Remove Performance Optimizer 1.0 Automatically, with SmitFraud

Don’t have a lot of time? What with YouPorn.com reading The Guardian, my charity work, and more, neither do I. If you don’t know how to manually delete Performance Optimizer 1.0 files, and don’t want to learn, here’s how you automatically remove Performance Optimizer 1.0.

Before you start, print out these instructions—you’re going to have to restart your computer in Safe Mode. Also, back up your PC in case you make a mistake.

1. Download SmitFraudFix for free, and save it to your desktop.
2. Reboot your PC in Safe Mode.
   • To reboot in Safe Mode using Windows XP, restart your PC, and when a progress bar appears at the bottom of the screen, hit F8 once every second. When you see the Windows Start-up menu, highlight Safe Mode and hit Enter. Your desktop will show up, and make whatever repairs necessary. Then reboot your system and allow it to start up as normal.
   • To reboot in Safe Mode using Windows Vista, go Start > Run. Type “MSCONFIG” into the Open field, and click OK. From the BOOT.INI tab, check /SAFEBOOT and click Restart).
3. Once your desktop loads, double-click SmitfraudFix.exe.
4. After the credits roll, you’ll see a menu. Click option number two, “Clean (safe mode recommended)“. Click Enter and delete your files infected with Performance Optimizer 1.0.
5. SmitFraudFix will clean your PC. When SmitFraudFix is finished, its Disk Cleanup automatically starts.
6. Once Disk Cleanup is done, it’ll ask you, “Registry cleaning - Do you want to clean the registry?” Type in “Y” (yes), and click “Enter“. When Disk Cleanup finishes, restart your PC.
7. If your system’s wininet.dll is infected, SmitFraudFix asks you if you want to replace the file. If SmitFraud asks, “Replace infected file?” Type “Y” (yes) to answer and click “Enter“.
8. Once that’s finished, restart your system.
9. After restarting, a Notepad file might popup with a log of the files SmitFraudFix deleted. If it doesn’t popup, you can find the log as a file rapport.txt in Local Disk C:, the root of your hard drive.
10. Restart your system again, in Safe Mode. Once it boots up, go to C:\Windows\Temp. Select “Edit“, select “Select All“, and click “DELETE“. Click “Yes” to confirm you want all these files to get trashed in the Recycle Bin.
11. Restart your system one more time, in normal mode. Go to Windows Update and download any critical updates for your computer. You’re done.

Remove Performance Optimizer 1.0 with Your Bare Hands

You like a workout, eh? Manually removing Performance Optimizer 1.0 can be hard and time consuming, but apparently you’re into that. Obviously, I can’t guarantee these instructions will completely remove Performance Optimizer 1.0 from your system, but it’s worth a try. Just make sure you backup your system before you try to remove Performance Optimizer 1.0 manually.

Before you start, print out these manual Performance Optimizer 1.0 removal instructions and close all applications, including your web browser.

1. Uninstall Performance Optimizer 1.0: Select Start menu > Settings > Control Panel. Double-click “Add/Remove Programs“, and search for “Performance Optimizer 1.0″. If you find Performance Optimizer 1.0, uninstall Performance Optimizer 1.0.
2. Stop Performance Optimizer 1.0 processes: Select Start menu > Run. Type taskmgr, then click on the Processes tab for a list of running processes. Search for Performance Optimizer 1.0 processes, like Performance Optimizer 1.0.exe. Right-click “Performance Optimizer 1.0.exe”, and click “End task“.
   
   
   
3. Delete Performance Optimizer 1.0 files in Windows Vista and XP: Select Start menu > Settings > Search. Click For Files and Folders… You’ll see a speech bubble asking you, “What do you want to search for?” Select All files and folders. Type the names of Performance Optimizer 1.0 files into the search box. Now select Local Hard Drives, and click Search. As soon as you see a bastard Performance Optimizer 1.0 file, just delete it.
   
   
   
4. Unregister Performance Optimizer 1.0 registry keys: Select Start menu > Run. Type regedit, and click OK. Search registry keys with “Performance Optimizer 1.0″ in their name. To delete these Performance Optimizer 1.0 registry keys, right-click the Performance Optimizer 1.0 registry key, select “Modify”, and click “Delete“.
   
   
   
5. Unregister Performance Optimizer 1.0 DLL files: Select Start menu > Settings > Run. Type “cmd” in Run’s box, and click OK. To switch directories, type “cd” in the command box, hit the Space key, and type the directory where the Performance Optimizer 1.0 DLL file is located. If you don’t know which directory the Performance Optimizer 1.0 DLL file is located in, enter “dir” into the command box to see a directory’s contents. To go back one directory, enter “cd ..” in the command box and hit Enter. Once you find the Performance Optimizer 1.0 DLL file you want to remove, type “regsvr32 /u MadeUpDLLName.dll” (e.g., “regsvr32 /u Performance Optimizer 1.0.dll”) and hit Enter. If you delete a DLL by mistake, type “regsvr32 MadeUpWhoopsName.dll” (e.g., “regsvr32 Performance Optimizer 1.0.dll”) into your command box, and hit Enter.
   
   
   
6. Delete Performance Optimizer 1.0 directories: Select Start menu > My Computer > Local Disk (C:) > Program Files > Show the contents of this folder. Search for “C:\ProgramFiles\Performance Optimizer 1.0“. Right-click “C:\ProgramFiles\Performance Optimizer 1.0“. Click “Delete“, “Yes“, and “Yes” again to confirm you want to move the Performance Optimizer 1.0 folder into the Recycle Bin.
7. Remove Performance Optimizer 1.0 desktop icons: Drag and drop any Performance Optimizer 1.0 icons into your Recycle Bin.
8. Change your home page: If Performance Optimizer 1.0 hijacked your home page, select Start menu > Control Panel > Internet Options > General. Under “Home Page” select Use Default. Enter the URL you want as your home page (for example, “http://www.damntrojan.co.uk”), and select “Apply” and “OK“. Open a new browser window to make sure your home page has changed.

You’re done. Hopefully these Performance Optimizer 1.0 removal instructions got rid of Performance Optimizer 1.0 for you. Just so we’re clear on things, I can’t guarantee these instructions will completely remove Performance Optimizer 1.0 from your computer.

If you tried these instructions to get rid of Performance Optimizer 1.0 and they didn’t work, throw your computer out the window.

Or consult professionals.

Performance Optimizer 1.0 101

Performance Optimizer 1.0 isn’t just damn spyware—it’s a certain kind of spyware. Just like your ex wasn’t just a member of the opposite sex, but a real –

Anyway.

It’s always good to know what you’re up against. So I’ll tell you more about Performance Optimizer 1.0 .

Performance Optimizer 1.0 Might Be Rogue Registry Cleaner

WTF Is Rogue Registry Cleaner?

Rogue registry cleaners is a nice name for fake registry software. Rogue registry cleaners, at best, are software not proven to clean up your PC. Rogue registry cleaners, at worst, are installed by Trojans or browser security holes, give you false positives in scans, and pop up fake error alerts to scare you into buying it.

Some rogue registry cleaners are even created by spyware and adware folk, or installs spyware onto your PC.

Sound like a scam?

It is.

If you’re infected with a rogue registry cleaner like Performance Optimizer 1.0, you could see a Performance Optimizer 1.0 popup posing as an error alert. Maybe it looks like this:

Why Rogue Registry Cleaners Suck

Rogue registry cleaners like Performance Optimizer 1.0 have a few qualities that make it faker than a chest on a Trump chick.

• Fake alerts and false positives: Rogue registry cleaners can drive you crazy with fake error alerts popping up, telling you you’ve got registry problems that don’t even exist.
• High-pressure sales: Rogue registry cleaners will sell you harder than Crazy Gideon pimps an old tape cassette player. Think scare tactics, like fake alerts, and exaggerated “registry” scans of your system.
• Copycat images: Rogue registry cleaners sometimes copy the look of real registry software (think of that knock-off Fucci bag you bought your girlfriend). More often though, rogue registry cleaners just look like other fakes.
• Weak scans: Rogue registry cleaners might scan your system, but skim over important folders. Though, really, I’d be surprised if it did any scanning at all.
• Poor detection: Besides rogue registry cleaners often plugging in fake errors in registry scans, rogue registry cleaners can be sloppy about telling you what’s really wrong. For instance, rogue registry cleaners might say you’ve got 13 errors, but not what kind. Or maybe the rogue says MadeUpRegistryError exists, but it doesn’t tell you where the file’s located.

Did Performance Optimizer 1.0 use these moves to try to get you to buy Performance Optimizer 1.0?

Performance Optimizer 1.0 Could Be a Trojan

WTF Are Trojans?

Remember that college class you took on Greek mythology?

Neither do I.

Trojans get their name from Greek mythology, though — a Trojan is software that acts like a Trojan horse. The same way that Trojan horse looked like a great gift to the Spartans — only it was stuffed full of soldiers — Trojans are software that appear harmless but are really designed to kill your computer.

Trojans often pretend to be a video codec you need to watch porn — really — , maybe a photo attached to email, or some sort of other harmless software. Once you open your gates to a Trojan though, it can spy on you, download more malware, or allow a hacker to do whatever he wants on your machine.

How Performance Optimizer 1.0 and Trojans Might Infect You

• Websites: When you’re surfing the web, you won’t only get infected when you download some codecs or plugins. Sometimes all you have to do is visit a site and a Trojan secretly downloads itself onto your computer. Scary. Use a browser like Firefox to prevent this — it’s much more secure than Internet Explorer.
• Open ports: If you run any file-sharing applications — and I’m not just talking peer-to-peer music software — you risk opening up your system to infection. It can be as simple as leaving file sharing open on your instant message client. My rule of thumb is to close off every port. Set up a firewall, too, if you don’t already have one.
• Email: Some random person you don’t really remember just forwarded you some hot pictures? Don’t open them. Lots of Trojans are dolled up as harmless looking email attachments that take advantage of security holes in your mail client. Spam blocker software can help, but it’s better just not to open any attachments from people you don’t know.