Autostart no longer works

S

simonc

New member
I installed the free trial of a programme called pdf creator and noticed immediately that Spybot no longer started on system startup although it always had before. I have now removed pdf creator, since it never seemed to work, but still Spybot doesn't start automatically. I have tried changing the Spybot Automation settings and changing them back again but to no effect.

Is there something that has been disabled when I installed pdf creator which needs to be re-enabled before Spybot will run automatically again?

Grateful for any help.
 
I assume that you are going into Spybot > Mode > Advanced mode > Settings > Settings and then in the options tree under Automation > System start > checking the various options (Run check on program start, Fix all problems on program start, etc.) and then checking:
  • Automatically run program at system startup.
Besides "Automatically run program at system startup", which oh the following options are checked?
  • Run check on program start.
  • Fix all problems on program start.
  • Wait a few minutes until starting the check.
  • Wait until specified programs have quit.
  • Wait a few seconds if something else than spies were found.
  • Close if everything's O.K.
When you click "Automatically run program at system startup" a startup entry should be added to the system registry for SpybotSD.exe with parameters for the options selected.

Check to see if there is a startup entry in the system registry for SpybotSD.exe. To do that go into Spybot > Mode > Advanced mode > Tools > System startup and look for an entry like the following (note: the parameters at the end of the Command line such as /autocheck /autofix /autoclose may be different depending on the options selected):
  • Key: HK_LM:Run
  • Value: SpybotSnD
  • Command line: "C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy\SpybotSD.exe" /autocheck /autofix /autoclose
 
PDF Creator warning

I don't want to be accused of victimising a software provider but I downloaded and installed the free trial version of PDF creator, from pdf-creator.net and noticed that Spybot no longer started automatically when I next logged on. On further investigation I found that all the startup items from the HKLM registry had been removed, including anti-virus software and the only remaining item was a part of the pdf creator package. I think I have managed to restore all the deleted items but am not sure. Needless to say I have uninstalled PDF Creator. Is it possible that this software is just poorly written to create these changes or could it be malicious? Who knows what it might have been doing to the system before I noticed the effects.

Grateful for any thoughts/reassurance.
 
simonc I merged your two topics so we all stay on the same track.

md usa spybot fan had responded to you. :)

To clarify so that the correct program is named here.
PDF-Creator appears to be a different program from PDFCreator which is available at SourgeForge, usually a reliable site for open source programs.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/

I went to pdf-creator.net which promptly delivered popups.

Clicking on Affliates took me to this page:
Earn $$$ TODAY... join our affiliate program!
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You promote our site using the special link we give you

Visitors click through to our site and make a purchase

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Their contact form is myHelpHub.com

myHelpHub.com is the dedicated support site for all WCCL products.
Click to expand...

One link leads to another and I do not know the legitimacy of the program.

If you would like someone to take a look at the system to ease your mind, you can either attach a Spybot-S&D log in this topic or go to our malware removal forum and post a HJT log.

  • Open SpyBot, check for and get any updates available.
  • Close all browsers, check for problems and fix everything found in red
  • Then on the toolbar menu select mode and switch to advanced mode, on the left lower down select tools, and view report, ensure all the options are selected near the bottom except
  • Uncheck[ ] do not report disabled or known legitimate Items.
  • uncheck[ ] Include a list of services in report.
  • Uncheck[ ] Include uninstall list in report.
  • Now select (near the top) view report.
  • Press export in the save in box choose a place such as your my documents folder, then in your next post near the bottom select the "browse" button; navigate to and attach or post that report.

OR:
Follow the instructions in this sticky topic:
BEFORE you post and who will advise you. Preliminary Steps

Then start your own thread here:
Malware Removal Forum

Regards
 
Tashi

Many thanks for your investigations and your advice regarding putting my mind at rest. I have attached the spybot report to this message but in two parts as there appears to be a limit to the size of an attachment and the full report exceeds this.

The PDF-Creator people seem to be very persistent. I received an e-mail after downloading the setup file telling me to click on a url link to ensure I receive important information. I didn't click on the link, (fortunately) and they have now sent me a reminder!

Thank you also for the information about the sourceforge PDFCreator.
 
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