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Question

need help with TS assist. EXE

Jul 23, 2012 3:41AM PDT

I was getting help from a tech with real.com at the end of the session after he screwed up a lot of things he started deleting different programs ever senseout of nowhere I get abnormal program termination I found one reference in regedit for tS assist but all I can do is go into task manager and terminate TS assist. I've run on installer registry mechanic to no avail can anyone help

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Did you try looking for an uninstall for that title?
Jul 23, 2012 3:51AM PDT

I'd uninstall that next. If not with the usual but with something called REVO UNINSTALLER.

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TS assist
Jul 24, 2012 2:18AM PDT

I tried deleting it using Windows deletions and a program called UR uninstaller and registry mechanic
none of these programs worked I looked in the registry and found one referencehowev.er I am reluctant to mess with regedit. It does show up in task manager under services rack and stop it but also once I click on the window that tells me there is an abnormal program termination it closes the application or whatever is running. I just don't see the program listed except in task manager so I think there is only remnants of it the left behind

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Sorry to read that.
Jul 24, 2012 2:37AM PDT

Registry tools are not what I wrote about or use. I do use things like Revo and few power tools like Hijackthis to see if this app is loading and how. Given the app's name I usually can find it and turn it off, stop it from running.

Bob

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assist
Jul 24, 2012 4:34AM PDT

I mentioned registry mechanic only because I used it it did not work I triedrevo it did not find it either I will try hijack this and see what happens I know it's loading based on task manager just don't know how to get rid of it

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And I can't guess this one.
Jul 24, 2012 4:49AM PDT

That's why I look at the Hijackthis log and remove with Revo. It appears you need someone at your location to assist you.

Do you have some local support to help you with those free software tools I noted?
Bob

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assist
Jul 24, 2012 11:55PM PDT

no help

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Then back to the free tools I noted.
Jul 25, 2012 1:20AM PDT

I get my hijackthis log and then research it line by line to find the item I want to stop.

Time to dig in since you have no support in your city.
Bob

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Answer
TSAssist.exe is malware but it can be easily removed
Jul 8, 2013 3:22PM PDT

TSAssist.exe will randomly cause a small somewhat malformed popup to appear in the bottom right that lists a name of a program that you currently have installed and suggests that its time for an update. It appears to choose these programs randomly. If you click on it to start the update, it will happily download and install a sizeable payload of annoyance-ware and occasionally something that's truly a virus. I made the mistake of clicking on it yesterday, not realizing that the update notice was bogus. Before I knew it, weird "IT Help" icons appears on the right corner of all of my windows and my Norton Antivirus said that it had caught and wiped out a known high-risk virus. The worst was this web browser addon that it installed, causing a hover over all Amazon item links to cause a popup to appear showing a bunch of unrelated advertisements in nice neat squares. I was able to easily remove all of the annoyance-ware, but I hadn't realized what had installed it. At first I suspected the update of Notepad++ as being infected, since this is what I was updating. After I thought I cleaned my entire system and rebooted, I saw the same malformed popup in the bottom right saying that I should update Skype. Knowing that the Skype updater looks completely different, I got curious and found the true source of my problem...

TSAssist.exe

Yes, this innocuous "File Type Assistant" program was the one generating those update popups and happily pulling down payloads of dubious origin. I traced it to a process called tsassist, found the directory and realized I could get rid of it.

(1) Use Microsoft Windows "Uninstall Programs" facility to uninstall File Type Assistant. When you click on the uninstall link, a popup will appear pleading with you not to uninstall it. Uninstall it anyways.

(2) Go to the Start Button and in the search/command entry box enter: regedit

(3) In regedit, use the Find menu and type in tsassist.exe. Delete every instance of tassist.exe that you find. It's in several places. If it's in a registry key that only refers to it, delete the entire key. If you see any other programs that you are familiar with, just delete the key entry for tsassist.exe and leave the key alone. (I found just one instance where tsassist.exe was listed next to another key)

(4) Restart Windows.

It hasn't come back from the dead, so I'm fairly sure that this procedure is all you need.

Good luck...And don't click on an Updater unless it looks professional and legit !!!

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Your Advice worked!
Nov 17, 2013 6:12PM PST

I also started to get these update messages a couple of months ago. When I clicked on the them my MalwareBytes Pro version immediately blocked the files it was trying to install, thus protecting my computer, but didn't find the original programme which was generating the malware. Microsoft Essentials found nothing at all, and would have allowed my computer to become infected.

I eventually traced the programme by checking active tasks in Windows 7 when the message appeared. It found tsassist.exe, but not File Type Assistant. I got that from you, carried out your instructions, and so far no problems. When deleting registry items I kept getting the message that removing them might cause my computer to become unstable. I ignored that. I should have backed up the registry first, but forgot.

I've no idea where this malware came from, but assume it was from a usually trusted website which offers free software. It is becoming more common now for otherwise harmless downloads to include unwanted hidden ones (PUPs) rather than give the option not to install it by default. My advice is that whenever downloading software always choose the custom option rather than standard or express, because that will usually reveal any other programmes.

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Where is Norton when you need it?
Nov 29, 2013 9:34AM PST

This malware was installed a year ago. Why didn't Norton 360 l detect and block the installation? Why hasn't Norton detected it and fixed it for over a year?

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Norton may regard this as "adware"
Jun 11, 2014 1:03AM PDT

I got this tsassist.exe junk from downloaded some freware I found via CNET download page. I followed Zappoblappo's instructions and it seems to be gone.

But re: Norton: Funnily enough last month I had a similar issue with a browser hijack (called speedail or soemthing like) that I also got from some freeware downloaded via CNET. (Yes, I know. Once should've been enough.)

Anyhow I had been using PC Tools until Symantec completely retired it and when I got the browser hijack that I found impossible to remove on my own I broke down and followed Symantec's link to "upgrade" to Norton without thinking. Well, of course Norton didn't detect it at all so I contacted Norton customer support and they told me that it was "adware" and that's why the Norton program wouldn't detect it. Apparently a vile, unwanted program that resets your homepage and search engine in every browser on your computer and is hidden to escape easy removal isn't "malware" in Norton's eyes. Anyhow with a little pressure I got them to help me remove it.

But I suspect that's why Norton didn't detect this tsassist.exe on my computer either, that it's seen as adware and not malware in their eyes. Moral of this story: don't download freeware via CNET and don't waste your money on Norton.

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Norton and "adware" - Newer
Jun 11, 2014 4:37AM PDT

Not surprised! Someone recommended MalwareBytes as a detection and removal tool. I used the free version and it works quite well. I bit the bullet and paid for their Premium version that has the benefit of working passively in the background and notifies you of problems. A downside is that it like Norton 360 and much other software today is a subscription.
So, for occasional scanning, the free version works.
Happy computing!

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More on TSAssist.exe
May 25, 2014 6:28PM PDT

It doesn't show up in installed programs!
You may have to manually delete it's resident directory entirely, manually! It's in program files (X86).

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TSAssist.exe
Aug 15, 2014 12:39PM PDT

I just found your post and have been looking for a way to get rid of this pesky program for weeks. I was able to uninstall,
but when I did the registry search, so many items turned up, I didn't find the program in there...it was overwhelming.
I did go to the task manager and stopped the process. Also went to msconfig to the start menu, to make sure it wasn't there.
I hope it's gone, if not, I don't suppose you've kept a record this long of where in the registry it was found...I've looked everywhere. Thanks for your post....it was a big help. (I'm using Vista SP2 32 bit.)

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Registry fix
Aug 15, 2014 8:50PM PDT

Once you have removed it manually you can run something like advanced system care (or any registry cleaner). This will clean out all references to TSAssist because the program files have been removed manually i.e. don't exist.

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Registry Cleaners
Aug 15, 2014 9:22PM PDT

You won't find many here that recommend using registry cleaners, and in particular such products as ASC.

The horror stories we have seen in these forums after users have run such things and ended up with broken Operating Systems, are too numerous to mention.

Mark

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I'd say
Aug 15, 2014 11:27PM PDT

I'd say all you really need to put the kibosh on the whole registry cleaner idea is that Microsoft, creator of the registry, created the registry cleaner... Then quickly pulled it from their site when they realized the problems it caused, such as breaking MS Office. That was back in like the Windows 95 days and they still haven't put up a "fixed" version.

If you need more, how about how registry cleaning programs will never clearly outline the methodology they use for selecting one entry over another? Antivirus programs and their cousins antimalware programs are very up front about this and provide detailed information about each and every threat that they aim to detect and remove. Registry cleaning programs are deafeningly silent on the topic. You could go even further, in that given how many hundreds of thousands of different programs there are for Windows, any one of which could be modifying the registry in perfectly legitimate ways, there's simply no way to come up with some kind of exhaustive listing of legitimate registry entries. So logic dictates that there's some kind of algorithm being used... Which is going to get some false-positives pretty much guaranteed given the number of potential entries in the registry. There's also proof of this happening with people having their system stop working properly immediately after running a registry cleaner.

All of that is before you even start to learn anything at all about the registry and realize that it really doesn't need any maintenance. Removing orphaned entries might soothe your OCD tendencies, but the amount of memory you save is going to be measured in bytes and the amount of CPU time you save will be well below the level of human perception. Orphaned entries are like a leaf in a swimming pool. They're annoying, but at the same time you can choose to ignore it and it's really not going to stop you from being able to swim in the pool. It's not a perfect analogy, but it should get the point across. Orphaned entries are just that: orphaned. Nothing is referencing them, so they never get used. They just sit there, doing nothing.

In the end, all registry cleaners do is prove our old friend PT Barnum right when he said there was a sucker born every minute. Quite possibly our old friend George Carlin as well who said that with increases in population, now it's multiple suckers born every minute.

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I've never had a problem with registry cleaners.
Aug 16, 2014 3:45AM PDT

I've never had a problem with registry cleaners. It's the easiest way to remove references to programs I have had to delete manually.

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Me either.
Aug 16, 2014 3:51AM PDT

My buddies love them as they make house calls to recover machines cleaned by such. If you haven't had the problem, good for you. And let's hope folk continue to crack up machines with these things. My friends in this business need more work.
Bob

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I've never had a problem with tigers
Aug 16, 2014 6:04AM PDT

I've never had a problem with tigers because I have this magic rock that keeps them away.

Sarcastic comments pointing out the absurdity of your argument aside, your experiences are not the sum total of every other person on the planet who owns a computer. For every one person like you, who claims they've never had a problem, you can probably find 10 more who did just on these forums alone.

Even if they did exactly as they advertise, and were somehow magically able to remove only the entries not needed any longer, it still doesn't account for the fact that they're a solution in search of a problem. So what if a couple of orphan entries of a program are floating around in the registry? Seriously. Who cares? Without a program to make use of them, they don't do anything. Removing them might save you a few bytes of storage, and the performance argument went out the window (no pun intended) when Microsoft decided to use a flat-file database structure for the registry. Read any database book you like, they'll all agree that flat-file databases are the single slowest and most inefficient type of database there is. The one and only thing they have going for them is they're easy to create from a programming POV.

You show me someone who uses a registry cleaner and I'll show you someone who knows jack about databases and programming. I'd even generally be willing to bet the person knows considerably less about computers than they think they do.