>\Tracks Free\tracksfree.url".
Make sure you set your file manager to display hidden and system files. If TracksFree uses rootkit technologies, use our RootAlyzer (http://forums.spybot.info/downloads.php?id=8) or our Total Commander anti-rootkit plugins (http://forums.spybot.info/downloads.php?id=3).
You will have to use a global search for files without a name specified. Be extra careful, because just the name might not be enough to identify files!
Important: There are more files that cannot be safely described in simple words. Please use Spybot-S&D (http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=spybotsd) to remove them.
Folders:
Please use Windows Explorer or another file manager of your choice to locate and delete these folders.
The directory at "<$COMMONPROGRAMS>\Tracks Free".
The directory at "<$PROGRAMFILES>\Tracks Free".
Make sure you set your file manager to display hidden and system files. If TracksFree uses rootkit technologies, use our RootAlyzer (http://forums.spybot.info/downloads.php?id=8) or our Total Commander anti-rootkit plugins (http://forums.spybot.info/downloads.php?id=3).
You will have to use a global search for files without a name specified. Be extra careful, because just the name might not be enough to identify folders!
Registry:
You can use regedit.exe (included in Windows) to locate and delete these registry entries.
Delete the registry key "Tracks Free" at "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\".
If TracksFree uses rootkit technologies, use our RegAlyzer (http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=regalyzer), RootAlyzer (http://forums.spybot.info/downloads.php?id=8) or our Total Commander anti-rootkit plugins (http://forums.spybot.info/downloads.php?id=3).
Final Words:
If neither Spybot-S&D nor self help did resolve the issue or you would prefer one on one help,
Please read these instructions (http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=288) before requesting assistance,
Then start your own thread in the Malware Removal Forum (http://forums.spybot.info/forumdisplay.php?f=22) where a volunteer analyst will advise you as soon as available.
Use this guide at your own risk; software should usually be better suited to remove malware, since it is able to look deeper.
If this guide was helpful to you, please consider donating towards this site (http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=donate).
Threat Details:
Categories:
malware
rogue
Description:
TracksFree is a program that scans for usage tracks still present on the system. It declares merely harmless tracks as high security risks. When the user wants to clean these so called threats, he has to purchase a license.
Removal Instructions:
Desktop:
Please remove the following files from your desktop.
To check where they are pointing to, right-click them and choose "Properties" from the context menu appearing.
Shortcuts named "Tracks Free.lnk" and pointing to "<$PROGRAMFILES>\Tracks Free\tracksfree.exe".
Quicklaunch area:
Please remove the following items from your start quick launch area text to the "Start" button in the taskbar at the bottom.
To check where they are pointing to, right-click them and choose "Properties" from the context menu appearing.
Quicklaunch symbols named "Tracks Free.lnk" and pointing to "<$PROGRAMFILES>\Tracks Free\tracksfree.exe".
Autorun:
Please use Spybot-S&D (http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=spybotsd), RunAlyzer (http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=runalyzer) or msconfig.exe to remove the following autorun entries.
Entries named "tracksfree" and pointing to "<$PROGRAMFILES>\Tracks Free\tracksfree.exe".
Installed Software List:
You can try to uninstall products with the names listed below; for items identified by other properties or to avoid malware getting active again on uninstallation, use Spybot-S&D (http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=spybotsd) or RunAlyzer (http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=runalyzer) to locate and get rid of these entries.
Products that have a key or property named "Tracks Free_is1".
Files:
Please use Windows Explorer or another file manager of your choice to locate and delete these files.
The file at "<$PROGRAMFILES>\Tracks Free\tracksfree.exe".
The file at "<$PROGRAMFILES>\Tracks Free\tracksfree.url".
Make sure you set your file manager to display hidden and system files. If TracksFree uses rootkit technologies, use our RootAlyzer (http://forums.spybot.info/downloads.php?id=8) or our Total Commander anti-rootkit plugins (http://forums.spybot.info/downloads.php?id=3).
You will have to use a global search for files without a name specified. Be extra careful, because just the name might not be enough to identify files!
Important: There are more files that cannot be safely described in simple words. Please use Spybot-S&D (http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=spybotsd) to remove them.
Folders:
Please use Windows Explorer or another file manager of your choice to locate and delete these folders.
The directory at "<$COMMONPROGRAMS>\Tracks Free".
The directory at "<$PROGRAMFILES>\Tracks Free".
Make sure you set your file manager to display hidden and system files. If TracksFree uses rootkit technologies, use our RootAlyzer (http://forums.spybot.info/downloads.php?id=8) or our Total Commander anti-rootkit plugins (http://forums.spybot.info/downloads.php?id=3).
You will have to use a global search for files without a name specified. Be extra careful, because just the name might not be enough to identify folders!
Registry:
You can use regedit.exe (included in Windows) to locate and delete these registry entries.
Delete the registry key "Tracks Free" at "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\".
If TracksFree uses rootkit technologies, use our RegAlyzer (http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=regalyzer), RootAlyzer (http://forums.spybot.info/downloads.php?id=8) or our Total Commander anti-rootkit plugins (http://forums.spybot.info/downloads.php?id=3).
Final Words:
If neither Spybot-S&D nor self help did resolve the issue or you would prefer one on one help,
Please read these instructions (http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=288) before requesting assistance,
Then start your own thread in the Malware Removal Forum (http://forums.spybot.info/forumdisplay.php?f=22) where a volunteer analyst will advise you as soon as available.