Firefox "Infected" By "Toparcadehits" Extension?

User Help for Mozilla Firefox
Post Reply
Scott_1A
Posts: 207
Joined: March 25th, 2006, 5:12 pm

Firefox "Infected" By "Toparcadehits" Extension?

Post by Scott_1A »

Using Firefox 21.0 and Windows 7 Home Premium

I have discovered an extension in my FF Add-ons list called “Toparcadehits 1.0” which I know I never wanted or installed and which does not list any button to remove it from Firefox. I have no idea how it got there…I haven’t installed any extensions for quite a while and I use “NoScript” scrupulously when I visit websites, even ones I am familiar with. The only button listed with it on the Add-ons list is a “disable button” but no “remove” button.

I have the latest levels/updated both Malwarebytes and Spybot Search and Destroy malware detectors as well as the latest level of Avast virus detector and none of them picked up any malware or viruses, even though that’s what I suspect that Toparcadehits 1.0 is.

I have checked into “programs and features” under control panel which I would normally use to uninstall programs which I don’t want but it is not listed there, hence I cannot remove it that way. It also doesn’t show up in my Revo Uninstaller program which I have and which is an excellent uninstaller.

I have tried loading other FF profiles on my system, including ones which I haven’t used in a long, long time and the same extension always shows up again on every different profile which I load. I’ve tried doing a Google search to find out more about it, but there doesn’t seem to be much information about it available, at least not yet. I don’t know what this thing does but I know that I don’t want it and am pretty PO’d at the way it has attached itself to my Firefox installation without my knowledge or permission.

Does anyone know how it might have gotten on my system, what I can do to remove it and how to keep it from coming back? I did find an uninstaller exec for the program online but I am afraid to run it for fear it might cause even more problems. Thanks.
Vitesse
Posts: 1238
Joined: April 21st, 2011, 6:03 pm

Re: Firefox "Infected" By "Toparcadehits" Extension?

Post by Vitesse »

Comments on CNet suggest it silently installs, piggybacking on something else.

Try this: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/

No guarantees it will work, but it may very well do the job and will also get rid of any other nasties you may have lurking in your system. Make sure you have closed all other programs and saved all work before running it, since it needs to restart your computer to work.
User avatar
dfoulkes
Posts: 22525
Joined: June 28th, 2008, 10:31 pm
Location: Mesquite, Nevada

Re: Firefox "Infected" By "Toparcadehits" Extension?

Post by dfoulkes »

At the very bottom of this page is something that their company has for uninstalling that program... it looks like it wants to download a program that will uninstall their product... I didn't download it but assuming it's a legit company... maybe it's your solution?
[url=http toparcadehits.com/deactivate/]Deactivate | Toparcadehits[/url]
Last edited by LIMPET235 on August 8th, 2013, 10:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Link killed.
As you can see she's (The CAT) always alert and on the prowl for Meoware !!
Scott_1A
Posts: 207
Joined: March 25th, 2006, 5:12 pm

Re: Firefox "Infected" By "Toparcadehits" Extension?

Post by Scott_1A »

dfoulkes wrote:At the very bottom of this page is something that their company has for uninstalling that program... it looks like it wants to download a program that will uninstall their product... I didn't download it but assuming it's a legit company... maybe it's your solution?
[url=http toparcadehits.com/deactivate/]Deactivate | Toparcadehits[/url]


Thanks for pointing that out. I had found that particular uninstaller.exe earlier but I am not sure that I dare run it. Since it is provided by the same company that put such a nasty program on my system to begin with I'm not sure it can be trusted to uninstall it completely or uninstall it without causing other problems. I guess I will research it some more and see if i can find any more info on it.
Last edited by LIMPET235 on August 8th, 2013, 10:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Link killed.
User avatar
mightyglydd
Posts: 9813
Joined: November 4th, 2006, 7:07 pm
Location: Hollywood Ca.

Re: Firefox "Infected" By "Toparcadehits" Extension?

Post by mightyglydd »

#KeepFightingMichael and Alex.
Scott_1A
Posts: 207
Joined: March 25th, 2006, 5:12 pm

Re: Firefox "Infected" By "Toparcadehits" Extension?

Post by Scott_1A »

mightyglydd wrote:Maybe some help here..
http://www.zimbio.com/Remove+Malware/ar ... rcade+Hits


Thanks for the information. I studied that post and after examining my system in more detail, I realized that I could not find any of the other traces of this particular malware program, i.e. exec files, .dll files, BHO's etc. nor could I find the registry keys mentioned there that would indicate that it was fully installed. I decided that either it had been fully installed on my system at one time and partially removed somehow (don't know how that would have happened) or somehow partially installed but never fully completed (don't know how that would have happened either).

It seemed that the only symptom of it on my system was the Firefox extension and if I could remove that, there would be nothing left of it since numerous malware detectors were not picking up any other traces of it either. There was also no evidence of it in IE10. FF seemed to be the only place on my computer where there was evidence of it.

I backed up my profiles and reset FF to it's default state but that didn't solve the problem. I then uninstalled FF *ENTIRELY*, using Revo Uninstaller to make sure that there were no traces at all of FF remaining in my registry or files structures or anywhere else. Once it was gone, I DL'd a brand new copy of FF 21.0 from the Mozilla web site and re-installed it. I copied my backed up profiles back in and that solved the problem. FF is working normally now and the unwanted extension is completely gone.
rais
Posts: 1083
Joined: May 25th, 2011, 8:57 pm

Re: Firefox "Infected" By "Toparcadehits" Extension?

Post by rais »

 
     
    Last edited by rais on July 11th, 2013, 5:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
    User avatar
    dfoulkes
    Posts: 22525
    Joined: June 28th, 2008, 10:31 pm
    Location: Mesquite, Nevada

    Re: Firefox "Infected" By "Toparcadehits" Extension?

    Post by dfoulkes »

    I noticed in your there part ... that it's a direct link to start downloading a program... that's not the normal (or best) way to do that... providing a link to that file is the norm... Just thought you would like to know.
    As you can see she's (The CAT) always alert and on the prowl for Meoware !!
    johnmatt
    Posts: 6
    Joined: August 3rd, 2004, 5:06 am
    Location: Western Australia

    Re: Firefox "Infected" By "Toparcadehits" Extension?

    Post by johnmatt »

    Toparcadehits
    http toparcadehits.com/deactivate/
    Instructions how to remove Toparcadehits can be found in the text below:
    Step 1:
    • Click on the Start Menu button
    • Click on the Settings option
    • Click on the Control Panel option
    • Double click on Add/Remove Programs
    Step 2:
    • Select Toparcadehits from the list of programs
    • Click on the Uninstall button
    • Follow the uninstall directions to complete the uninstall process
    If for some reason you cannot find your Start Menu, or the Add/Remove Process does not work for you, click the link below for additional removal assistance: Remove Toparcadehits.
    http toparcadehits.com/remove/
    Last edited by LIMPET235 on August 8th, 2013, 10:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
    Reason: Killed those links.
    willarson
    Posts: 222
    Joined: June 30th, 2013, 8:46 am

    Re: Firefox "Infected" By "Toparcadehits" Extension?

    Post by willarson »

    VirusTotal, a subsidiary of Google, is a free online service that analyzes files and URLs enabling the identification of viruses, worms, trojans and other kinds of malicious content detected by antivirus engines and website scanners. At the same time, it may be used as a means to detect false positives, i.e. innocuous resources detected as malicious by one or more scanners.

    VirusTotal simply acts as an information aggregator. The aggregated data is the output of different antivirus engines, website scanners, file and URL analysis tools and user contributions. The full list of antivirus solutions and website scanners used in VirusTotal can be found in the credits and collaboration acknowledgements section.

    https://www.virustotal.com/en/file/84f6 ... /analysis/
    willarson
    Posts: 222
    Joined: June 30th, 2013, 8:46 am

    Re: Firefox "Infected" By "Toparcadehits" Extension?

    Post by willarson »

    Been there...played a few flash games....no download required....nothing installed. If someone wants to add these games to their webpage to attract users then downloading would likely be necessary. The remove instructions are nothing new for some sites or even programs for that matter. If it were me....I (personally) would use the uninstaller. Worst scenario--nothing happens and it stays. Removing bits and pieces can sometimes cause more headaches. Personal opinion....It's a judgement call not a Firefox problem.
    Post Reply