What is SweetIM toolbar and how to remove it?
SweetIM toolbar is a browser add-on which adds various shortcuts such as games,deal pages etc. to your browsers for easy access. This toolbar also changes your homepage to home.sweetim.com While some people may find SweetIM toolbar useful, this browser add-on can be categorized as an unwanted application. The homepage that is set to default by this toolbar is enhanced by deceptive ads which redirects PC users to survey pages.
Furthermore the search engine that is used by home.sweetim.com looks like Google and uses a logo with Google colors in it, but in fact this search engine provides unrelated advertisements that are easy to mix up with organic search results. Other reason why SweetIM toolbar can be categorized as an unwanted application is the fact that it's comes bundled with free software and unsuspecting computer users can easily install it without knowing it. To avoid such situations you should closely look at every window of any program installation process, some free software developers are using such toolbars as SweetIM for monetization purposes. Furthermore the uninstall process of SweetIM toolbar is not full - you will have to manually remove it from Chrome and FireFox.
SweetIM toolbar is not malware or a virus, it doesn't install on user's computer by itself. Most commonly it's installed by accident while trying to download and install free software downloaded from Internet. If you have installed SweetIM toolbar yourself and you are satisfied with it you don't need to perform any steps, but if you feel like you haven't installed it or you have done so by accident you can use the provided removal guide to get rid of SweetIM toolbar from your Internet browsers.
SweetIM Toolbar removal:
Windows 7 users:
Click "Start" ("Windows Logo" at the bottom left corner of your desktop), choose "Control Panel". Locate and click "Programs and Features". Look for "Internet Explorer Toolbar by SweetPacks", "SweetIM for Messanger", "Update Manager for SweetPacks" and click Uninstall.
Windows XP users:
Click "Start", choose "Settings" and click "Control Panel". Locate and click "Add or Remove Programs". Look for "Internet Explorer Toolbar by SweetPacks", "SweetIM for Messanger", "Update Manager for SweetPacks" and click Remove.
After uninstalling SweetIM Toolbar scan your computer with anti-spyware software for any left unwanted components. Use recommended anti-spyware software.
Scan your computer for possible malware infections
SweetIM Toolbar removal from browsers:
Uninstalling SweetIM Toolbar is not enough, remove the left unwanted components from your Internet browsers manually.
Remove SweetIM Toolbar from Internet Explorer:
If you have accidentally clicked "Yes" in the uninstall screen of SweetIM Toolbar - Click "Tools" (or the gear icon in Internet Explorer 9) select "Internet Options", in the opened window remove home.sweetim.com and enter your preferred domain which will open every time you launch Internet Explorer.
Optional method:
If you continue having problems with removal of SweetIM you can reset you Internet Explorer settings to default.
Windows XP users: Click "Start", click "Run", in the opened window type "inetcpl.cpl". In the opened window click on "Advanced" tab, then click Reset.
Windows Vista and Windows 7 users: Click the Windows logo, in the start search box type "inetcpl.cpl" and click enter. In the opened window click on "Advanced" tab, then click Reset.
Remove SweetIM Toolbar from FireFox:
Click "Tools" (at the top of the window), select "Add-ons". Click on "Extensions" and disable "SweetPacks Toolbar for FireFox". To reset your homepage click "Tools", then select "Options", in the opened window remove home.sweetim.com and enter your preferred domain.
Remove SweetIM Toolbar from Google Chrome:
Click on a wrench icon (top right of the screen), select "Tools" and click on "Extensions". Locate "SweetIM for Facebook", select it and click on a trash can icon. To change your homepage from home.sweetim.com to you preferred - click on the wrench icon, select "Settings". In "On startup" section click "set pages", hover your mouse over home.sweetim.com and click the x symbol. Now you can add your preferred website as your homepage.
If you continue having problems with removal of SweetIM you can reset you Mozilla FireFox settings to default.
Open Mozilla FireFox, at the top left corner of the main window click "FireFox", in the opened drop down menu choose Help and then click on Troubleshooting Information, in the opened window click on "Reset FireFox" button.
Manual SweetIM Toolbar removal:
If you were unable to remove SweetIM Toolbar using the steps above, you can use this manual removal instruction. Use it at your own risk. If you don't have strong computer knowledge you could harm your operating system. Be careful and use it only if you are an experienced computer user. (Instructions on how to end processes, remove registry entries...)
End these SweetIM Toolbar processes:
SweetIM.exe
Remove these SweetIM Toolbar registry entries:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SWEETIE.IEToolbar.1
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SWEETIE.IEToolbar
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SweetIM_URLSearchHook.ToolbarURLSearchHook.1
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SweetIM_URLSearchHook.ToolbarURLSearchHook
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Toolbar3.SWEETIE.1
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Toolbar3.SWEETIE
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\SweetIM.exe\(Default)
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar\WebBrowser\{EEE6C35B-6118-11DC-9C72-001320C79847}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar\{EEE6C35B-6118-11DC-9C72-001320C79847}
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\URLSearchHooks\{EEE6C35D-6118-11DC-9C72-001320C79847}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\SweetIM.exe\".
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SweetIM\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\SweetIM\
Delete these SweetIM Toolbar files:
%COMMONAPPDATA%\SweetIM\Messenger\conf\users\main_user_config.xml
%COMMONAPPDATA%\SweetIM\Messenger\data\contentdb\cache_indx.dat
%PROGRAMFILES%\SweetIM\Messenger\default.xml
%PROGRAMFILES%\SweetIM\Messenger\mgYahooMessengerAdapter.dll
%PROGRAMFILES%\SweetIM\Messenger\msvcp71.dll
%PROGRAMFILES%\SweetIM\Messenger\msvcr71.dll
%PROGRAMFILES%\SweetIM\Messenger\SweetIM.exe
Comments
There is a niche in the market for an applicatoin that databases all this crap (no other word for it) and intervenes when it tries to install, giving full control and choice back to the user.
If you know the package it came bundled with, you can also engage the developer who thought it was a cool idea to bundle his excellent product with something that only annoys and irritates.
Bottom line is that almost no one would choose to install these crap apps...I had to clean up my mother's PC which had lost nearly half of the real estate on her browser to unwanted toolbars.
It is exploitation of the weak...seriously not cool in my book.
One comment -- SweetIM is MOST CERTAINLY, UNQUESTIONABLY malware.
It's designed to be installed surreptitiously onto one's computer, is tricky to uninstall, and even when uninstalled, it still co-opts browser behavior (e.g. - the New Tab action will take you to the SweetIM search screen even tho' the home screen has been reset -- and this was AFTER I went through the registry and deleted every key (that I could find) associated with SweetIM).
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(cont.)
Final note: speaking of AppData, in my search I noticed the following strange folder:
C:%USERPROFILE%AppDataRoaming.#
That's exactly what it looks like, a dot and a hash symbol. I deleted it because its date/time stamp indicated to me there was a good chance it was associated with SweetPacks. So far so good, but I would suggest users only delete the "EE…" folder under ProgramData first, then wait a couple days to see if it worked. If so, maybe leave the ".#" folder alone, just in case.
- Michael M.
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(cont.) … different is because HERE, BELOW, i the main thing that was missing from the instructions above to completely rid my system of this thing: deleted THIS folder …
C:\ProgramData\ EE3D7B4619\
Notice the similar "EE…" beginning.
I suspect it will be news to some people that they even have a
C:\ProgramData\
folder, because it's hidden and (on my system) still doesn't show when I set the OS to show hidden files. Also because most everyone associates application data with
C:\%USERPROFILE%\AppData
only. (cont.)
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Oh you were SO close :) Two things:
First, it is possible, likely even, that the alphanumeric code above (EEE6C35B-6118-11DC-9C72-001320C79847) will be different for different users. Unfortunately it's too late for me to confirm that now, because my own efforts at cleansing my system from this horrible thing included cleaning the registry from different points of attack, so when I discovered this page on this site my registry already had the lines pertaining to SweetPacks removed.
But the reason I think the codes may be … (cont.)
Well this virus keeps popping up every time I open Chrome. I can still use Chrome but this sweetim thing tags along in a separate tab.
I followed your directions yet I cannot find any trace of sweetim in the 'program and features' menu or in the 'extensions' menu. It's as if it's hiding in another file, and it refuses to be found.
I'm not game to manually try and get rid of it because I have no idea how and I don't want to cause any damage to my computer. I don't know what to do.
Can someone please help?