Don't Do It!
Good day,
One thing to say ... DON'T DO IT!
The WEATHERBUG utility itself is allright, just your basic "current conditions" and weather (time, temperature, etc) for your area.
It is what is BUNDLED WITH the utility that can hurt you.
I installed the utility myself on my PC back in 2003 / 2004 (I think). It ALSO threw on "AOL Free Trial", "Gator", and opened a link to "Xupiter.com" in an IE (Internet Explorer) window.
When the explorer window opened, an "install / certificate" window appeared, and I accidentally pressed it since I really thought it had something to do with the "Weatherbug" install itself. This was the worst part of it.
I removed the "Gator" and "AOL Free Trial" icons (I already had AOL back in 2003) and their underlying programs in "Program Files" on my PC by choosing "uninstall". The uninstall removed most of everything, but left the directories there so they had to be removed manually. Ofcourse, I never uninstalled the Weatherbug.
This was only scratching the surface, though...
The Xupiter.com thing could NOT be uninstalled. Your home page in IE always went there, I would change it back to "Google.com" or "blank", then the next time you go into IE, Xupitor.com would come up. When you close IE on the Xupitor.com page, about 2 or three new IE pages would open, one with very explicit stuff on it!
Now, here was the real clitcher ... You did not have to be in IE to get POPUP ads ... They would pop-up right on your computer's (windows) desktop. Also, some links appeared in the systray (lower right) next to Weatherbug ... Closing them would only make them come up next time you start windows.
I searched the registry and found some "Xupiter.com" entries and removed them. I looked for any uninstallers of those links in the systray and nothing appeared obvious in either the registry or uninstall in the control panel (add / remove programs). Also, my PC was much slower - MUCH slower and would crash more.
I was really making my small bald spot much larger!
I was in IE, and mistyped a URL in the address bar (like "storm-track.com" instead of "stormtrack.org") and I never got the 404 error page - I was taken to a search page with all "sex site" and casino links. Closing that window made about 5 or 6 popups and new IE instances open, some without a close button with some XXX scene right "in your face"!
Imagine that happening at work trying to check SPC Outlooks really quick and your boss passed by?
What finally helped was going to Google (like Deja News) and searching for how to remove anything with Xupiter.com. It was a lengthy process, and eventually I got rid of it slowly but surely. I also ran "Spybot S&D" (search and destroy) and that god rid of a LOT of stuff.
I also had to remove tons of "junk" URL's from my "Favorites" folder as well as the restore the default messages ".htm" files for IE. Still, I would get an occasional pop-up and had to use a pop-up blocker for that. I was never able to remove the Xupiter.com toolbar off IE either.
I also installed a trial of a virus scanner (Symantec / Norton), and two viruses were found and removed (one was a trojan (worm) and the other one something like "chernobyl").
In addition to a DRASTIC increase in "You want Viagra" and "How to increase your endowment" email SPAM, A month or so after that, when signing on to AOL, I started get a "your account is already signed on" message and could not get on. I signed on to AOL using my work screen ID, sent a message to my screen ID (the one signed on already by ???) and IMMEDIATELY the "perpertrator" signed off with no reply!
Immediately signing on under my own AOL screen ID after that, and changing the password resolved this issue with someone else signed on. Most likely, some "spyware" got my password (maybe even a trojan) and passed it along to someone ???!
Eventually, frustrated with residual popups, copious amounts of spam for "endowment", I cancelled AOL and went with Bellsouth DSL and re-installed Windows after upgrading my PC with better faster hard drives for video editing. I never bothered installing Weatherbug after that, I just look at my clock on the wall and thermometor outside for "time and temperature" in my area!
Be careful ... There are a lot of things like this put there that are very "benign" and even "helpful" programs ... But it is the crap that comes with it that can literally kill your computer!
Chris C - KG4PJN
