Why remove Sweetpacks and what it does?
While I was in my Add/Remove Programs window to remove a program(who's Trial period had expired ;) ), I noticed some strange programs called SweetIM, Sweetpacks toolbar and their (too much sweet) updater!
That made me suspicious about these programs. Probably it is a spyware, or some adware kinda toolbar program that is too sick!
I simply uninstalled them from there. As I always use Google Chrome as my default browser, I opened Firefox and Internet Explorer to check if that sweet thing was causing any diabetes to these. As expected, even after uninstalling them from programs list, the programs were still running in both of these browsers. The Sweetpacks toolbar doesn't know how to get uninstalled simply i guess. Well, Sweetpacks toolbar is sick, so we have to manually remove it from wherever it gets located.
Also, the Sweetpacks or Sweetpack Browser Updater belongs to the same family, so I recommend removing it too to save your PC.
Steps to Remove Sweetpacks
Here's how to remove it:
1. In Firefox, press Ctrl+Shift+A and Add-On tab will open.2. On left side of the page, select "Extensions" and it will list all extensions installed in Firefox.
3. Select Remove in front of "Sweetpacks toolbar for Firefox bla bla "
4. Uninstall all related garbage!
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For Google Chrome, remove it from Extensions and from Search Engines. For that:
1. Go to wrench menu (Top-right settings)
2. Click Extensions and remove sweetpacks.
I recommend using Spybot- Search and Destroy to remove any left-over things of Sweetpacks, and also any other malware in your system. It is free, and a great tool for your system to remain secure.
And I think the program got itself installed when I may have been installing some other program in which it was bundled. Most probably, it might have also been promoted using facebook. That's why we should never click any suspicious link on internet.
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It might be interfering with your facebook interface and facebook chat, so just get rid of it by removing it from your browser. In case you still can not remove it, just let me know, I will be happy to help.
Thanks very much for the tips on getting rid of the Sweetpacks toolbar...it was bundled without notice in another program, glad to get rid of it.
ReplyDeleteMy Pleasure! :)
DeleteGlad to know that you got rid of Sweetpacks toolbar. :)
Thank you for that information. I am removing mine.Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure :)
Deletesweetpacks is very inconvinient and boring!
Deletethanks a lot for helping me. sincerely :)
ReplyDelete:)
Deletethanks!!!
ReplyDeletemy pleasure :)
Deletei have google chrome, i did all the steps, removed it from extensions, program files, add/remove programs window...still that F***ING monkey on my facebook...please help me out
ReplyDeleteThen you should download Spybot- Search & Destroy and scan your PC, and repair or remove whatever it suggests. It is free to use.
DeleteHere's the link: http://www.safer-networking.org/dl/
Thank you!
ReplyDeleteSpybot Search & Destroy found the registry changes that sweetpacks had made and allowed me to erase them. It also spotted the re-installer (labelled it as malware) and allowed me to delete it.
ReplyDeleteSome folks are startled that Malware Bytes does not identify sweetpacks as malware. This isn't actually surprising. Sweetpacks is definitely crapware (or scumware if you prefer) as it does things to your browser without permission and makes itself difficult to remove. But it doesn't act like a virus when it's running, which is probably why MB doesn't identify it.
This is an example of why you should always have a multi-layer defense for your PC. As an example, I use the following:
Browser: Firefox with the "NoScript" add-on.
Anit-Virus: Avast and Microsoft Security Essentials.
Spyware defense: Spybot Search & Destroy.
Troubleshooting: MalwareBytes Anti-Malware and CC Cleaner.
A few notes on my setup:
Usually, you can only have one anti-virus program running at a time as they often conflict with one another. However, I've found that Avast and MSE play well with each other.
Some people advise you to turn off Spybot's "Tea-Timer" (a part of Spybot which monitors your browser in real-time) as it slows down your browsing. I don't advise this. Tea-Timer rarely slows you down by more than 1/5th of a second (on the average, modern PC.) I'd rather give up that fraction of a second for the extra security.
While I like my collection of anti-spy/malware programs, I don't insist that they are necessarily the best for everyone. The point is that you have a multi-tiered defense in place and you will be in much better shape.
Finally, remember that safe browsing habits are your first line of defense against crap and malware. Always double-check each step of a download to make sure you aren't agreeing to something you don't want along with what you are trying to get. (Look for check-boxes and carefully read the descriptions.) Always try to download from official or at least reputable sites. (A little search engine work in advance could save you hours of frustration fixing a your PC from a bad download.) And if you get in a jam, ask for help! There are plenty of sites, forums and blogs (like this one) that can help you out...