Should I remove Kiwee Toolbar for Internet Explorer?

Lifespan of installation (until removal)

Versions

Version	Distribution
3.3	34.62%
3.2	57.69%
3.1	3.85%
3.0	3.85%

Other programs by AG Interactive

• Kiwee Toolbar for Firefox
• Kiwee Chatbar
• Audiograbber MP3-Plugin
• Webshots Desktop
• Audiograbber Lame-MP3-Plugin
• Webshots Daily Features
• Webshots
• Webshots Toolbar for IE
• Webshots Toolbar for Firefox
• Webshots Widget
• WebshotsDesktop

from AG Interactive, Inc.

Remove Kiwee Toolbar for Internet Explorer by A...

The Kiwee Toolbar is a brower based add-on owned by American Greetings. Once installed in Microsoft Windows, this toolbar cannot be removed by regular means. There are a large number of questions posted in different Internet forums asking how to remove it, as well as specialized guides and videos showing how achieve this. Kiwee toolbar is potentially dangerous because it may install additional malware onto the compromised computer and collect user-identifying information possibly resulting in privacy violations and identity theft. American Greetings bundled the toolbar with the Webshots Desktop Application (a free program that users could then download from their site to manage their online pictures) to help install the controverted Kiwee Toolbar as part of a software update for this program.

The most common release is 3.2, with over 98% of all installations currently using this version. Upon being installed, the software adds a Windows Service which is designed to run continuously in the background. Manually stopping the service has been seen to cause the program to stop functing properly. It adds a background controller service that is set to automatically run. Delaying the start of this service is possible through the service manager. It adds a Browser Helper Object (BHO) to Internet Explorer. The primary executable is named AGCoreService.exe. A majority of users end up uninstalling this less than a week of it being installed. The setup package generally installs about 21 files and is usually about 2.21 MB (2,316,168 bytes).

Displayed publisher: AG Interactive

URL: www1.kiwee.com

Help link: www1.kiwee.com/faq

Installation folder: C:\Program Files\agi\core\4.2.0.10753

Uninstaller: C:\Program Files\AGI\core\4.2.0.10753\InstallerGUI.exe uninstall UnifiedToolbar UnifiedToolbarIE

Estimated size: 2.21 MB

AGCoreService.exe
Memory:	15.39 MB	21.09 MB average
Total CPU:	0.0006585687%	0.031193% average
Kernel CPU:	0.00024805%	0.016088% average
User CPU:	0.00041051%	0.015104% average
Switches/sec:	1	70 average
I/O reads/min:	4.68 KB	435.61 KB average
I/O writes/min:	4 Bytes	105.02 KB average

1. On the Start menu (for Windows 8, right-click the screen's bottom-left corner), click Control Panel, and then, under Programs, do one of the following:
• Windows Vista/7/8/10: Click Uninstall a Program.
• Windows XP: Click Add or Remove Programs.
2. When you find the program Kiwee Toolbar for Internet Explorer, click it, and then do one of the following:
• Windows Vista/7/8/10: Click Uninstall.
• Windows XP: Click the Remove or Change/Remove tab (to the right of the program).
3. Follow the prompts. A progress bar shows you how long it will take to remove Kiwee Toolbar for Internet Explorer.
4. If for some reason uninstallation fails, please install Microsoft's uninstall fixer utility which will help fix problems with programs that can't be uninstalled at support.microsoft.com.

1. Open Internet Explorer and click the Tools button, and then click Internet options.
2. Click the Advanced tab, and then click Reset. Select the Delete personal settings check box if you would also like to remove search providers, Accelerators and home pages. When Internet Explorer finishes applying default settings, click Close, and then click OK.
3. The changes will take effect the next time you open IE.

1. At the top of the Firefox window, click the Firefox button, go over to the Help sub-menu and select Troubleshooting Information.
2. To continue, click Reset Firefox in the confirmation window that opens. It will close and be reset.
3. When it's done, a window will list the information that was imported. Click Finish and Firefox will open.

1. Open Chrome and click the Chrome menu on the browser toolbar.
2. Select Settings. In the "Search" section, click Manage search engine. Check if (Default) is displayed next to your preferred search engine. If not, mouse over it and click Make default. Mouse over any other suspicious search engine entries that are not familiar and click X to remove them.
3. When the "Show Home button" checkbox is selected, a web address appears below it. If you want the Homepage button to open up a different webpage, click Change to enter a link.
4. Restart Google Chrome.

OS VERSIONS Win Vista (SP2) 38% Win Vista 4%

HOW IT RUNS Windows Service? Yes (Installs a service)

USER ACTIONS Uninstall it 77% Keep it 23%

Which Windows OS versions does it run on?

United States	24.14%
Mexico	13.79%
Italy	13.79%
France	6.90%
Australia	6.90%
Germany	6.90%
Canada	6.90%
Belgium	3.45%
Spain	3.45%
Netherlands	3.45%
DK	3.45%
China	3.45%
Peru	3.45%

What PC manufacturers (OEMs) have it installed?

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