How to remove the BrowseForTheCause Program

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How to remove the BrowseForTheCause Program

  • Wed, 23 Nov 2016 09:59:02 EST
  • Read 3430 times

BrowseForTheCause is a potentially unwanted program, or PUP, that states on its web site that it allows its users to "Donate to your favorite charity with ZERO out of pocket expense, for life!". It does not provide any indication how it does this, what charities it will donate to, and how much it will donate. The site also does not contain a privacy policy or a terms of use that explains how the program works or what changes it performs on a computer it is installed on.

What is known about this program is that it will install a Windows service called BrowseForTheCause.exe, which has a description of "Update nameservers on computer according to DNS servers info". When this service is executed, it will check the computer's configured DNS servers and change them to 76.73.6.30 and 50.7.75.6.

How did the Powered by BrowseForTheCause PUP get on my computer?

It is important to note that this adware is bundled with and installed by free programs that did not adequately disclose that other software would be installed along with it. Therefore, it is important that you pay close attention to license agreements and installation screens when installing anything off of the Internet. If an installation screen offers you Custom or Advanced installation options, it is a good idea to select these as they will typically disclose what other 3rd party software will also be installed. Furthermore, If the license agreement or installation screens state that they are going to install a toolbar or other unwanted adware, it is advised that you immediately cancel the install and not use the free software.

With the vague information as to what this program performs, the lack of a privacy policy or terms of use on their web sites, and that it changes the computer's DNS servers, BrowseForTheCause is not a program that I would want on my computer. If you wish to learn how to remove it for free, you can use the removal guide below.

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View Associated BrowseForTheCause Files

C:\Program Files (x86)\BrowseForTheCause\ C:\Program Files (x86)\BrowseForTheCause\app.ico C:\Program Files (x86)\BrowseForTheCause\application.log C:\Program Files (x86)\BrowseForTheCause\BrowseForTheCause.exe C:\Program Files (x86)\BrowseForTheCause\BrowseForTheCause.InstallLog C:\Program Files (x86)\BrowseForTheCause\BrowseForTheCause.InstallState C:\Program Files (x86)\BrowseForTheCause\log4net.dll C:\Program Files (x86)\BrowseForTheCause\Newtonsoft.Json.dll C:\Program Files (x86)\BrowseForTheCause\Uninstall BrowseForTheCause.lnk %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\BrowseForTheCause\ %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\BrowseForTheCause\Uninstall BrowseForTheCause.lnk

File Location Notes:

%AppData% refers to the current users Application Data folder. By default, this is C:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\Application Data for Windows 2000/XP. For Windows Vista and Windows 7 it is C:\Users\<Current User>\AppData\Roaming.

View Associated BrowseForTheCause Registry Information

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Installer\Features\B9FF21D5AFB60FC48A8077E6CCE9F9EA HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{5D12FF9B-6BFA-4CF0-A808-776ECC9E9FAE} HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\BrowseForTheCause HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\BrowseForTheCause HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\Tcpip\Parameters\Interfaces\{7EFA2CC1-6DF7-4A94-9536-03E1E48E73AD}\NameServer "76.73.6.30,50.7.75.6"