Remove ViewPoint Media Player. Removal instructions

it wont let me delete AxMetaStream.dll it say sanother program is using it and try again after i remove those... any help???

I had the same issue...and through logic thought that is AIM installed it, it might be using it. I closed AOL and was able to delete the file without issue.

I removed Viewpoint Media Player from add and remove program, but then I could not delete the additional files associated with it.

Thak you so much to the clever person who suggested removing AIM. That does the trick.



Only problem is, that it still displays viewpoint toolbar option in internet explorer.



Damn viewpoint has screwed up my computer. I hate AOL.

Tried a search for them dlls, but theyr not there. I did though remove the program from my control panel..

A note: I was greeted this morning by a nice little widow informing me that 'viewpoint meida player has been updated, search for new updates?" - and this machine only has the "SWFView.dll" on it.
Based on my experience with other machines here, it seems that until you "search for updates", the other files aren't installed.

This pest lies in 3 areas besides the Add/Remove programs. In the programs file directly, also in the Windows folder under: All users/Applications Data, And the main program is in the programs folder in Aol/jiti.

Same thing happened to me, I got a nice, random message saying Update, from Viewpoint Media Player. I promptly restarted computer, restored computer to 3 weeks before, and deleted all files related to Viewpoint. I also got rid of AIM, it was the cause and is so crappy to put spyware on my machine.

I had this on my old computer, I let one of my parents use my computer to be nice and they freaked out when the update thing appeared (I was killing it with Cntrl alt del) and the other one promised to get rid of it, then okayed the evil task bar update. Thankfully I stopped them when it appeared this time round on my new comp, I didn't know AIM caused it, so far as I know it didn't used to, but thanks, very helpful comments here. I'm going to let my friends know about this.

Welcome Mlzullig ...

Connecting to server. Please wait...

Connected to tech-c.mhi.aol.com

Welcome to America Online's customer service, a customer service consultant will be with you shortly.

TechLiveGISH has joined this session!

Hello, Marj. Welcome to Live Technical Support. My name is Gary.

Mlzullig stated the question or problem as: How do I completely and forever remove "Viewpoint Media Player"? I understand this parasite is from AIM..

Are you signed on with the same computer that you need assistance with?

You say, Yes

TechLiveGISH says, Could you please elaborate the issue that you are experiencing? I will make sure that you receive

all necessary help.

You say, Viewpoint Media Player cannot be removed through Add/Delete or from purchased Spyware programs.

You say, I have tried "Add/Remove," the spyware provided through AOL, and additional spyware that I have purchased

.

You say, I have even tried to delete the separate files that are suggested on the internet. I have been told this comes from AOL Instant Messenger.

TechLiveGISH says, Thank you for the information.

TechLiveGISH says, Could you please tell me what happens when you try to remove by using add/remove program.

You say, Supposedly it removes the program but as soon as I shut down and reboot, the program appears again.

You say, Here is the URL for a website that I purchased additional software from to try and remove this - www.2-

spyware.com/remove-viewpoint-media-player.html

TechLiveGISH says, Thank you for the information.

TechLiveGISH says, Are you trying to uninstall it when you are offline?

You say, I've tried to uninstall it online and offline.

TechLiveGISH says, Thank you for the information.

You say, I have never downloaded it though so why do I have it?

TechLiveGISH says, I will explain this to you,

You say, Ok

TechLiveGISH says, Viewpoint Media Player is an important file that is required by AOL.

You say, Then why does it show up as a parasite?

You say, Also, why has it just started showing up and I've never had this file before even though I've been with AOL for several years?

You say, Hello?

TechLiveGISH says, I apologize for the delay in responding to you. I'm evaluating the best possible course of action to take in resolving your concern. Thank you for your patience.

You say, This isn't difficult. This file is a parasite, it comes from AOL, people do not want it. How do I get rid of it permanently?

TechLiveGISH says, Please understand that it is not a parasite.

You say, What exactly is it for?

TechLiveGISH says, It is a file required by AOL media player.

You say, I already have a media player and didn't ask for another one.

You say, Just tell me how to get rid of this file, please.

TechLiveGISH says, Click START, then click CONTROL PANEL. Click the TOOLS menu, then click FOLDER OPTIONS. Click the VIEW tab, select SHOW HIDDEN FILES AND FOLDERS, then click OK.

TechLiveGISH says, Click ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS. Select Viewpoint Media Player (Remove Only), then click CHANGE/REMOVE. Click YES.

You say, I've done that numerous times, as I've already told you, and it doesn't work.

TechLiveGISH says, The Viewpoint media player is an integrated part of the AOL software and is required to run certain applications and that is the reason it installs again.

You say, What applications exactly is it required to run?

You say, Why can't Microsoft Media Player (or any other player) be used instead?

TechLiveGISH says, Features like AOL desktop, themes, buddy icons and many other features function due to it.

TechLiveGISH says, The function of Viewpoint media player is not exactly like Windows Media Player.

You say, Why has it never been there before?

TechLiveGISH says, Is has always been a part of AOL software but it is possible that it may be corrupt on your software and that is the reason you may be receiving some sort of error related to View point media player.

You say, In other words, it's all for AOL Instant Messaging?

TechLiveGISH says, Not only for instant messaging but also for AOL desktop themes.

You say, Well, let's start this again. AOL put a file on my computer that I didn't ask for, cannot remoeve, and may be corrupt. Get rid of it!

TechLiveGISH says, Let me explain this to you.

TechLiveGISH says, Do you use Microsoft Windows operating system?

You say, yes

TechLiveGISH says, Which is the feature you like in it the most?

You say, I have no idea. Just tell me how to get rid of this file!

TechLiveGISH says, Just like in Microsoft Windows there are many files working in the background to serve you all the features although you may not be aware which files they are, similarly there are also files responsible for the AOL software to function.

TechLiveGISH says, Viewpoint is one of them.

TechLiveGISH says, It cannot be permanently removed.

You say, Thank you so much for wasting my time and being absolutely no help whatsoever!

TechLiveGISH says, You're welcome.

The session has ended!

Viewpoint has its own removal. Just right click on the eye icon in the top right,scroll down to uninstall, it asks you to complete a survey(you can choose not to) and download the uninstaller. Reboot and it is gone. Then go in control panel, add/remove programs and make sure its not in the list.

I downloaded the free trial of scanspyware from scanspyware.net and it listed every registry key that was associated with viewpoint media player. It won't delete them unless you buy the product, but it tells you the location of the keys and you can delete them yourself. After that, I uninstall scanspyware and find its reg. keys and delete them.

Check out the MetaStreamID.ini file:
[InstallIDs]
InstallID = AdobeAtmosphere
[EULA]
EULA_Agreed = 1

[{03F998B2-0E00-11D3-A498-00104B6EB52E}]
Policy = Adobe
InstallLoc = https://components.viewpoint.com/adobe/MetaStreamComponents/

[{1B00725B-C455-4DE6-BFB6-AD540AD427CD}]
Policy = Adobe
InstallLoc = https://components.viewpoint.com/adobe/MetaStreamComponents/

[Preload]
Policy = Adobe

I booted into safe mode w/ command prompt and deleted the files. But they managed to come back.

i complained to aol about viewpoint media player telling them i was cancelling my broadband contract 3 mionths into it because of this spyware. the reply was its not spyware its adware was said to me. the guy said he was indian and didnt understand english very well. my complaints have worked and i no longer have viewpoint because they swent me some update and seems to be gone

http://www.unicast.com/company/privacy.asp

Unicast privacy policy contains a statement concerning 3rd party cookies that is very alarming. Other than some of the fortune 500 clients, Unicast has had some very interesting past clients that are listed as adware/spyware. Viewpoint can NOT take my computer to make money.

http://www.unicast.com/company/privacy.asp

Advertising content delivered via the Unicast SUPERSTITIAL system may contain third-party cookies. Advertisers, and third party companies acting on behalf of advertisers (such as an ad serving company or an ad agency), use third-party cookies to judge the effectiveness of and target their SUPERSTITIAL ad campaigns.

While Unicast's SUPERSTITIAL format delivers the ad content which may allow a third-party cookie to be set, such cookies are not within Unicast's control and the information they collect is reported back to the third party directly, not through Unicast. Third-party cookies are placed and tracked by the advertiser or by a third-party company. Unicast does not have the access to the information tracked by third-party cookies.

Most third-party cookies anonymously track the Web browsing habits of users and their interactions with the ads they view. However, users should be aware that some cookies can collect other types of information, including personally identifiable information.

While Unicast itself does not have access to the information tracked by third-party cookies set through SUPERSTITIAL advertisements, there are cases when the third party may agree to share such information with Unicast. Such information sharing is done on an aggregate and anonymous basis, and does not include any personally indentifiable information collected by the third party.

The issue of third party cookies is a matter between the users and the advertisers and/or the third party company representing the advertiser, not involving Unicast. This information is provided by Unicast as a service to users who may be unaware of third party cookies.

I know that deleting VMP from Remove/Add, and deleting the reg. keys would probably remove the program, but what if I want to keep using AIM?
I heard that AIM would malfunction if some of the files relating with VMP were deleted.
shoot, I hate AOL!!

I will uninstall AIM because of this crap. There are better Messenger Tools (for example GAIM) with no Spyware included. I just hope enough people will do the same to make AOL understand they should never oblige us to acceppt spyware on our systems.

I do NOT, nor have ever used AIM and just got the popup to update VMP, the most recent install II did was Microsoft Media Player 10. That was some time ago though.

This shit has taken over my media play. Now i CANNOT download a media player, or anything else.

Whatever

I noticed a folder called "Viewpoint" in the 'program files' folder. I thought this was strange- 5 days ago i did a clean install of xp. I checked in 'add and remove programs for any out of place programs and found none (including the Viewporint entry that has been talked much about in this forum). After some research, I found that upon updating Acrobat Reader atmosphere component, the "Viewopint" folder is created and a few of its components are put into it. As far as I can tell, this has unaffected my computer- no internet toolbars, its not the default media player (actaully there is no player its just a few components), no CUID, no automatic updating process, etc.

Viewpoint is NOT spyware or adware. You guys have gone wayy overboard. You can disable the Viewpoint Media Player (VMP) from contacting Viewpoint (updating itself) by going in your control panel, double-clicking Viewpoint, and tell it not to auto-update their software! (Something I don't recommend.) It will no longer send anything over the internet, but will still let you see cool 3D Viewpoint media, flash or video through their player.

The Viewpoint toolbar will stop sending other search results to viewpoint if you simply click the "options" menu, click "searching" and disable the "competitive search" option! (Which allows you to get viewpoint search results AND results from whatever other engine you use AT THE SAME TIME. If your options menu doesn't work due to having WinXP SP2, go to: http://search.viewpoint.com/toolbar/features_2.html and download the SP2 Fix for the toolbar.

Viewpoint (VMP) is a key component of AOL (I've beta tested AOL for 10 years) and AIM. It's the tech. behind AOL 3D SuperBuddies, Adobe Atmosphere, Sony's 3D product models, Ford, Dodge, Toyota and many others. It is totally harmless, and works like all other media players.

AOL, AIM, Adobe and others include the player because their software won't work without it. All data sent to the player is completely anonymous, and there is no way for Viewpoint to gather any personal info on you.

From http://www.liutilities.com: ViewMgr.exe is responsible for managing/updating (VMP)’s components. Similar to Flash, Quicktime, etc. Security Risk (0-5): 0
Read article: http://www.liutilities.com/products/wintaskspro/processlibrary/ViewMgr/

AOL doesn't want to install spyware on your computer, it would be bad for their buisness. AOL 9.0 scans for spyware because its what their customers want: clean PCs. They wouldn't start installing spyware because it would hurt them if they did.Viewpoint used to be Metacreations, makers of 3D and photo programs such as Bryce, Poser, RayDream Studio, Carrara, Kai's Power tools, Painter, and much more. Viewpoint used to be called Metastream: a very cool way to view 3D content on the web. They changed the name to Viewpoint to concentrate on 3D content for the web, and sold off their software products to Corel, Curious software, Adobe and others. I've always loved their cool 3D products and even 3D models on the web. They have some of the most realistic rendering I've seen, and what was very inexpensive software.

The Viewpoint Toolbar and VMP are very useful and cool programs. It's time to stop calling them bad names. Visit http://www.viewpoint.com and see what neat 3D models and interactive media they create. It's the coolest stuff on the web!

Best,
-Zaphod

Is this guy for real? He clearly works for Viewpoint, his response reads just like the "Privacy" statement on their website ( which doesn't include removal instructions btw! )

It shows up on my computer without me consciously knowing about it. It doesn't let me End the Process in the task manager like normal programs, it didn't even come with an Uninstaller. As far as i'm concerned, its spyware.

I am not too incredibly bothered by the program and the toolbar and the Media Player. I installed ViewPoint without knowing that I had, but I understand that ViewPoint comes with AIM, which I installed about 2 months ago and have had no problem with until now. However, what has been bugging me about this thing is that every time I click on the shortcut on my desktop to get into Internet Explorer, I get a message, like to open a file, that brings me to a random folder, I have not yet figured out the pattern behind what folder this is since it brings every user on my computer to a different folder. The title of this message thing is "Select Skin File". Now, I have no idea what this is, but it is really bugging my mother, so I want to get rid of it if possible, but I dont want to install AIM if I dont have to. thanx -skip

to the guy who thinks people are stupid for considering viewpoint spyware...

it installs without you knowing it. also, aol does include spyware that is regularly picked up by spybot s&d, it's known as wild tangent. sure you can opt-out, but they know that most people don't. get off your soap box. with aim, you can't opt-out of viewpoint. plain and simple. if something installs without me knowing it, regardless of whether or not the third party application is legit, it's spyware. plain and simple. and it sends information, no matter how anonymous to that server and updates itself without telling you. that's the definition of spyware. maybe aol needs to be more careful with their installers. it does not list anything about viewpoint in the EULA.

Spyware, adware, whatever you want to call it, it's crap! Get this crap off my computer!

I have never heard of a LEGITIMATE APPLICATION that finds it way into people computers without their knowledge or consent.

this thing somehow got on my computer, the window comes up and blocks my screen, the only way to get out of it to restart. I hate this company and program, it's crap!! I hope the creators of this program burn in hell.

Tonight a pop-up box appeared asking me if I wanted to install Viewpoint.
Of course I didn't.
Curiosity got the best of me so I Googled my way to your web site.
Who knows what would happen if I removed it?
Instead I decided to disable it.
Sure nuff, Viewpoint was sitting in my program files folder.
Aha! Viewpoint Manager had ViewCP.cpl, a Control Panel item.
Went to Control Panel and there it was.
Checked all three boxes in the Update Preferences area and disabled updates.
Went into MSCONFIG and found Viewmgr was indeed up and running automatically on startup,
using my resources without permission.
[Start Button -> Run and type in MSCONFIG and press enter]
Of course, MSCONFIG nicely tells you the registry key it starts with.
REGEDIT
[Start Button -> Run and type in REGEDIT and press enter]
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun
Deleted the ViewMgr.exe key.
Now I'll just see if things still work.

Why, why, I did not ask for it, I think Adobe reader did it.....why,

Stop it, just stop....

Add Space.com to the list of Viewpoint installers. At least they let you know about it up front.

The joke is, there is a "No Spyware" logo on the Viewpoint install page. That is really sick.

Viewpoint is SPYWARE. Any software which records your internet activity and reports it to a third party, whether it includes your name and personal info or not, is SPYWARE. Period.

I will never use any product which includes or utilizes Viewpoint in any way.

There are so many excellent products which have the same functionality without the intrusion. It is a shame so many otherwise respectable vendors are opting to go the spyware route.

I'm calling the company (212-201-0800) and raising a shit-storm.

thank you for everybody's comments. this Viewpoint thing just popped up on my screen today and i got rid of it. I certainly didn't approve of it being installed on my computer without me knowing about it.

Adware is adware ....We the users don't like to be forced to have anything that we are not aware of.

Only sick people will try to impose their will on others.

We will overcome.

I cant get this thing of my computer. my computer wont shut down because the viewoint process won't end. HELP!

tonight i got the popup asking me to update this software. I never installed it to begin with!

i do not have AIM installed on this pc. However, i did visit the SPACE.COM website as someone else mentioned here. I did not see any prompt to download any files, or more importantly, install any files!

i did the add/remove and deleted the files, however, AxMetaStream.dll would not delete.

this is a horrible way to gain customers and their data. this is spyware no other way to describe it.

This crap is NOT from aol. it comes from adobe software and is one of their newer updates. Nothing i have tried so far will delete it so if you have any suggestions plz post them

This Viewpoint is crap. Got an install message that looked like it was from Windows. Next thing I know, I have this new toolbar and program installed on my computer. Got the s#it uninstalled asap. I'm an attorney, and I swear, if this has done something permanent to my computer, I'm coming after somebody.

I've been trying everything to get Viewpoint off.
They have a Viewpoint folder under allusers in the application Data. There is a notebook doc. telling the download info. I looked into the what sites came up with the https://a248.e.akamai.net and found that it has a fake link to windows updates download and other programs.

if you open AxMetaStream.dll with notepad and delete everything in it, save it you can delete it the actual file

If it is legitimate, why is it so difficult to uninstall? It is my computer.

Program autoupdated itself, and biggy backed on some other program (aim or whatever) I dont aprove of them actions. Pain in the A__ to uninstall. And if its not collecting personal data then why does it have a GUID? not a program GUID, a user one, in Allusers... We're going to have to start mandating that a file list is encluded with an EULA. altest dir's and files outside of that dir..

goto the WPM_FAQ (above), click "How do I decline the Viewpoint Toolbar opt-in prompt?"

"You've been updated"
Now if i've already been updated then how the F-- is that an opt-out? Kinda seams like its already installed. THX

AOL/AIM can use dlls' OCX's plugins ETC without requireing an update mgr, that sends ANY data to any one, but thats not the fun way, there is money to be made in having access to users computers to use, and use consumers. What happend to putting your credits in a small credits box, maybe flash it off every time the program start and thats the end of it.

I have an inherited computer with God knows what on it. I was able to get the .dll's to erase. I don't know if all these steps are necessary, but this is what I did, trying to delete after mostly every step..

Went ahead and downloaded the uninstall from the toolbar. You have to accept an update to get to the toolbar in a new explorer window which has the uninstall option. It got rid of the toolbar. It's dangerous to give permission to download anything so I searched for all the files on my computer that had been modified today and deleted them.

The View point files were still in the programs folder. Deleted everything I could, renamed the rest.

Tried to give the .exe's a new extension--didn't work because the .exe extension was hidden.

At this point, I was getting an error when trying to delete that claimed it was because another program was using the files. I rebooted and then all the files deleted just fine.

I deleted everything from the recycle bin that had been deleted today.

Remained PO'd that I had to go through all that. It might've worked just to try the deletions just after a reboot.

I have a box stating Viewpoing Media Player updated that will come up in the bottom right of the screen most of the time after signing onto the internet. It seems to choose when to show up and when it does I cannot get rid of it without signing off and restarting my computer. Whether Viewpoint Media Player has a good purpose or not, I would not use it on purpose because of the irritating fairly large box that covers up everything in that corner. Even after disconnecting from the internet the message box remains, and cannot be moved,.

Didn't ask for this and I don't use AIM. Not really sure how it imbedded itself, but I don't really care either. I did the following removal steps, I haven't checked the registry yet to what may have changed:
0) Reboot in protected mode (XP and W2K)
1) re-named the root directories which contained the offending .dll and executables. This should break any connection the program has with the operating system.
2) I then deleted everything under the offending root directories.
3) Emptied the wastebasket
4) So far, so good...

I have basic computer knowledge (power on, web browsing, etc.). As many users, I couldn't delete AxMetaStream.dll and 5 others due to them being already in use. With the suggestions from this blog, I simply clicked the "start" button, then the "run" selection. I typed in "msconfig", Immediately on that screen I had a choice of how to start up my pc. I chose the "diagnostic" startup which only uses the needed drivers and devices. I restart and whatever programs the Viewpoint files were attached to weren't running and I was able to delete the files and discard them from the recycle bin. I'm sure when the Viewpoint people read this, they will disable that option in the next update.

Pure BS that this is legitimate software. It is spyware that vicitimizes less savy computer users, takes over your browser, refuses to go away gracefully and is a pain to remove. Shame on AOL -- this would make a GREAT ad for netzero. I support life in prison for assholes like the ones who implemented this.

Stay away from viewpoint!! Watch out IM users!

I didn't download it. I didn't install it. I never heard of it until it popped up and asked for permission to update itself. I refused, and my Windows Media Player was uninstalled without my knowledge. Now I have to get rid of this Viewpoint thing and get my Windows Media Player back--what a bother from a "legitimate application."

not much to say here that hasn't been said...
i will say this, though:
of all the websites we collectively search,
all the companies we see on the web,
how many respectable companies have NO contact links on their entire page?
i looked at www.viewpoint.com after having to reinstall AIM and having to uninstall the crap that came with it.
lets see...
main page: no 'contact us' link
2nd tier pages: no 'contact us' link...
see a pattern?
maybe they got tired of overstuffed inboxes of hatemail.
anyone hoarding links to older versions of aim that still work, pls email ph47h0m@netscape.net
oh, while on the subject of crapware,
anyone had to deal with this aaabesthomepage garbage? gimme a holler...
till next reinstall...
th0m

update on aaabesthomepage:
got rid of it by disabling ALL third party browser extensions.
goodbye googlebar, the one i did like.
that darned thing would keep popupkiller busy for as long as i left my machine on, browser open or not.

well i have spybot search and destroy and it detected a spybot called "viewpoint" and its there in the regedit files under "content bugger"
can sumone tell me how to delete it from my comp. FOR GOOD it keeps coming back always!!!!
help...i also have spyware blaster 3.2, does that help prevent it also......HELPP!!!

I guess the owners of this website must have been muscled by Viewpoint and/or it's larger sponsors (AOL, Adobe) into saying that VP isn't really spyware.

As everyone below as expressed (except Zaphod, of course, who almost certainly works for VP) this application is definitely spyware/malware:

1. It installs itself without user permission.

2. It updates an advertiser database with information about it users ("non-identifiable", I know. That doesn't change anything.)

3. It has a fake "uninstall" component, that causes less experienced users to think it has been installed while the "guts" of the application are still intact (and, I suspect, functional.)

The sad thing is that the functionality in the toolbar seems really nice. There are people who would probably not mind installing it voluntarily. And if AOL, Adobe, and whoever else use these 3-D models and animations on their websites, there are many people who wouldn't necessarily mind downloading a viewer to see them -- IF they knew for sure the viewer wasn't spyware.

Viewpoint, if you're listening... take some notes from Macromedia's playbook. Your product isn't so different from the Flash player, and you have some nice features. But make your money from your sponsors (they have deep enough pockets) not your users. And please allow your users to decide when to install (and uninstall) your product for themselves.

And Adobe, AOL, if you're listening? Please don't associate your products with this kind of stuff... it's bad for your reputation. I'd hate to have to try to find a third party PDF writer because I can't trust Adobe anymore.

I am fed up with software that installs without aking whether I want it or not. I first noticed this one wehn my connection dialogue box would pop up after I had disconnected from Internet. Surely this company and others should be getting prosecuted by government authorities.

To remove VIEWPOINTcompletely:
In folder options enable view of all hidden files and folders. go to documents and settings (Drive C) for each user on the computer look in the APPLICATION DATA and LOCAL SETTINGS Folders for VIEWPOINT files and delete them, then delete the VIEWPOINT folder from Program Files.
Alternatively you could do a WINDOWS Search with hidden file and folders displayed and delete any viewpoint files from there.

Delete all files from "C:Program FilesAmerica Online 9.0Jiti

Their hidden contact info is at

http://www.viewpoint.com/pub/company/contact.html

support@viewpoint.com

Greetings fellow Viewpoint victims. I have just recently encountered this nasty bit of malware on both my personal computer and those of my customers as wireless internet tech. The best way that I have found to eliminate Viewpoint, along with many other types of malware, is to run both Ad-Aware SE and Spybot Search and Destroy. Both programs must be ran at the same time for best results since neither of them can get rid of everything on its own. Spybot also has a nice immunize feature that can help protect a computer from future infection of the same malware by keeping a database of known applications that must not be installed. Both programs are readily available for free from the PCworld website or from the disks included with many popular computer magazines such as MaximumPC. After these two programs have done their thing, the computer should be rebooted. I noticed that Jer (post 6) was unable to permanently delete viewpoint with Spybot alone which is not terribly unusual. Try running Ad-Aware also. For Thom (post 8), aaabesthomepage sounds like a type of trojan horse known as a CWS redirector. The telltale symptoms are all your attempts to access websites are being redirected to a search engine that features suspiciously adult content such as gambling, beer, or porn. This search engine may also end up being your default homepage and you will be unable to change it. Another type of CWS redirector will take you to what appears to be the site you wanted but, while the page is loading, the address bar will briefly flash to an unknown website before the desired site loads. The results of your searches may also seem unusual or incomplete with this variant. The best way I have seen to eliminate CWS redirectors is with a little program called CWSshredder which is also available for free from PCworld. The instructions given by Andy (post 12) may well be effective for viewpoint in the short term but leave the malicious registry keys intact which can cause future problems.

For those of you who are attempting to defend viewpoint or are claiming that it is not actually spyware, here is the abbreviated definition of spyware from Webopedia. (n.) Any software that covertly gathers user information through the users Internet connection without his or her knowledge, usually for advertising purposes. Once installed, the spyware monitors user activity on the Internet and transmits that information in the background to someone else.

By this definition, Viewpoint is clearly spyware. Spyware, along with other types of malware, will have detrimental effects on your computer. People with high bandwidth internet connections such as DSL and fast processors may not notice for a long time. People with dialup or wireless connections and slower processors will notice much more quickly as limited system resources and bandwidth gets subverted for use by malware. Malware programs are also frequently poorly written code that will eventually start conflicting with each other as more of them get installed. This will lead system instability even when not on the internet and can ultimately result in irreversible damage to the operating system that can only be corrected by a fresh install of Windows. Those who think that it is no big deal because they like the toolbar and the data being gathered is anonymous, bear this in mind. While your personal information is not being gathered by Viewpoint directly, the IP address that you connect from most likely is. That IP address, along with a time stamp and a good billing system, can be traced back to your account and then back to you. While your account information may be protected from most people by your ISP, it is only a subpoena and a lawyer away from being admitted in court as evidence. So make sure you have no spyware on your system before you do anything legally questionable on the internet.

The comments made by many in this forum condemning Viewpoint and AOL are spot on. Creators of spyware programs and companies that distribute them must be made to feel our wrath. If you can find an email address for them, fill it with hatemail. If they have a phone number, call them incessantly. If they are selling something, make it a point not to buy that item. These companies must be made to understand that spyware is not profitable for them and we must all work together to make that the case. AOL is one of the largest sources of malware that exists. It is a parasite that will infect every part of your computer and cause you massive amounts of grief. Nevermind their claims of providing free spyware protection. All they are really doing is excluding other types of spyware from your computer while infesting it with spyware of their own. Maybe if enough disgruntled people leave AOL, the will change their wicked ways. We can only hope.

Well, I have thrown out the gauntlet. If anyone else cares to let these folks know that their methods are not appreciated and could have a negative impact in the marketplace, that they seem to want to monopolyize so completely, then feel free to copy the email I sent to Viewpoint Corporation, below. Or borrow from it as you will. The link to their corporate site is included, so let them know how you feel! and maybe we can stop this invasion of privacy.

To: sales@viewpoint.com,pr@viewpoint.com,support@viewpoint.com, jprozeller@fd-us.com, r@viewpoint.com,

info@viewpoint.com

Subject: Viewpoint Toolbar

Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 17:28:40 +0000

To the Company, Company Management and Board of Directors of Viewpoint:

I am hereby giving you notice that I am making complaint to the Public Service Commission, the IEEE Advisory Board and Microsoft Corporation and any other Government agency or business, including your Resellers/Partners, that regulates, supports or condones this type of invasion of personal property.

This complaint names collectively and singly Viewpoint the entity and each member of the Company Management, Board of Directors, Resellers and Partners by way of the following link to your Corporate web site.

http://www.viewpoint.com/pub/company/

Furthermore, I intend to boycott said Resellers, Partners, Corporations, Companies, Businesses and individuals who continue to support or condone your Companys policy of using invasive and evasive tactics to glean information, personal or otherwise, from my intellectual property without my knowledge or permission until such time as Viewpoint Corporation agrees to cease and desist the use of said tactics and adopts the legitimate and ethical practice to "...allow your users to decide when to install (and uninstall) your product for themselves."

It is also my intention to publish this notice of complaint in as many public forums as possible, in

order that others may also use it, to give Viewpoint Corporation the courtesy of letting it know that these individuals intend to make complaint against the company as well. A courtesy "the...120
million desktops around the country" did not get when your software insinuated itself on our machines.

Viewpoint slowed my daughters computer to a crawl! We used add/remove programs to remove it. It is still very slow. If we download the removal software will that get rid of the extra files listed above that have to be removed?

The @#!$% "Your Viewpoint Toolbar has been updated" is back!! The process for the dialog box that appears with the UPDATE and no CLOSE or X button is ViewMgr.exe. Kill the process, the dialog box goes away and NO TOOLBAR! YES! BTW no word from Corp HQ yet regarding my e-mail.

Also, I have a question of one and all in this forum. Did any of you notice that certain processes to particular web sites started mysteriously closing for no apparent reason when you had the Viewpoint Toolbar? Last night when I was trying to submit content to this blog and do research on that Co. those processes just quit running. I restored to an earlier, pre-Viewpoint, restore point and the I am not having the problem anymore. Nor did I have it before the VPT appeared. Maybe I am getting paranoid, but, just because you are not paranoid does not mean they are not out to get you. Right?

Dont ever install something on my computer which I do not explicitly agree to before hand.

This is unethical practices.

I too will be submitting a complaint and hope that your business is shutdown and as well.

If this is the way AIM is going - I will remove that worthless software and gladly go with the meriad of other chat tools available too us. ICQ, Yahoo, IRC, MSN, Jabber are just a few choices.

Viewpoint, you filthy, bottom-feeding parasites!! Do something honorable with your technical talents instead of invading my privacy.

I hope all developers of programs that install without a users persmission will have their head and fingers amputated in the near future. But not before having each of their finger and toe nails removed before hand.

Interesting stuff posted so far, but is the Viewpoint uninstall.exe safe? It certainly seems like the easiest solution. Or do I really need to try these other methods (run Ad-Aware and Spybot together; manually delete many files)?

Somehow this application got installed on my computer. I did not ask for it, nor did I approve at ANY time the installation of this software. The first clue I had that it was there when I got the prompt to install the toolbar - which I did not install. I uninstalled the manager, but this did not uninstall anything at all.

I do not have AOL, do not randomly browse sites, and do not want software installed secretly on my computer.

In IE, go to "Tools", "Manage Add-ons..." and under "Enabled" select "AxMetastream.dll". Then under "Settings" click "Disable", then shut down IE. Now you will be able to delete AxMetastream.dll. The reason you could not do it before is that every time IE loads it enables AxMetastream.dll which means you cannot delete it while it is open.



Post Modified by Admin,

This site doesn't provide any Free tools. Except manual removal recommendations,

I uninstalled Viewpoint Media Player. Now my start menu is messed up and unable to do searches, etc. The history is gone. Crapware.

My VMP update box appeared this morning. After searching my PC per all of the posts below, I discovered a folder in Program Files / Viewpoint that was linked to Atmosphere. I uninstalled Atmosphere, and lo and behold, all of the components to VP, including the .dll and registry keys, have disappeared.

I suspect that VMP had been using our bandwidth, as it seems to have magically increased after uninstalling Atmosphere and VMP.

Also, before uninstalling, I had checked the VP folder found in Control Panel, and discovered the following hidden info concerning its privacy practices, or lack, thereof.

Viewpoint and Your Privacy
VIEWPOINT DOES NOT COLLECT ANY PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION, SUCH AS USER NAME, PHYSICAL ADDRESS, ELECTRONIC ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER, OR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER.

Each installation of Viewpoint Media Player is assigned a Player Identifier, a random alphanumeric identifier generated at the time of installation. The Player Identifier is never connected to a users name, email address, or other personal contact information.

Viewpoint Media Player is designed to check for the availability of software updates, upgrades, and add-ons (Updates) to ensure that you have the latest product improvements and functionality. When the Viewpoint Media Player installed on your machine checks for the availability of Updates, the Player Identifier, the type of operating system using the player, the type of browser in which the player is operating, and the URL visited at the time are sent anonymously to Viewpoint. An author of Viewpoint content can use tags to collect aggregated, anonymous information about users interactions with content, such as which colors users select to view the appearance of a product, which animations are most frequently invoked by online viewers, and the like. User interaction data is typically used by Viewpoints clients to understand how their customers, in the aggregate, interact with online presentations of their products.

Much of the data sent by the Viewpoint Media Player installed on your machine is required only to enable a feature or service to be performed over the Internet. All data is discarded after its intended use is served.

Viewpoints Ad Deployment Technology
Creative Innovator, Viewpoints advertising deployment technology, uses Viewpoint Media Player for displaying advertising content. Like other industry-standard advertising technologies, Creative Innovator collects certain information about the advertisement displayed. This information includes the number of times the advertisement is displayed, the number and duration of users interactions with the advertisement, and the browser and operating system viewers are using while the ad is displayed. This information is stored by the Creative Innovator system and reported to Viewpoints customers.

VIEWPOINT DOES NOT, AT ANY TIME, COLLECT USERS PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION.

Contact Us about Privacy
If you have any questions about this privacy statement, or our software and website practices, please contact us:

Privacy Policy Group
Viewpoint Corporation
498 7th Ave. Suite 1810
New York, NY 10018
privacy@Viewpoint.com

View point is bundled with other software like AIM and Netscape. It is a unique media player because it means view point. You can change the view point on a 3 D picture; turn it to the right, left or up and down. I only found one site that used it, found it accidentally while search for viewpoint on whether I should install in the computer lab I work at. http://www.lookingyourbest.com/inamodel/index.html of all things a breast augmentation simulator. You have to see it to believe it.

It is not a spyware it installs by its self like many programs. It is no more annoying than Adobe Reader and it automatic update and slow loading, realplayer and its message center and update and registration, (I use a bunch of letters and numbers @crap.com for the lab computers realplayer register ration hopefully to choke their server maybe then they will stop. Then there is Quicktime and it taking over file associations from MS media player and not allowing them to be set back, had to uninstall it then reinstall it, and asking if you want to go pro every time you start it,. Then there is the fake domain company new.net that automatically installs its plugings so you can find its fake domains, (that is another story). I always unchecked viewpoint player when installing Netscape. I thought it was a like media player until I saw the “site�. Have not had any instructors or students ask about viewpoint so I probably will not install it, (maybe on one or two computers after restoring the image).

Too much software and plugins are using the spyware and virus techniques to get in your computer. It is sad but it created a new field anti virus and anti spyware. As much as I dislike MS I find the competitors to media player more annoying!

I own Ghost Surf Platinum 2005 (by Tenebril) www.tenebril.com - it comes with SpyCatcher, an anti-spyware program. I also run Spybot SD, Ad-AwareSE, SpywareBlaster, and Spy Sweeper. None of these other programs found the Viewpoint.

I scan weekly, give or take. SpyCatcher found the Viewpoint and removed it permanently and safely. It removed the Program folders and .dll files. A few days later I went to the registry (Win2000 Svr), backed it up (DUH!), and removed all the classes and entries for Viewpoint. Ive had no issues.

I strongly recommend the full Ghost Surf suite, but you can buy the SpyCatcher separately. I dont know how or where the Viewpoint got on my system. I have NO IM progs and Im well aware of everything that goes on my system (see: Ghost Surf Platinum + ZA Pro firewall!! - a beautiful pair). Im thinking it installed when I rented AVP and the DVD tried to install some InterVideo program. I run WinDVD (I know same co, different prog.) so I just canceled the install. A few days later is when I scanned and found it. I KNOW its gone for good because SpyCatcher has some kind of reinstall shield to prevent crap like this from reinstalling itself.

I hate this program it ruined my day, and I hope the company goes bankrupt and the software creator goes to jail.

downloaded this thing to my knowledge..I never was asked if I wanted it installed...all of a sudden it wants to update...what the hell?

Woke up this morning to find Viewpoint installed on my computer!

I do not know if you can help but Comcast, my Internet provider, claims that it cannot block Viewpoint Media Player messages that are sent to
me daily.

How can someone block an unwanted message from appearing on their computer screen each morning?

Every day, Viewpoint Media Player sends me a message claiming that my software has been updated. I checked the list of programs on my
computer and Viewpoint is not listed among them.

The message is always at the bottom right hand corner of the computer screen and the delete x box is off the screen or does not exist. I cannot drag the message onto the screen so that the
delete box is visible. The message will not move.

I understand that software can be written so that the delete box is really the download box but Viewpoint has made it impossible to use that
box anyway.

The only way I know to get rid of the message without opening it, is to reboot my
computer and this is an inconvenience that I should not have to deal with.

When I went on google to research this company, I found that it is a
company but I also found many messages complaining about Viewpoint and
claiming it is spyware.

At the very least, Viewpoint is a pest.

Any advice you can provide, I would appreciate.

Jim

What a rude awakeing to find a pop-up window that cannot be removed by task manager and can only be stopped by selecting a hotbutton in the window or re-setting the PC.

I do not know how it got installed it must have been bundled with another application, but which one.....

We will publicize the actions of this odious pest so no-one will ever want anything to do with it. The folks at Viewpoint will be sorry they attacked our systems!

Viewpoint Media Player isnt itself EVIL, but its partner VIEWMGR.EXE loads the EVIL Viewpoint Toolbar, which is FILTHY EVIL DISGUSTING ADWARE. Read the fine print. They loudly proclaim that VMP doesnt violate privacy, and that VIEWMGR doesnt load third-party software. What they omit is that VIEWMGR loads OTHER viewpoint software that violates privacy.

Every evening a very aggravating update window for Viewpoint Media Player appeared in the lower right of my screen, and could not be closed or moved or minimized, and was always the window on top. I had to restart the computer to get rid of it. So I have now used Add/Remove Programs to remove Viewpoint Media Player. However, Viewpoint Manager was still listed. I removed that too.

It is time that we fought back against these companies and sued them for everything that they are worth. They are illegally downloading vile software onto our computers without consent or our knowledge. The time has come to fight back and bankrupt them!

will not uninstall itself!

The only way to get rid of it is in Safe mode. That is hard to do on an XP computer

I find Viewpoint to be deceptive in that it suggests in its pop-up window that it has already downloaded its software to my computer without my approval. There is no way to get rid of the pop-up menu and I would never use this software or any other software from a company that advertises in this manner.

This was installed automatically to my machine and since then it constantly crashes and hangs up. This is NOT acceptable that they can consider this legal! VIEWPOINT is deceptive!

This viewpoint was automatically installed and I want it off. I have read to unistall it by going to the control panel and then to the "add or delete" option but I cannot see the viewpoint prgram. Can anyone help!!!!!

every single time i re-install windows viewpoint media player HAPPENS to find its way onto my comp and im sick and tired of it!

same thing happens to me, it gets reinstalled and now i have it on all three of my comps even tho ive just formatted and have a clean copy of xp

A Viewpoint prompt "popped-up" when I accessed my bank account online. Why did it choose this moment to reveal itself? I dont like this one bit. My computer started acting up a couple of months ago, but nothing reared its ugly head until this morning. Did this file come from the Microsoft updates website? It was impossible to get rid of the pop-up until I followed the "more info" link.

I noticed that out of the blue my computer slowed to a crawl, it barely can work. I checked my programs to see if anything new had been installed and I found that my windows media player was gone and now I have a viewpoint media player. It seems viewpoint is almost impossible to get rid of. If I do get rid of it, how do I then get my windopws media player back? Where did it go anyway? I never deleted it! It is still in the start menu, but not under my progams add and remove list anymore. Oddly enough, viewpoint is not in my start menu. Please advise

Runs in background and slows computer to a crawl.

i got the same pop up u are all talking about really blow,
fyi u CAN stop it in task manager, just go to processes and end things that shouldent be there, if u dont know what should be running then your are probably too noob to fix it so get used to it

Viewpoint was evidently installed on my computer without my knowledge or consent before in conjunction with AOL Instant Messenger (AIM).

Spybot Search and Destroy informed me that a change was being made (which I denied); this was my first, unexpected, knowledge that the stupid thing was on my computer.

When the update window rises, look at the bottom middle of that window. It contains the EULA. Click on it, and click "No Thanks." The entry of Viewpoint Media Player in your Add/Remove Program list will change into "Viewpoint Manager (Remove Only)." Then you can remove the Viewpoint Manager (Remove Only) Entry in that Add/Remove programs list thing, and you wont willing destroy your own windows media player. Sheesh people, pay attention!

There is a very easy way to remove this people. UnInstall Viewpoint and then remove the registry keys! Come on, I figured this out. Can you?

This appears to have been installed by AIM. I was not aware of it until I saw a suspicious popup above my taskbar. I run Microsoft Antispyware Beta, which is supposed to be good, but it did not detect it. I ran the uninstall from control panel, deleted the file folder from Program Files, and deleted the registry keys. It appears to be gone, but I am leary of using AIM again. Shame on them.

The program ViewpointKiller is available at: www.prprogramsstudios.tk

This kills Viewpoint dead.

Scandisk told me it was on my computer,it said it had over 66Char.and could not be read by DOS.My machine is slow and freezes,the new ram that was put in last year is all used but 1%.Does Viewpoint media player use up Ram? Its not in the Add/Remove Programs box to uninstall.Hellllllp

It uses up some ram, but not all but 1%.

THIS IS INSTALLED FROM AIM...... Uninstall it, and ur aim ads are gone....
this is a legit program that lets you view trailors or whatever is on aim,......... if u hate ads .. just uninstall viewpont

MY SPYWARE REMOVER SAIS VIEW POINT PLAYER IS A THREAT AND ALWAYS WANTS TO REMOVE IT MY QUESTION, SHOULD I REMOVE VIEW POINT FROM MY PC?
THANKS FOR YOUR REPLY IN ADVANCE
THANKS DAVE LYTLE
daddyofla@comcast.net

I just removed it in add/remove programs right after i got the pop-up, and there was no trace of it left

http://www.download.com/ViewpointKiller/3000-2092_4-10510308.html?tag=lst-0-8

After discovery of the Viewpoint Media Player on my 1 year old laptop I found this site while digging around. I never installed it and suspect it came with a browser. I've heard of links to it being bundled with AIM/AOL but I have never had them installed. It doesn't do anything, there is no way to open it either from 'All Programs' but it shows up in the 'Add/Remove programs' list. It is clear the media player is a browser plug in that kicks in so flash presentations etc, on websites can be manipulated by the surfer. For example 3D images can be rotated and the like. This program is completely harmless and doesn't hog RAM or slow down your computer.

However the media player is not the only Viewpoint software out there and I suspect the people here having problems with updates and pop ups have the Viewpoint Toolbar installed. Generally you should be aware of installing Toolbars. There are lots of them (understatement) and some that come with very nasty surprises bundled with them. I regularly have to remove lots of this kind of stuff from friends infected computers that on the whole are mostly caused by them installing toolbars. There are many well known rogue ones that will plague you with pop ups like Winfixer but I haven't had the pleasure of seeing or removing the Viewpoint one.

If you just have the media player your PC should be fine. Mine with the Viewpoint Media Player installed and Windows file protection DISABLED (so I could customize Windows XP) runs perfect, no pop ups or updates. It will only ever spring into life if you stumble on a web site with content supported by the player. It would only display an advert if that was the supported content on that webpage which is unlikely. I hope this information helps someone.

P.S. - I don't work for Viewpoint, I'm a Postman (Mailman) from Scotland.

For more information on the Viewpoint Media Player and the software that it comes bundled with (that even includes operating systems) visit the web page which address is listed below.

http://www.pluginz.com/news/158

How do you delete Viewpoint from your registry keys?

Antispyware programs like Xoftspy, PestPatrol, Spysweeper, Spyware Doctor and Spybot can detect and remove Viewpoint, however AOL reinstalls it EVERY TIME you open AOL if it's found missing!

AOL has incorporated Viewpoint into it's AIM and Superbuddy features, and considers it integral to AOL "functioning properly". Therefore, even if your antispyware is able to detect and remove all vestages of Viewpoint, AOL will reinstall it the very next time you log on!

According to Paretologic, makers of Xoftspy antispyware software, Viewpoint is not only spyware, but it can slow your system down due to it's hogging of processor cycles and memory.

http://labs.paretologic.com/spyware.aspx?remove=Viewpoint%20Toolbar

"Viewpoint tracks user information, installs without notice, uses immense system resources."

AOL DOES have a way to prevent this, though... but they are SURE keeping it a secret. In fact, the process CAN'T be found unless you know about it! Hence the reason for this article! EVERY AOL user should know about this.

Open AOL and go to "help" on the toolbar. Select "About AOL". Next is the SECRET STEP. You must then press "CTRL+D" to access a "secret" panel to disable all of the desktop and IM fancy features that are associated with viewpoint. This is the only way to prevent AOL from re-installing Viewpoint at AOL startup.

Most users will find their system performance improves once they have removed viewpoint.

Related Reading:
http://www.spywaredaily.com/2005/03/spyware.html What is spyware?

Copyright © 2005 by Doug Edelman

add remove is not adequate.

Attention: PrProgamsStudios has moved to http://prprogramsstudios.us.tc

You may download ViewpointKiller at the site for free. ViewpointKiller will remove Viewpoint Media Player, Viewpoint Manager, and Viewpoint Toolbar fully.

If VIEWPOINT is not intrusive and malicious spyware then why is it such a pain in the BUTT to remove from your computer? I should be able to click on remove and it should be gone - but instead they have thousands of forums on the web on how to remove this piece of trash from your system...

Absolutely stupid. I did NOT ask for it, so I DO NOT WANT IT. Get that through your head, idiots.

Btw....yeah, they are indeed sending data back to their servers. Thanks for playing.

guys, im a 13 yr old kid and i figured it out. first remove it from the programs list, then delete all processes that say ViewpointService.exe and ViewMgr.exe then go to my computer>disk c>program files>viewpoint (dont open it just select it) then just delete the folder. not that hard.