Search Donkey by WebAppTech Coding or LLC is a Browser Helper Object which pretends it is very helpful for enhancing your web browsing experience. On their website it is stated that using this add-on you always will be able to highlight words and query your favorite services.

However, once Search Donkey gets inside your computer it can start displaying different kinds of advertisements and sponsored links within your web browser. Search Donkey pop-up ads will be shown as boxes containing various coupons that are available or as underlined keywords, which when clicked will display an advertisement that states it is brought to you by this program.

It seems that it's only a marketing method to make you visit specific sites related to Search Donkey and increase the number of their visitors. It is able to change your homepage and default search engine of your web browser via modifying browser settings.

Search Donkey may also track users' Internet browsing activity by recording browser names, IP addresses, computer usage history and preferences, operating systems, and other information, which may be shared with third parties. Your search keywords may be collected in order to put advertisements into your computer according to your preferences. Using this potentially unwanted program on your Internet browsers can lead to privacy issues and identity theft.

Search Donkey can be downloaded from its official website or in a bundle with other software. The majority of PUPs can be installed in a bundle with some freeware or shareware you want. But you don't realize that you're getting Potentially Unwanted Program in addition with it too. Typically, users are not aware they installed these browser extensions while downloading free software. That is why it is always recommended to choose Custom Installation. Be attentive and never install software that you don’t know or trust.

If it wasn't your intention to download Search Donkey we recommend removing it from the computer.

Removal instructions*

1.    Terminate malicious process(es) (How to End a Process With the Task Manager):
regsvr32.exe:2164

2.    Delete the original file.

Click 'Start' ->'Control Panel' or 'Uninstall a Program' -> Double-click 'Add/Remove Programs' or 'Programs and Features'. Find Search Donkey and similar entries and select 'Uninstal' or 'Remove'.

3.    Make sure you don’t have any leftovers of the program on your PC:
C:\Users\"%CurrentUserName%"\AppData\Local\Temp\nst2A8A.tmp\nsDialogs.dll (21 bytes)
C:\ProgramData\SearchDonkey\Firefox\chrome\content\overlay.xul (391 bytes)
C:\Users\"%CurrentUserName%"\AppData\Local\Temp\nst2A8A.tmp\System.dll (23 bytes)
C:\ProgramData\SearchDonkey\IE\common.dll (11359 bytes)
C:\ProgramData\SearchDonkey\Chrome\common.crx (5843 bytes)
C:\Users\"%CurrentUserName%"\AppData\Local\Temp\nst2A8A.tmp\modern-wizard.bmp (4232 bytes)
C:\Users\"%CurrentUserName%"\AppData\Local\Temp\nst2A8A.tmp\util_ex.dll (21609 bytes)
C:\ProgramData\SearchDonkey\Firefox\chrome\content\main.js (17 bytes)
C:\ProgramData\SearchDonkey\app.dat (172455 bytes)
C:\Users\"%CurrentUserName%"\AppData\Local\Temp\nst2A8A.tmp\Helper.dll (27542 bytes)
C:\Users\"%CurrentUserName%"\AppData\Local\Temp\nst2A8A.tmp\version.dll (14 bytes)
C:\Users\"%CurrentUserName%"\AppData\Local\Temp\nst2A8A.tmp\Processes.dll (1772 bytes)
C:\ProgramData\SearchDonkey\Firefox\chrome.manifest (196 bytes)
C:\ProgramData\SearchDonkey\Uninstall.exe (12729 bytes)
C:\ProgramData\SearchDonkey\Firefox\install.rdf (955 bytes)
C:\ProgramData\SearchDonkey\SearchDonkey.ico C:\ProgramData\SearchDonkey\Chrome\common.crx C:\ProgramData\SearchDonkey\Firefox\chrome.manifest C:\ProgramData\SearchDonkey\Firefox\chrome\content\main.js C:\ProgramData\SearchDonkey\Firefox\chrome\content\overlay.xul C:\ProgramData\SearchDonkey\Firefox\install.rdf C:\ProgramData\SearchDonkey\IE\common.dll C:\ProgramData\SearchDonkey\SearchDonkey.ico C:\ProgramData\SearchDonkey\Uninstall.exe
C:\ProgramData\SearchDonkey\app.dat

4.    Remove Search Donkey from all your browsers:

Mozilla Firefox:

•    Open Mozilla Firefox, go ‘Tools’ -> ‘Add-ons’ -> ‘Extensions’.
•    Find Search Donkey and similar entries, and click ‘Remove’ or 'Disable'.
•    Once you do that, go to Tools -> Options -> General -> Startup. Now select 'Show a blank page' when Firefox Starts or set a certain website, like Google or similar.



Internet Explorer:

•    Open Internet Explorer, go ‘Tools‘->”Manage Add-ons’ -> ‘Toolbars and Extensions’.
•    Here, look for Search Donkey, and similar entries, and click 'Disable'.
•    Now open IE -> Tools -> Internet Option -> General tab. Enter Google or other address to make it the default start page.

 
Google Chrome:

•    Click the Chrome menu button on the Google Chrome browser, select Tools -> Extensions.
•    Here, look for Search Donkey and similar unknown extensions and get rid of them by clicking on the Recycle Bin.
•    Additionally, click on wench icon, go to settings and choose 'Manage search engines'. Change search engine to google or other.
•    Then Go to section “On start” and make sure you get blank page while creating new tab.



 
5.    Now please install Ad-Aware to make sure you do not have any infections:

• Click here and follow the installation instructions from Ad-Aware User Guide (‘Installation and Uninstallation’ -> ‘Ad-Aware Install’ section).
• Perform a full scan of your PC with Ad-Aware (following Ad-Aware User guide: ‘Scanning System’ -> ‘Running a scan’ section).

Finally, it is recommended to always keep your antivirus up-to-date and perform weekly full scans. Also, we advise you to do a custom AV scan of any application downloaded from the internet before you proceed with its installation