Description

Look2Me (Look2Me/Msgstar and variants, including Look2Me/Msg116, Look2Me/Msg117, etc.) is adware that tracks your online whereabouts for the purpose of distributing targeted ads to your Desktop.

Look2Me installs itself on your system when you visit any site affiliated with the Look2Me Advertising And Information Network. It appears that the network has been dismantled—at least temporarily.

How To Tell If Look2Me Is Present On Your System

Look2Me is a sneaky bit of adware that tends to stay out of sight and, therefore, avoids detection. If you're lucky, you may receive a pop-up message referencing Look2Me. Another symptom is the presence of the Msg116.dll, Msg117.dll, Msg118.dll, Msg119.dll, Msg120.dll, Msg121.dll, or Msg122.dll file in the WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 (WINDOWS\SYSTEM in WinMe and Win98) folder.

How To Get Rid Of Look2Me With Norton AntiVirus

Most anti-spyware utilities will find and remove Look2Me. You can even use Symantec's Norton AntiVirus (www.symantec.com) to rid your system of the code. To do so, reboot the computer and hold down the F8 key or CTRL key (or press the key repeatedly in one-second intervals, depending on your system) as soon as the computer begins to restart. Select the Safe Mode option from the resulting Windows Startup Menu and press ENTER. When Windows restarts in Safe Mode, open Norton AntiVirus and scan your entire system. If the utility detects Spyware/Look2Me, select it and click Delete to remove it. While you're at it, delete any other spyware or malicious code that Norton AntiVirus finds.

Close Norton AntiVirus when it finishes deleting the questionable files and open the Registry Editor. You need to clean out a few remaining Registry entries to complete the process. Locate and delete the following keys and values (if present):

• HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{DDFFA75A-E81D-4454-89FC-B9FD0631E726}

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRENTVERSION\
SHELLEXTENSIONS\APPROVED\{DDFFA-E81D-4454-89FC-B9FD0631E726}

• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\LOOK2ME

Close the Registry Editor when you finish and reboot your system normally.

WARNING: The following section includes step-by-step information on how to edit the Windows Registry, a large database containing system and program settings that are essential to how the OS (operating system) operates. Follow Registry-editing instructions to the letter and be sure to make a backup of your Registry before you begin. (Registry errors can render your computer inoperable if you don't have a backup.) This procedure differs depending on the OS you use. For more information on backing up and editing the Registry, see these articles: "Protect Yourself" and "Register Here."

How To Get Rid Of Look2Me Manually

You can try to obtain an uninstall utility directly from Look2Me.com. Simply visit www.look2me.com/cgi-bin/UnInstaller to accept a EULA (End-User License Agreement). Supposedly, you can download the uninstaller from the subsequent page, but we found ourselves repeatedly accepting the EULA and never accessing a download. The whole thing seems kind of fishy, which is why we hesitate to recommend the uninstaller as a preferred method of removing Look2Me.

A better alternative is to manually remove the program from your PC. To do so, you must have an MS-DOS startup disk. (If you're a subscriber to Smart Computing or one of our other publications, see "Help Is Just A Diskette Away" at www.smartcomputing.com/lsapr03/startupdisk for instructions about creating a startup disk for your PC.) Insert the floppy diskette in the computer and reboot your PC. Choose to boot without CD-ROM support. When you see a command prompt on-screen, switch to a C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32> (C:\WINDOW\SYSTEM> in WinMe and Win98) prompt. At the prompt, type the following commands, pressing ENTER after each one:

del msg{*.dll

del msg116.dll

del msg117.dll

del msg118.dll

del msg119.dll

del msg120.dll

del msg121.dll

del msg122.dll

Remove the startup disk from the diskette drive and reboot the computer into Windows. After Windows starts, open the Registry Editor and delete the following keys and values (if present):

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CLASSES\CLSID\{DDFFA75A-E81D-4454-89FC-B9FD0631E726}

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRENTVERSION\
SHELLEXTENSIONS\APPROVED\{DDFFA75A-E81D-4454-89FC-B9FD0631E726}

• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\LOOK2ME

Finish the process by accessing the Internet Options dialog box and clicking the Reset Web Settings button on the Programs tab.