MediaAccess is not only spyware, its crap spyware

I just had great fun manually removing MediaAccess from my computer. And I actually mean fun. Spybot hadn’t detected it (there’s all sorts of rumours that the spy-sweeper manufacturers have been slipped envelopes of cash to leave out particular spyware, but I doubt if that’s happened here), but I knew the two .exe files that were responsible, and it was a simple case of restarting in Safe Mode, using XP’s default Administrator account and deleting the offending programs along with a single registry key. That’s it. Honestly, you’d think that if they’re putting this stuff on your computer illegally they’d at least make an effort, I’ve had M$ software that’s harder to remove than this!

17 Responses to “MediaAccess is not only spyware, its crap spyware”

  1. The Sale of Kazaa

    Team Sharman came to court today with a strategic shift in direction: the revolution would now be a secret. Their legal team presented a draft set of undertakings designed to suppress non-confidential documents from the media. It could have been…

  2. Lisa Says:

    MediaAccK.exe on my computer. Can you please help me and tell me how to remove it?

    Thanks.

    L

  3. ManyTwos Says:

    Then again, it’s a good thing they are half-ass jobs. Sort of slows down the brain race if you know what I mean.

  4. afv Says:

    I removed it just on Control Panel’s Add/Remove Programs… +=

  5. MS Anti Spyware- surprisingly good

    After my reformat a few weeks ago, Micro$ucks anti-spyware decided that it did want to work after all. It is a very good program. Spybot, as much as I hate to admit it, just doesn’t catch a lot of stuff (such as the MediaAccess spyware I mentioned in …

  6. steven Says:

    thanks- i never thought to look in the registry.

  7. Mr_Cynical Says:

    before anyone asks, I do not have the faintest idea why my first comment is appearing in bold. There are no bold tags anywhere in the comment, and it doesn’t do this when I create a list in any other comments. Oh, who cares, you can all read it right?

  8. Thaqalain Says:

    I removed it just on Control Panel

  9. luis Says:

    Hello
    sorry for my english but i need to tell something:
    I dont know who was mediaAccess until appears on my PC. Was discovered by AVAST antivirus 4.06 who healead and disappear from the computer.
    I am using this antivirus since one month and is superior to all known in the market.
    thanks
    bye

  10. That is interesting to know- many antivirus programs (including AVG, which I use) do not detect or remove MediaAccess, so if Avast is doing this it could eventually be the end of separate anti spyware programs such as MSAS, Spybot and AdAware

  11. John Read Says:

    Glad you had success removing Mediaaccess and Mediaacck. I have both on my Windows ME. Can you help me remove them?

    I use Spybot and Ad-aware, but they did not find these programs. Symantec anti-virus similarly found no virus on my computer.

    Thanks,
    John

  12. Mr_Cynical Says:

    First of all, ditch Nortons, its a piece of crap.

    Secondly, ME is slightly different but the basic idea is the same- start up in safe mode so that MediaAccess doesn’t load itself.

    Restart your computer

    As soon as the power comes back on (ie you get the black screen with text etc.), hold down F8

    Eventually the Startup Menu will appear, from which you can choose Safe Mode (safe mode might make your startup take longer, and look a bit strange)

    When your computer starts up (you’ll probably get a Warning box saying your computer is in safe mode, that’s fine), press the Windows and R buttons at the same time (to bring up the Run menu) and type regedit

    into the box

    When the Registry Editor opens, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun

    The right side of the window will now have a list of items and where they are on your hard disk. You should see at least one (possibly two) related to MediaAccess- first of all note down the file path it mentions (usually the unimaginative C:Program FilesMediaAccess) and then delete them

    Find the files on your hard disc (at the path you noted down at the previous step) and delete them. Remember to delete them from the Recycle Bin too!

    Restart your computer normally, and (assuming your computer is working), delete any System Restore checkpoints that you have, because they will have MediaAccess stored in them and if you use System Restore they will re-infect you

    If you are using System Restore, you should now create a new checkpoint (since your computer is now MediaAccess free you will have a ‘clean’ checkpoint to restore to

    EDIT: Don’t know why it does that bold thing. Grr.

  13. Ana Says:

    Can you tell me how to dlte media access from windws 98, I’m having a hard time doing it.
    ThankYou!

  14. If you follow the same instructions for Windows ME, as it is just Windows 98 with System Restore added on. I’ll re-add the relevant instructions here:

    Restart your computer

    As soon as the power comes back on (ie you get the black screen with text etc.), hold down F8
    Eventually the Startup Menu will appear, from which you can choose Safe Mode (safe mode might make your startup take longer, and look a bit strange) Important: if you have a keyboard (such as the MS Multimedia Keyboard) that assigns specific functions (e.g. Help, Undo, Redo) to the F Number keys, your ‘F Lock’ key must be ON (press it as soon as your power comes on, otherwise F8 will not be recognised)

    When your computer starts up (you’ll probably get a Warning box saying your computer is in safe mode, that’s fine), press the Windows and R buttons at the same time (to bring up the Run menu) and type regedit
    into the box

    When the Registry Editor opens, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun

    The right side of the window will now have a list of items and where they are on your hard disk. You should see at least one (possibly two) related to MediaAccess- first of all note down the file path it mentions (usually the unimaginative C:Program FilesMediaAccess) and then delete them

    Find the files on your hard disc (at the path you noted down at the previous step) and delete them. Remember to delete them from the Recycle Bin too!

    Restart your computer (to get it out of Safe Mode)

  15. Mr B. Says:

    Thanks for the heads up on de-installing Media Acces. I agree with Mr. Cynical, Nortin has outlived its usefulness. Has the memory footprint of “sasquatch”. It slows everything down.

  16. royi Says:

    hello
    I have win xp and MSANTISPYWARE find me the “mediaAccess” in my computer I tried to del the files in “program filesmediaAccess” and from my registery bu that “mediaAccess” don”t want to fly out of my computer I tried to enter to my account in “safe mode” and to do it again but that thing don”t want to get out of my computer do U have any suggestions to help me before I”ll use the magic key “format”
    thanks to everyone who will try to help me
    royi

  17. Mr_Cynical Says:

    First of all I would suggest using the other two main anti-spyware applications (both free):

    Ad-Aware SE Personal
    Spybot Search & Destroy

    These may be able to remove it for you even if MS Antispyware couldn’t. Secondly, you should make sure that MediaAccess is not being loaded when your computer turns on:

    Go to Start –> Run and type msconfig

    In the ‘System Configuration’ that appears, click ‘Startup’

    Look at the list and make sure that anything to do with MediaAccess is NOT ticked.

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