Annoying Little PUP wont go away

[REDACTED]

Hello, its only been a little over a month since I've posted (I must have some bad luck), but I seem to have a little issue again.  I noticed that my laptop was running a little slow so I ran a MBAM scan and it showed that I have a PUP.  I don't know where it came from as I don't recall downloading a program recently.  I've tried to delete it multiple times, but every MBAM scan shows that it won't go away.  I don't know if it's harmful or not so I am a little worried.

I've attached all the logs from the scans below

[REDACTED]

And here's the aswMBR

[TwinHeadedEagle]

Hello,


Scan with ZOEK

Please download ZOEK by Smeenk and save it to your desktop (preferred version is the *.exe one)
Temporary disable your AntiVirus and AntiSpyware protection - instructions here.

• Right-click on icon and select Run as Administrator to start the tool.
  
• Wait patiently until the main console will appear, it may take a minute or two.
• In the main box please paste in the following script:

Code: [Select]

createsrpoint;
autoclean;
emptyalltemp;
chrdefaults;
ipconfig /flushdns;b

• Make sure that Scan All Users option is checked.
  
• Push Run Script and wait patiently. The scan may take a couple of minutes.
  
• When the scan completes, a zoek-results logfile should open in notepad.
  
• If a reboot is needed, it will be opened after it. You may also find it at your main drive (usually C:\ drive)

Post its content into your next reply.

[REDACTED]

After the zoek reboot, my laptop seems to be running faster and smoother.  Thank you! I re-installed my old extenstions (avast, adblock, adblock plus, popup blocker) as they were gone after reboot.  Is that okay?  Also, was it malware making my laptop slow?

Also, I've attached the zoek results below.

[TwinHeadedEagle]

Yes, we removed some malware from your PC.

Is everything fine now?

[REDACTED]

Yes, everything seems to be fine now!  Thank you very much!  Could you tell me what kind of malware it was and where it was hiding and possibly where it would have come from (weird sites, download etc)?  I would like to be more careful.

[TwinHeadedEagle]

Probably by downloading some program bundled with Adware.

[REDACTED]

Ah, I see.  Thank you very much! I'll try to be more careful in the future

[mchain]

I've found this program to be useful in preventing PUP's installing along with the desired downloaded program:  http://unchecky.com/

Since you now know so-called 'free' programs sometimes come with a 'hidden cost' maybe consider not downloading and running such programs?  Unchecky will help if you do so anyway, but try to do without, if possible.      Your laptop will thank you for it.