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Is WeatherBug Spyware?

According to their website, Weatherbug is not spyware, however it is adware. It does not monitor, collect data or 'spy' on its user base, however the program is considered adware since the free version is ad-supported. You can read more about why Weatherbug is not considered spyware by clicking here.

In fact, Weatherbug sent me the following email explaining their position on spyware and why WeatherBug is not considered spyware.

'WeatherBug does not monitor, collect data or 'spy' on its user base. If a software program is implying or reporting that WeatherBug is 'spyware', it is incorrect.

WeatherBug is incapable of tracking your overall web use or deciphering anything on your hard drive. WeatherBug has no functionality to determine what you were doing/where you were surfing before you opened your WeatherBug program - or where you go after using the WeatherBug.

With computer privacy a vital issue for so many people, we want to assure you that WeatherBug, in addition to being spyware-free, is committed to helping our millions of users understand how to remove spyware from their computers, if they desire to do so.

Spyware, as defined by CNET, generally refers to any technology that gathers personal information about your computer's configuration, your surfing/shopping habits - including information like Web sites you've visited, your IP address, and your computer's host name.

WeatherBug does none of these things. In addition, we require any software that is offered with WeatherBug to also be spyware-free.

In addition, while we, like MSN and a host of other free software, are supported by advertisers, we do not do have any way of knowing who the individual users are when we track clicks on our own pages. The user is not required to put in their name when they register- we only need a zip code to find the closest weather station to their home. The only reason we need to track clicks on pages is to determine if our server capabilities are getting too low and need to add new servers, which I’m sure you can understand.

You’ll also be happy to note that in v.6.0 due out in a few months, an Uninstall Wizard will be available. I appreciate you clarifying on the page that we’re not spyware, but if there’s any way to have us removed from a page of software that we completely object to ourselves, we’d greatly appreciate it.

Thanks. Your site actually has a lot of useful info.

Sincerely,

Jay Hoffman
Manager, WeatherBug Customer Support '

How to I Remove WeatherBug?

Many times Spybot Search and Destroy, Ad-aware SE, and Spy Sweeper among others dont find traces of Weatherbug in systems as spyware. So the only options to remove it are through Add/Remove Control Panel or manually through the Windows Registry.

In order to avoid future problems with Weatherbug, make sure the program is not running before uninstalling it. If there is a WeatherBug icon in the system tray (in the lower right hand corner of the screen) you'll need to right-click on it and choose 'Exit WeatherBug' or 'Terminate Weatherbug'.

Once the program is closed, you can remove it easily from the Add/Remove Programs section of the Control Panel by following these steps:

• Click START (lower, left of computer screen)
• Select SETTINGS and CONTROL PANEL
• Double click ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS
• Select 'WeatherBug' (or other programs) from the list of applications
• Click ADD/REMOVE and follow the instructions

If you receive a warning stating that the system could not delete a file, please click on WeatherBug and then ADD/REMOVE again.

Upon rebooting your system, if the Weatherbug program remains or you receive error messages about Weatherbug upon rebooting, then perform the following Advanced Uninstall procedures.

1. Click on START, then select RUN.
2. In the RUN box, type REGEDIT then click OK. This will open your Windows Registry Editor (following ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS, some of these keys will already be removed -- if you do not find a key, please move on to the next step).
3. Click on the plus sign next to the folder named HKEY_CURRENT_USER
4. Click on the plus sign next to the folder named Software
5. Click on the folder, 'AWS,' to highlight it
6. Press the DELETE key on your keyboard and choose 'YES' to delete this folder
7. Click on the plus sign next to the folder named Microsoft
8. Click on the plus sign next to the folder named Windows
9. Click on the plus sign next to the folder named CurrentVersion
10. Click on the folder named Run to highlight it (only the 'Run' folder)
In the right-hand pane, look for a line stating 'Weather.' If you see it, please click on it to highlight it then press the DELETE key on your keyboard and select 'YES.'

11. Close the Registry Editor

To delete the AWS directory

1. Open 'MY COMPUTER' icon on your desktop.
2. Double-click the C drive.
3. Double-click “Program Files” folder to open.
4. Right click on the folder titled 'AWS' and select DELETE.

Extra removal instructions for Windows XP

1. Open 'MY COMPUTER' icon on your desktop.
2. Double-click the C drive.
3. Double-click on Document and Settings
4. Double-click the folder that has your name next to it (or the name of whomever the machine is registered to)
5. Double-click the “Application Data” folder to open it and delete the folder entitled “WeatherBug”.
7. Restart your computer and the uninstall is complete.

Finally, there is an extra icon in the Internet Explorer bar that is left even after uninstalling Weatherbug, to remove this extra content button, use HijackThis and remove the following line

O9 - Extra button: WeatherBug - {AF6CABAB-61F9-4f12-A198-B7D41EF1CB52} - C:Program FilesAWSWeatherBugWeather.exe (file missing) (HKCU)

To Uninstall My Search

• Click START (lower, left of computer screen)
• Select SETTINGS and CONTROL PANEL
• Double click ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS
• Select 'My Search' from the list of applications
• Click ADD/REMOVE and follow the instructions

Uninstalling Weatherbug bundled with Netscape 9

A visitor to my site offered the following procedure for removing Weatherbug that is installed with Netscape 9.

• Open Netscape
• Click on Tools
• Click on Addons
• Click on Extensions and find Weatherbug
• Choose Weatherbug and click Uninstall
• Close out of Netscape
• Reboot your computer

Is There an Alternative to Weatherbug?

If you are looking for an alternative to weatherbug that does not display ads and is free, you might want to try WeatherPulse. An excellent weather monitoring tool that sits on your desktop like Weatherbug.

You can download Weatherpulse by visiting their website.

Registry Keys used by Weatherbug

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTCLSID{2B96D5CC-C5B5-49A5-A69D-CC0A30F9028C}]
@='MiniBugTransporterX Class'
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTTypeLib{3C2D2A1E-031F-4397-9614-87C932A848E0}]
[HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareAWS]
[HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerExtensions{AF6CABAB-61F9-4f12-A198-B7D41EF1CB52}]
[HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun]
'Weather'='C:PROGRA~1AWSWEATHE~1Weather.EXE 1'
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREClassesCLSID{2B96D5CC-C5B5-49A5-A69D-CC0A30F9028C}]
@='MiniBugTransporterX Class'
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREClassesTypeLib{3C2D2A1E-031F-4397-9614-87C932A848E0}]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionUninstallWeatherBug]
'DisplayVersion'='WeatherBug 6.0.0.0'
'HelpLink'='http://www.weatherbug.com/help/'
'HelpTelephone'='800-544-4429'
'Publisher'='WeatherBug (AWS Convergence Technologies, Inc.)'
'URLInfoAbout'='http://www.weatherbug.com/support/'
'Contact'='WeatherBug Support (support@weatherbugsupport.com)'
'DisplayIcon'='C:Program FilesAWSWeatherBugWeather.exe,-0'
'UninstallString2'='C:Program FilesAWSWeatherBugUNWISE.EXE'
'DisplayName'='WeatherBug'
'UninstallString'='C:PROGRA~1AWSWEATHE~1REMOVE.EXE C:PROGRA~1AWSWEATHE~1INSTALL.LOG'

The following HKEY_USERS identity folder will have a different number as the identity in most circumstances.

[HKEY_USERSS-1-5-21-3723271197-429115175-1203367206-1003SoftwareAWS]
[HKEY_USERSS-1-5-21-3723271197-429115175-1203367206-1003SoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerExtensions{AF6CABAB-61F9-4f12-A198-B7D41EF1CB52}]
'Default Visible'='Yes'
'ButtonText'='WeatherBug'
'HotIcon'='C:PROGRA~1AWSWEATHE~1wxbug.ico'
'Icon'='C:PROGRA~1AWSWEATHE~1wxbug.ico'
'CLSID'='{1FBA04EE-3024-11d2-8F1F-0000F87ABD16}'
'ClsidExtension'='{AF6CABAB-61F9-4f12-A198-B7D41EF1CB52}'
'Exec'='C:PROGRA~1AWSWEATHE~1Weather.exe'
[HKEY_USERSS-1-5-21-3723271197-429115175-1203367206-1003SoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun]
'Weather'='C:PROGRA~1AWSWEATHE~1Weather.EXE 1'

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