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Dear MS Answers,
One of the things that always seemed to slow down my Toshiba Laptop with Windows 8.1 was the presence of the Pokki games and Start Menu application. I have had the system for about nine months. It was from Best Buy. Today, Windows Defender notified me of three attempts by Pokki to try to change my browser's homepage and stopped each of them, in addition to completely removing the Pokki elements from my computer. My system is much faster because of this.
Why is this malware garbage even bundled on a laptop in the first place? It sure seems to be more of a distraction than a help. Although I read that some customers like the conveyance of the Pokki Start Menu, the overwhelming consensus seems to be that it should not be a part of the Windows 8/8.1 experience.
I am glad that Windows Defender now recognizes this bloatware as malware and can remove it. What have the community's issues been with this software and its applications?
Satch
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
Acquired Pokki Start Menu without my knowledge, pleased to know that it can be removed using Windows Defender.
Since upgrading to 10 I am unable to turn Windows Defender on, I have tried to turn it on using services.msc, (after disabling Avast anti virus software) to give me access Windows Defender restart, what I get is error 577, so I'm stuck. Is it safe to remove Pokki Start Menu using Window 10 uninstall program? Before trying to resolve the defender issue?
Brian
Windows Defender Detects Pokki Applets and Start Menu icon as Malware...
Malware or PUP?
Start Menu by Pokki may or may not have "come bundled" on your computer. [Norton & McAfee free-trials also "come bundled" on many new OEM computers. You do NOT have to use or activate any of these applications: The computer belongs to you, not the OEM.]
Related: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/02/25/lenovo_pokki/
There's certain plenty of threads about Start Menu by Pokki in these forums! => http://goo.gl/PhCAio
Cite:
< QP>
The Start Menu Updated pop-up ads are caused by the Pokki program, which might have been installed on your computer by another program. This program is typically added when you install another free software (video recording, download-managers or PDF creators) that had bundled into their installation this potentially unwanted program.
When Start Menu from Pokki is installed, whenever you will start your computer, a “Start Menu Updated” will randomly pop-up. The Start Menu Updated will display a change log, and will offer you to install an additional program. If you click on the “OK”, “Run Update” or “Click to install now” button, apart of installing an update, you’ll agree to download an adware or a browser hijacker onto your computer...
< /QP>
Source: http://malwaretips.com/blogs/remove-start-menu-updated-popup/
Hi
Thanks for your solution. I will let you know how I get on,
Brian
Hi Brian,
Did you upgrade to Windows 10 from a prior version of Windows? Or did you get a new computer OEM (Manufacturer Direct) with Windows 10 already on the system?
In EITHER case, if you went through the Windows Update to get Windows 10, or you get a new computer with Windows 10, make sure that you have completely removed Avast from the system. (Just disabling it will not work.) For example, all new Dells come with a pre-installed version of McAfee Anti-Virus. A 12-24 month trial version. In order to get Windows Defender to work, and to resolve potential conflicts with two Anti-Viruses running in real time, you need to do the following:
1.) Go to Control Panel and check the list for any instances of competing AV programs. You have Avast, so you will need to uninstall it Uninstall Avast from Control Panel/Remove Programs. (Remove All Avast products. from the Control Panel Programs List.)
2.) Reboot your computer.
3.) Use the Avast Software Removal Tool. Here is the link to the removal tool for Avast from their website:https://www.avast.com/en-us/uninstall-utility This tool will find and remove traces of the Avast program that the uninstall program feature in Windows Control Panel might have missed.
4.) Here is a link showing you how to boot into Safe Mode to run the Avast Software Removal Tool for both Windows 8 and Windows 10:
http://www.howtogeek.com/107511/how-to-boot-into-safe-mode-on-windows-8-the-easy-way/
5.) Get the tool and follow the prompts to run and remove any fragments of your AV that may still be on the computer.
6.) Reboot again.
7.) Future Tip- To help prevent going to a bad site in a web search, I use My Web of Trust or My WOT, which places color coded ratings next to web searches in site results. Green is good, Yellow is caution, and Red or Black is bad. You can also register with the My WOT community and leave your own ratings. It doesn't work with MS Edge yet, unfortunately. If you are interested here are details about the program:
8.) Now after booting up, can you get into Windows Defender? If you can, update the Definitions and run a scan. It should find the Pokki software and remove it.
Jack
You may open Windows Defender and under History check the name of the malware and with that you could look for more details online (there is a link to more details about the malware) details like when it has been discovered and latest signature and so on. Windows Defender keep getting updates everyday.
