“Foobar” Popup is a system alert created when your computer crashes, thanks to W32.Relnek.A. This “Foobar” Popup reads:

“Foobar has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience. If you were in the middle of something, the information you were working on might be lost.
Please tell Microsoft about the problem. We have created an error report that you can send to us. We will treat this report as confidential and anonymous.”

How kind of you, Foobar.

So what’s W32.Relnek.A? W32.Relnek.A is a virus that can crash your system, as it uses your computer to find other files to infect.

I haven’t seen any W32.Relnek.A/Foobar removal instructions floating around the ‘net — if you know of any, please leave a comment. Otherwise, use antivirus software you trust to get rid of this bugger.

Do You Have “Foobar” Popup?

When you’re infected with badware — whether it’s “Foobar” Popup, spyware, adware, a Trojan, or a virus — there are a few key symptoms. Have you noticed…

• Slow computer performance: It just takes one parasite like “Foobar” Popup to slow your computer dramatically. If your PC takes longer than usual to reboot, or if your Internet connection is unusually slow, you may be infected with “Foobar” Popup.
• New desktop shortcuts or switched homepage: Badware like “Foobar” Popup may change your Internet settings to redirect your homepage to another site. Badware can even add desktop shortcuts to your PC.
• Annoying popups: Badware can bombard your computer with popup ads, even when you’re not online. Through these popups, you may be tricked into downloading more spyware.

How to Remove “Foobar” Popup Manually

Before we get started, you should backup your system and your registry, so it’ll be easy to restore your computer if anything goes wrong.

To remove “Foobar” Popup manually, you need to delete “Foobar” Popup files. Not sure how to delete “Foobar” Popup files? Click here, and I’ll show you. Otherwise, go ahead and…

Delete “Foobar” Popup files:

Note: In any “Foobar” Popup files I mention above, “%UserProfile%” is a variable referring to your current user’s profile folder. If you’re using Windows NT/2000/XP, by default this is “C:\Documents and Settings\[CURRENT USER]” (e.g., “C:\Documents and Settings\JoeSmith”). If you have any questions about manual “Foobar” Popup removal, go ahead and leave a comment.

How Do You Remove “Foobar” Popup Files?

Need help figuring out how to delete “Foobar” Popup files? While there’s some risk involved, and you should only manually remove “Foobar” Popup files if you’re comfortable editing your system, you’ll find it’s fairly easy to delete “Foobar” Popup files in Windows.

How to delete “Foobar” Popup files in Windows XP and Vista:

1. Click your Windows Start menu, and then click “Search.”
2. A speech bubble will pop up asking you, “What do you want to search for?” Click “All files and folders.”
3. Type a “Foobar” Popup file in the search box, and select “Local Hard Drives.”
4. Click “Search.” Once the file is found, delete it.

How to stop “Foobar” Popup processes:

1. Click the Start menu, select Run.
2. Type taskmgr.exe into the the Run command box, and click “OK.” You can also launch the Task Manager by pressing keys CTRL + Shift + ESC.
3. Click Processes tab, and find “Foobar” Popup processes.
4. Once you’ve found the “Foobar” Popup processes, right-click them and select “End Process” to kill “Foobar” Popup.

How to remove “Foobar” Popup registry keys:

Because your registry is such a key piece of your Windows system, you should always backup your registry before you edit it. Editing your registry can be intimidating if you’re not a computer expert, and when you change or a delete a critical registry key or value, there’s a chance you may need to reinstall your entire system. Make sure your backup your registry before editing it.

1. Select your Windows menu “Start,” and click “Run.” An “Open” field will appear. Type “regedit” and click “OK” to open up your Registry Editor.
2. Registry Editor will open as a window with two panes. The left side Registry Editor’s window lets you select various registry keys, and the right side displays the registry values of the registry key you select.
3. To find a registry key, such as any “Foobar” Popup registry keys, select “Edit,” then select “Find,” and in the search bar type any of “Foobar” Popup’s registry keys.
4. As soon as “Foobar” Popup registry key appears, you can delete the “Foobar” Popup registry key by right-clicking it and selecting “Modify,” then clicking “Delete.”

How to delete “Foobar” Popup DLL files:

1. First locate “Foobar” Popup DLL files you want to delete. Open your Windows Start menu, then click “Run.” Type “cmd” in Run, and click “OK.”
2. To change your current directory, type “cd” in the command box, press your “Space” key, and enter the full directory where the “Foobar” Popup DLL file is located. If you’re not sure if the “Foobar” Popup DLL file is located in a particular directory, enter “dir” in the command box to display a directory’s contents. To go one directory back, enter “cd ..” in the command box and press “Enter.”
3. When you’ve located the “Foobar” Popup DLL file you want to remove, type “regsvr32 /u SampleDLLName.dll” (e.g., “regsvr32 /u jl27script.dll”) and press your “Enter” key.

That’s it. If you want to restore any “Foobar” Popup DLL file you removed, type “regsvr32 DLLJustDeleted.dll” (e.g., “regsvr32 jl27script.dll”) into your command box, and press your “Enter” key.

Did “Foobar” Popup change your homepage?

1. Click Windows Start menu > Control Panel > Internet Options.
2. Under Home Page, select the General > Use Default.
3. Type in the URL you want as your home page (e.g., “http://www.homepage.com”).
4. Select Apply > OK.
5. You’ll want to open a fresh web page and make sure that your new default home page pops up.

“Foobar” Popup Removal Tip

Is your computer acting funny after deleting any “Foobar” Popup files? I recommend using a program like File Recover from PC Tools. File Recover saves deleted files that otherwise can’t be recovered by Windows operating sytem.

Want to save time finding “Foobar” Popup files? Download Spyware Doctor, let it find the “Foobar” Popup files for you, and then manually delete “Foobar” Popup files.

How Did You Get “Foobar” Popup?

Wondering how “Foobar” Popup ended up on your PC? If you’re infected with “Foobar” Popup or other badware, perhaps you were using…

• Freeware or shareware: Did you download and install shareware or freeware? These low-cost or free software applications may come bundled with spyware, adware, or programs like “Foobar” Popup. Sometimes adware is attached to the free software to “pay” developers for the cost of creating the software, and more often spyware is secretly attached to free software to harm your computer and steal your personal and financial information.
• Peer-to-peer software: Do you use a peer-to-peer (P2P) program or other application with a shared network? When you use these applications, you put your system at risk for unknowingly downloading an infected file, including applications like “Foobar” Popup.
• Questionable websites: Did you visit a website that’s of questionable nature? When you visit malicious sites that are fishy and phishy, badware may be automatically downloaded and installed onto your computer, sometimes including applications like “Foobar” Popup. I recommend you use Firefox web browser, if you don’t already.

Understanding “Foobar” Popup

If you’re infected with “Foobar” Popup, you should know what you’re fighting. I’ll explain some definitions related to “Foobar” Popup.

“Foobar” Popup May Be a Virus

Viruses are badware that can copy themselves and infect your PC without your knowledge. Like physical viruses, a virus like “Foobar” Popup might mutate, or replace its own code by automatically — which make viruses like “Foobar” Popup very dangerous, difficult to find, and hard to delete.