Gator

What is Gator?
Gator is an adware program that runs in the background of your system and displays banner advertisements based on user Internet surfing habits. Gator is usually installed by certain free software programs, including the popular file-sharing program Kazaa. Meanwhile, it can also install even more software to your computer without your knowledge.

Gator has brought many inconveniences to most users. Its ads are sometimes poorly targeted and therefore unlikely to be helpful. Besides, these ads are often timed to pop up a few seconds after you have finished clicking on a link or entering data, which can be very distracting. Gator also collects extensive information of users, which then, may cause the leaking of users’ privacy. Furthermore, Gator takes up valuable system resources, which can lead to degraded computer performance and instable system.

Do you have Gator?
If you have enough time and expertise, you can search your computer for Gator manually. However, it might take hours to find out all files of Gator, and it is possible that Gator will appear after rebooting, for its hidden files may still be there.

Download automatic scanner for Gator
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Manual Gator removal instructions
WARNING: The manually removal method is for advanced users. Gator manually removal can be difficult and time-consuming. There is no guarantee that Gator can be completely removed, for there are hundreds of files generated when Gator installed on your system. Make sure to back up your computer in case that you make any mistakes and your system does not work.

Follow the instructions below for Gator removal manually:

Navigate and stop Gator processes:
Gator.exe

Navigate and Remove Gator registry values:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{54e7e082-1da6-412e-96b5-c290fcef5329}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{DBAE7000-01EC-4162-8FEB-8A27AC937CA0}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface\{22D34833-06F9-4CE6-9FF7-CE4DA0BA351D}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface\{54E7E080-1DA6-412E-96B5-C290FCEF5329}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib\{2EC7A834-9C5E-4154-BADC-0D86A2EDC82D}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib\{54E7E081-1DA6-412E-96B5-C290FCEF5329}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\GetAndRun.DFRun
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\GetAndRun.DFRun.1
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\HDPlugin.HDPluginCtrl
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\HDPlugin.HDPluginCtrl.1
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ttjltept
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
\Uninstall\{4A840E1E-2BA8-47de-923E-0E00407EB530}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Gator.com\AppInfo\CME
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Gator.com\AppInfo\GMT
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Gator.com\CMEII\GSNInstalled
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Gator.com\Gator\dyn
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Gator.com\Gator\stat\GMT
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Gator.com\GInternet
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Gator.com\trickles
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\hlnpan
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “Trickler” = “[PATH TO ADWARE FILE]”
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “CMESys” = “%ProgramFiles%\Common Files\CMEII\CMESys.exe”

Navigate and delete Gator files:
%UserProfile%All UsersStart MenuProgramsStartupGator EWallet.lnk
%UserProfile%All UsersStart MenuProgramsGator EWalletGator WebSite.URL
%UserProfile%All UsersStart MenuProgramsGator EWalletGator EWallet.lnk
%UserProfile%Local SettingsTempsetup.exe
%ProgramFiles%Gator.comGatorGator.exe

What are the symptoms of Gator?

• Gator may displays banner advertisements based on user Internet surfing habits
• Gator may display advertisement constantly
• Gator may collect extensive personal information
• Gator may install other software into computers without permission
• Gator may take up system resources to cause degraded computer performance

How do I keep away from Gator
Once you have cleaned up Gator, the most important point to prevent Gator and future malicious programs from reverting is to stay suspicious of spam E-mail attachment and unknown websites. Here are several ways in which you can help protect your computer against Gator and other malware:

• Use a computer firewall
• Confirm that you have downloaded all the latest critical security updates
• Adjust Internet Explorer web browser’s security settings
• Download and install anti-spyware protection, such as, Spyware Cease
• Surf sites and download programs from the web sites you trust

What is Adware?
Gator is a type of Adware.

Adware is a kind of software that displays or downloads advertisements to a computer after the software is installed or while the software is in use. These advertisements can be banners or pop up windows. Some types of adware may even collect the user’s information and display advertisements in the web browser according to the information collected.

Adware can slow down your PC by consuming heavily Memory and CPU resources. Adware can also mess your Internet connection by using bandwidth to resume advertisements. Meanwhile, your system may be in risk of inefficiency because most adware applications are not properly programmed.