Winvestigator Threat Level:

Winvestigator is a commercial keylogger that tracks your emails, chats, instant messages, and every keystroke you type. Winvestigator might have been installed for legit reasons — like monitoring kids’ Internet safety — but Winvestigator may be stealing your username and passwords, spying on your online conversations, watching which websites you visit, seeing what applications you launch, and more. Winvestigator might be a serious violation of your security and privacy, putting your financial and personal data at risk.

I suggest removing Winvestigator immediately, then dumping whoever installed Winvestigator onto your PC.

Do You Have Winvestigator?

When you’re infected with badware — whether it’s Winvestigator, 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 Winvestigator 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 Winvestigator.
• New desktop shortcuts or switched homepage: Badware like Winvestigator 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 Winvestigator 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 Winvestigator manually, you need to delete Winvestigator files. Not sure how to delete Winvestigator files? Click here, and I’ll show you. Otherwise, go ahead and…

Block Winvestigator sites:

Stop Winvestigator processes:

Get rid of Winvestigator registry keys:

Get rid of Winvestigator DLLs:

Delete Winvestigator directories:

Note: In any Winvestigator 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 Winvestigator removal, go ahead and leave a comment.

How Do You Remove Winvestigator Files?

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

How to delete Winvestigator 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 Winvestigator file in the search box, and select “Local Hard Drives.”
4. Click “Search.” Once the file is found, delete it.

How to stop Winvestigator 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 Winvestigator processes.
4. Once you’ve found the Winvestigator processes, right-click them and select “End Process” to kill Winvestigator.

How to remove Winvestigator 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 Winvestigator registry keys, select “Edit,” then select “Find,” and in the search bar type any of Winvestigator’s registry keys.
4. As soon as Winvestigator registry key appears, you can delete the Winvestigator registry key by right-clicking it and selecting “Modify,” then clicking “Delete.”

How to delete Winvestigator DLL files:

1. First locate Winvestigator 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 Winvestigator DLL file is located. If you’re not sure if the Winvestigator 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 Winvestigator 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 Winvestigator DLL file you removed, type “regsvr32 DLLJustDeleted.dll” (e.g., “regsvr32 jl27script.dll”) into your command box, and press your “Enter” key.

Did Winvestigator 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.

Winvestigator Removal Tip

Is your computer acting funny after deleting any Winvestigator 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 Winvestigator files? Download Spyware Doctor, let it find the Winvestigator files for you, and then manually delete Winvestigator files.

How Did You Get Winvestigator?

Wondering how Winvestigator ended up on your PC? If you’re infected with Winvestigator 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 Winvestigator. 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 Winvestigator.
• 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 Winvestigator. I recommend you use Firefox web browser, if you don’t already.

Understanding Winvestigator

If you’re infected with Winvestigator, you should know what you’re fighting. I’ll explain some definitions related to Winvestigator.

Winvestigator May Be a Key Logger

Keyloggers are software or spyware that record every keystroke you make typing on your PC. Some keyloggers are installed in order to capture your usernames and passwords, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, etc. Some keyloggers can take screen shots of your computer monitor and your activity, watch emails and your online chats, and more. Keyloggers are sometimes legitimately installed to monitor an employee’s or child’s computer activity. But even when keyloggers are installed without malicious reasons, keyloggers work secretly, without your knowledge.

Because of keyloggers stealth methods, keyloggers, even when installed without malicious reasons, may put your personal and financial information at risk. It may be a good idea to remove Winvestigator and other keyloggers.

Keylogger Prevention

The best way to prevent being spied on through a keylogger like Winvestigator is to use your common sense and some of the keylogger prevention methods below.

• Use Anti-Spyware Software: Most anti-spyware software is able to detect and remove keyloggers, whether the keylogger is commercial or not. It’s always a good idea to use anti-spyware software to regularly monitor your system for keyloggers and other spyware.
• Use a Firewall: Using a firewall can protect you and your computer from keyloggers that are spread maliciously through worms, viruses, and Trojans.
• Monitor the Programs Your Computer Runs: Whether or not motivated by keylogger prevention, you should always watch which programs are installed on your PC and which are running regularly. If your computer is located in an area easily accessed by other people, watch for devices connected to your USB ports. Keyloggers may easily be installed this way.
• Use a Network Monitor: A network monitor will alert you whenever an application on your PC attempts to make a connection to the Internet. This can help you prevent the keylogger from contacting the anonymous attacker and sending him or her your personal information.
• Automatic Form Fillers: Automatic form fillers, including those intergrated into your browser, can help prevent the damages of keylogging as the programs let you access sensitive accounts without typing your user information. In order for this to work, you’ll need to create passwords in a way that is invisible to keystroke logging and screenshots.
• Web-Based or On-Screen Keyboards: On screen keyboards, mostly used for financial websites, can help protect you from keyloggers stealing your username and passwords. In these web-based keyboards, you typically use your mouse clicks to “type” a password on an on-screen keyboard. It is still possible for a keylogger with a fast screenshot feature to capture this information.

Using the above methods can help protect you from keyloggers, but keyloggers can be almost impossible to detect. You may want to scan your PC for keyloggers regularly, especially if you share your computer with anyone, or if it’s in a semi-public area.

Winvestigator May Be Spyware

Spyware is any software or malware used to spy or track your computer activity. While some spyware is legitimately and intentionally installed by parents or employers to monitor Internet activity on a computer, spyware may be installed maliciously. Often spyware may come bundled with downloads of free software or come in the form of a cookie via a website, and this spyware may track your Internet activity or may steal secret account usernames and passwords, credit card numbers, and other personal and financial information.