ChatZum is a Potentially Unwanted Program that installs a Toolbar into your browser. This program allegedly allows users to zoom in on photos without clicking on them, however, upon further research, it was discovered that this function does not work on the latest version of browsers.
From the Author: ChatZum is a Browser add-on (toolbar) that enables its users to hover over images in Major Social network's websites and view a larger version of an image.
While installing this toolbar will track user web browsing sessions and will record website visits, clicks, and sometimes even personal information. This information is later used to display targeted ads to the user. To allow easier user tracking, the program changes the browser home page and default search engine to Nation Search Advanced, which injects additional advertisements and tracks user activity.
Several anti-virus applications have marked this program as Potentially Unwanted, and it is not recommended to keep it on your computer, especially considering the fact it will most likely not work on your browser.
About Potentially Unwanted Applications
If you have ever installed a free application or shareware, chances are high that the computer will get installed with a bunch of unwanted applications. A Potentially Unwanted Program, also called PUP, in short, is actually software that contains adware, installs toolbars, or has got other hidden objectives. These types of programs are generally bundled up with a free application that you download from the internet or may also be bundled inside the custom installers of many download websites.
PUPs aren’t always viewed as “pure” malware in the strictest sense. A fundamental difference between PUP and malware is distribution. Malware is normally dropped by silent installation vectors like drive-by downloads while PUP gets installed with the consent of the computer user, who knowingly or unknowingly approves the PUP installation on their computer system. But, there is no doubt that PUPs remain bad news for PC users as it could be quite dangerous to your computer in many ways.
The damage PUPs can do
The unwanted programs after installation display numerous annoying pop-up ads, trigger fake alerts, and sometimes even forces a computer owner to pay for the software. PUPs that come as browser add-ons and toolbars are commonly recognizable. These toolbars alter your homepage and your search engine in the installed web browser, track your web activities, modify your search results with redirects and sponsored links, and eventually slow down your browser and diminish your browsing experience.
Potentially unwanted programs use aggressive distribution methods to get onto your computer. The worst part of setting up a PUP is the adware, spyware, and keystroke loggers that could lurk inside. Even if the PUPs really aren’t inherently malicious, these applications still do practically nothing good on your PC – they’ll take valuable system resources, slow down your PC, weaken your computer security, making your PC more vulnerable to malware.
How to avoid ‘crapware’
• Read the EULA thoroughly. Look for clauses that state that you have to accept advertising and pop-ups or bundled applications from the company.
• Always opt for the custom if you’re offered an option between “Custom” and “Recommended” Installations – never ever click Next, Next, Next thoughtlessly.
• Use a good anti-malware application. Try Safebytes Anti-malware which can find PUPs and treat them as malware by flagging them for deletion.
• Be alert if you download and install freeware, open-source applications, or shareware. Do not ever install software applications that seem shady or malicious.
• Always download applications from the original website. The majority of PUPs find their way onto your laptop or computer is via download portals, so steer clear of it altogether.
Remember the fact that even though PUPs could potentially cause damage and hinder the proper functioning of the PC, they can’t enter into your system without your consent, so be alert not to provide them with it.
How One Can Get rid of Malware that is Blocking Websites or Preventing Downloads
Malware could potentially cause many kinds of damage to PCs, networks, and data. Some malware goes to great lengths to stop you from downloading or installing anything on your computer, especially antivirus software. If you’re reading this article, odds are you’re stuck with a malware infection that is preventing you to download or install the Safebytes Anti-Malware program on your PC. Even though this sort of problem can be tougher to circumvent, there are some steps you can take.
Make use of Safe Mode to resolve the issue
If the malware is set to run automatically when Microsoft Windows starts, stepping into safe mode could block the attempt. Just minimal required programs and services are loaded when you boot your computer in Safe Mode. To launch your Windows XP, Vista, or 7 computers in Safe Mode with Networking, do as instructed below.
1) Tap the F8 key repeatedly as soon as your PC boots, however, before the big Windows logo or black screen with white texts come up. This would invoke the Advanced Boot Options menu.
2) Choose Safe Mode with Networking with arrow keys and hit ENTER.
3) When this mode loads, you should have the internet. Now, obtain the malware removal program you want by utilizing the web browser. To install the program, follow the guidelines in the installation wizard.
4) Right after installation, do a full scan and allow the software program to get rid of the threats it detects.
Switch to an alternate internet browser
Some malware mainly targets certain browsers. If this is your situation, employ another internet browser as it might circumvent the computer virus. When you suspect that your Internet Explorer has been hijacked by a trojan or otherwise compromised by online hackers, the best thing to do is to switch over to an alternate internet browser such as Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, or Apple Safari to download your chosen security program – Safebytes Anti-Malware.
Create a portable USB antivirus for eliminating viruses
Another technique is to download and transfer an antivirus application from a clean computer to run a scan on the infected computer. Follow these steps to run the anti-malware on the affected computer.
1) Download the anti-malware on a virus-free PC.
2) Connect the flash drive to a USB slot on the clean computer.
3) Double click on the exe file to run the installation wizard.
4) Choose the USB stick as the location for saving the file. Follow the instructions on the screen to finish off the installation process.
5) Now, transfer the flash drive to the infected computer.
6) Run the Safebytes Anti-malware directly from the USB drive by double-clicking the icon.
7) Click the “Scan Now” button to start the virus scan.
Protect your PC from Malware With SafeBytes Security Suite
If you are looking to install an anti-malware program for your PC, there are lots of tools in the market to consider nonetheless, you just cannot trust blindly anyone, regardless of whether it is a paid or free program. A few of them are great but there are several scamware applications that pretend as authentic anti-malware programs waiting around to wreak havoc on your PC. You have to pick a company that develops industry-best anti-malware and it has earned a reputation as reliable. One of the highly recommended applications by industry analysts is SafeBytes Anti-Malware, the safest program for Microsoft Windows.
SafeBytes can be described as a highly effective, real-time antivirus application that is made to assist the average computer user in protecting their PC from malicious internet threats. Through its cutting-edge technology, this software will help you protect your computer against infections brought on by various kinds of malware and other internet threats, including spyware, adware, trojans, worms, computer viruses, keyloggers, ransomware, and potentially unwanted program (PUPs).
There are many wonderful features you’ll get with this particular security product. Listed below are some of the features you will like in SafeBytes.
Active Protection: SafeBytes offers a completely hands-free active protection and is set to observe, block, and kill all computer threats at its very first encounter. It will check your PC for suspicious activity at all times and its unrivaled firewall shields your computer from illegal entry by the outside world.
Robust, Anti-malware Protection: Using a critically acclaimed malware engine, SafeBytes offers multilayered protection which is made to catch and remove threats that are concealed deep inside your PC.
Web Security: Safebytes allots all sites a unique safety ranking that helps you to get an idea of whether the webpage you’re just about to visit is safe to view or known to be a phishing site.
Extremely Speed Scanning: SafeBytes’s virus scan engine is among the fastest and most efficient in the industry. It's targeted scanning significantly increases the catch rate for viruses which is embedded in various computer files.
Lightweight: SafeBytes is really lightweight software. It consumes an extremely small amount of processing power as it runs in the background which means you will not observe any computer performance difficulties.
24/7 Support: For any technical concerns or product assistance, you may get 24/7 expert assistance via chat and email.
To sum it up, SafeBytes Anti-Malware offers outstanding protection combined with an acceptable low system resources usage with both great malware detection and prevention. You now may realize that this particular tool does more than just scan and remove threats from your computer. You will get the best all-around protection for the money you pay on SafeBytes AntiMalware subscription, there’s no question about it.
Technical Details and Manual Removal (Advanced Users)
If you wish to do the removal of ChatZum manually rather than using an automated software tool, you can follow these simple steps: Navigate to the Windows Control Panel, click the “Add/Remove Programs” and there, choose the offending application to remove. In case of suspicious versions of web browser plug-ins, you can easily get rid of it through your web browser’s extension manager. You might also want to reset your home page and search providers, as well as delete browsing history, temporary files, and cookies.
If you choose to manually remove the system files and Windows registry entries, use the following list to make sure you know exactly what files to remove before undertaking any actions. Please note that only advanced users should try to manually edit the system files mainly because removing any single vital registry entry results in a serious problem or even a PC crash. In addition, certain malware is capable of replicating itself or preventing its removal. Doing this malware-removal process in Safe Mode is recommended.
Files:
Search And Delete:
tbcore3.dll
arrow_refresh.png
basis.xml
chatzum.dll
info.txt
inst.tmp
loaderie.js
suggestion_plugin.dll
TbCommonUtils.dll
tbcore3.dll
tbhelper.dll
TbHelper2.exe
uninstall.exe
uninstaller.exe
update.exe
Folders:
C:\Program Files\ChatZum Toolbar\
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\gb5e8gtn.default\extensions\staged\ADFA33FD-16F5-4355-8504-DF4D664CFE83
Registry:
Key HKLM\SOFTWARE\ChatZum Toolbar
Key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ChatZum Toolbar
Netflix was one that made streaming service standard and even after some stumbles even today it is still a respected service.
It would be very difficult to even start a free eMail list without mentioning Google's Gmail. Introduced all the way back in 2004 as an invite-only service it became over time the most popular email platform largely due to the fact Google is offering free eMail accounts.
There are a lot of good things to be said about Gmail itself, most of the area is clutter-free and the largest space is reserved for eMail itself letting users focus on what is important. WEB client itself means that you do not need to have any application installed on your device, altho via Google chrome, you can use Gmail offline offering you flexibility if needed.
The ability to connect and manage other accounts like Outlook, Yahoo, etc is just making Gmail even more attractive, and the snooze feature is a really neat little detail that will pause eMail notifications if you need to focus on other things.
Lack of organizing messages into folders is a little confusing since Gmail offers its own unique label system but sometimes I need to have old reliable save eMail to folder.
All in all, Gmail is a great service and it offers a great eMail on the go experience.
Free Windows eMail client simply called Mail is what was once outlook express. Mail itself has the ability to work with other popular accounts like Google Gmail account, Yahoo, iCloud etc. How it comes with Windows OS and it integrates very well with Microsoft Calendar, this eMail client is for many the first choice.
On the negative side, I might say this is a strip-down version of Outlook which is paid solution so some features are missing if we would compare the two.
Overall, a simple and nice eMail client worth your time, especially if you are on the Windows platform.
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It is also fueled by Mozilla community focusing on privacy and security. It can work with any mail service and it is lightweight with a clean look, altho the look itself can be heavily customized.
The bad side is that client itself relies on email services to provide cloud-based emails, so if you are receiving your email via a service that does not have a cloud-based service in itself all of your received emails will be locked to the computer where you have received them. Also customizing it can be sometimes a little too technical for the average computer user.
All in all, Thunderbird is one great eMail client and it would be a shame not to use it because of its technical side, if you need a reliable and secure eMail client on a single machine, look no further than Thunderbird.
Outlook comes as a part of the Microsoft Office suite and as one of the oldest eMail clients, it is still widely popular and adopted through many users and businesses. It has tight integration with all Microsoft services and full integration with Calendar making it one of the if not the best eMail client out there.
Outlook also has a free online service completely free for personal use as well.
The downside is that you can not get it as a separate product if you want a business version other than as a part of the Office suite.
The final verdict would be that this is perhaps the best eMail client out but the big downside is that there is no desktop version outside the Office suite.
eM Client offers a wide array of features, including a calendar, contacts, and chat. Support is provided for all the major email services including Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud, and Outlook.com. The latest version also offers PGP encryption, live backup, basic image editing capabilities, and auto-replies for Gmail.
Its automatic system makes it very easy to get emails from other services since there is no manual setting, all that is needed is to type in your email and eM Client will do everything else automatically.
A one-time purchase is not pricy and it could offer some features that some free clients are missing. Go check it out with a free trial and see if it is for you.
This eMail client's main focus is the simplicity of use with visual appeal while tackling multiple eMail accounts. It has many built-in apps along with a customizable interface. Unlike some more Microsoft-centric email clients, Mailbird Business supports a diverse range of integrated apps, including WhatsApp, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, and Slack, all making for a better-streamlined workflow.
The downside of this client is the yearly subscription plan. I think people, in general, want to get away from software subscription plans so I will include this as a downside but bear in mind it is downside just in terms of a business plan not in the client itself.
Inky is eMail client if you are looking for security. It uses AI along with machine learning in order to block all types of phishing attacks that can get through to other clients. The proprietary machine learning technology can literally read an email to determine if it has phishing content, and then is able to quarantine the email or deliver it with the malicious links disabled. It also takes things a step further and offers an analytics dashboard, which allows an administrator to see patterns of attacks based on dates, or targeted users.
The downside is that client itself is so much focused on security that sometimes some nonsecurity features get overlooked and provide a poor experience but if you need a good and greatly secured eMail client Inky is one to check out. 
However, if you are working on a computer with a keyboard and mouse this feature might annoy you and seem like something that is not needed. Like many things inside Windows 11 this feature also can be customized and turned OFF if you do not want it.
In this guide, we will see how to turn these boxes off. Microsoft has somewhat hidden this feature but luckily it is not difficult to find it if you know where to look.
