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Q: A pop-up and sound-up associated with “Crackle” have invaded my computer and are driving me crazy.  There is no convenient way to turn Crackle off, but even when I manage to stop the intrusion, it comes back within minutes.  My search on the Internet reveals software which is touted as being free, safe, and effective but I am afraid they will deposit another pile without stopping Crackle. There are also instructions on how to do it manually but they involve going into the registry and I lack the appetite, skill and courage for so doing.

Crackle is not a program on the “Program Delete” feature of my computer’s control panel (I am using Windows 10 which, for other reasons has been an adventure).  How can I get rid of this creature from hell?

–Doug B.
Niceville, Florida

 

A: (Doug followed-up with another e-mail stating that he had so many other issues with his computer that he was taking it in to a professional repair shop to have it taken care of.  Nevertheless, I think there is some value in answering Doug’s question for anyone else who is having issues with Crackle, or other similar malware.)

Crackle bills itself as a video streaming website, claiming to offer a huge collection of music and videos.  Reports I’ve read indicate you are unlikely to ever get any real benefit out of joining, as the site seems to be more involved with delivering ads, and hijacking your browser destinations.  As far as how it got on your system, Crackle is bundled with various adware and other potentially unwanted programs, so the unfortunate reality is that you probably clicked a dialog box without reading it, and approved the installation.  Remember what I always say: when something is going to be making modifications or installing something on your computer, which is not the time to be in a hurry to get past it.  Make sure you read everything in every dialog that’s displayed, and back out of it if it’s trying to get you to install something you didn’t ask for.

The fact that it doesn’t appear on the list of installed programs in your Control Panel doesn’t surprise me.  It probably was there at one time and you tried to uninstall it, but most malware doesn’t behave like legitimate software.  Rather than removing itself, it simply removed the entry from the list, leaving all of its pieces sitting in your registry and your browsers, ready to keep doing all of its annoying stuff.

 

As you said, it can be removed manually, or by an automated tool.  When you wrote to me, you seem to have rejected both of those options, but if you want to get rid of it, you’ll have to choose one of them whether you like it or not, because it’s not going anywhere on its own.  One legitimate tool (which is to say, one that I personally know will not “deposit another pile” in your computer) is MalwareBytes Antimalware.  You can download it on their website at Malwarebytes.org.

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