The following instructions have been created to help you to get rid of "Fraud.Codec.x3" 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.
Threat Details:
Categories:
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.
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 or RunAlyzer to locate and get rid of these entries.
Please use Windows Explorer or another file manager of your choice to locate and delete these files.
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 to remove them.
Folders:
Please use Windows Explorer or another file manager of your choice to locate and delete these folders.
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!
Important: There are more files that cannot be safely described in simple words. Please use Spybot-S&D to remove them.
Registry:
You can use regedit.exe (included in Windows) to locate and delete these registry entries.
Final Words:
If neither Spybot-S&D nor self help did resolve the issue or you would prefer one on one help,
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.
Threat Details:
Categories:
- malware
Fraud.Codec.x3 is a malware that pretends to be a revolutionary media codec. This fake codec is made to transport advertising only. It is completely useless.
Removal Instructions: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 "x3_Codec.lnk" and pointing to "<$PROGRAMFILES>\x3_Codec\x3_codec.exe".
You can try to uninstall products with the names listed below; for items identified by other properties or to avoid malware getting active again on uninstallation, use Spybot-S&D or RunAlyzer to locate and get rid of these entries.
- Products that have a key or property named "x3_Codec".
Please use Windows Explorer or another file manager of your choice to locate and delete these files.
- The file at "<$DESKTOP>\x3_Codec.lnk".
- The file at "<$PROGRAMFILES>\x3_Codec\x3_codec.exe".
You will have to use a global search for files without a name specified. Be extra careful, because just the name might not be enough to identify files!
Important: There are more files that cannot be safely described in simple words. Please use Spybot-S&D to remove them.
Folders:
Please use Windows Explorer or another file manager of your choice to locate and delete these folders.
- The directory at "<$PROGRAMFILES>\x3_Codec".
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!
Important: There are more files that cannot be safely described in simple words. Please use Spybot-S&D to remove them.
Registry:
You can use regedit.exe (included in Windows) to locate and delete these registry entries.
- Delete the registry key "grooveshark.com" at "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\DOMStorage\".
- Delete the registry key "x3_Codec.exe" at "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\".
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 before requesting assistance,
- Then start your own thread in the Malware Removal Forum where a volunteer analyst will advise you as soon as available.