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VIDKit Removal Guide

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Do you know what VIDKit is?

VIDKit is a strange program that is meant to provide you with beneficial services. This program is better known as the VIDPot.tv Survival Kit; however, a folder entitled “VIDKit” is created on the Desktop when this potentially unwanted program is installed. According to our research team, users can download the strange survival kit from vidpot.tv; however, we do not decline the possibility that third-party installers could get involved as well. Of course, if this unreliable program is silently installed by a third-party, it is possible that the same security backdoor will be used to spread other unfamiliar, potentially malicious programs as well. Well, even if you install this PUP from its official page, you will encounter other programs, including Media Player (clone of SMPlayer) and DNS Keeper, which is an advertising-supported program capable of changing your DNS settings. Learn more about the removal of VIDKit and the remaining threats by reading this report.

Whether you have downloaded VIDKit from its official site or by interacting with a fake media player introduced to you via a pop-up, you will encounter the same activity. First, DNS Keeper will modify your DNS settings to enable the injection of ads. Although the Survival Kit is meant to provide you with tools capable of playing media files and accessing sites blocked in your geographical region, it was primarily created to display ads, and this is the number one reason to delete it from your operating system. Unfortunately, this unreliable program can silently update itself using the vidcreek.tv server (vidcreek.tv promotes another unreliable ad-supported program, DNS Unlocker), which makes it unpredictable. Although it is obvious that this PUP is meant to help with the promotion of third-party services, it could be used in many other ways as well. Hopefully, you will remove this potentially unwanted program before it is updated to perform in a malicious way, if that happens at all. Of course, you have to consider the possibility of this happening.

Many users underestimate unfamiliar advertisements. Ignoring them is a bad idea, but interacting with them is even worse. If you click on ads displayed with the help of VIDKit, tracking cookies will be installed to spy on you possibly without your permission. Although most online services employ cookies, some of them can be very intrusive and even collect and leak personal information. If you want to prevent unreliable cookies from entering your operating system, you MUST be cautious when interacting with online ads. Another big risk you might face if you interact with these ads is misleading content. Prize giveaways, surveys, software installers, updates, and various other offers could be displayed to you, and they could be misleading and malicious. For example, surveys could be used to extract personal information, and installers could be used to spread malware! So, if you are smart, you will say away from suspicious ads.

Now comes the time to discuss the removal of VIDKit. The uninstaller of this program is called “VIDPot.tv Survival Kit version 1.” The number at the end could change depending on when you install this unreliable program. Uninstalling this PUP is the first step, but it surely is not the last. Afterward, you need to make sure you eliminate leftover components, and change your DNS settings back to normal. Unfortunately, because this software can update itself, we cannot guarantee that you will successfully eliminate it using the steps provided. Therefore, if you choose the manual removal option, scan your PC afterward to make sure you have no other malicious components to worry about. Of course, if you are inexperienced or if other threats have taken over your operating system, you should install reliable anti-malware software ASAP.

Delete VIDKit from Windows

Windows XP

  1. Click Start on the Taskbar.
  2. Open the Control Panel menu.
  3. Move to Add or Remove Programs.
  4. Select and Remove the unwanted app.

Windows Vista/Windows 7/Windows 8/Windows 10

  1. Launch RUN (simultaneously tap Win+R).
  2. Type Control Panel and click OK.
  3. Go to Uninstall a program.
  4. Right-click and Uninstall the unwanted program.

Leftovers

  1. Tap Win+E to launch Explorer and enter %PROGRAMFILES(X86)%\VIDKit (or %PROGRAMFILES%\VIDKit) into the address bar.
  2. Delete the files within this folder, as well as the folder itself.
  3. Tap Win+R to launch RUN.
  4. Type in regedit.exe (Registry Editor) and click OK to launch the tool.
  5. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Trolltech\OrganizationDefaults\Qt Factory Cache 4.8\com.trolltech.Qt.QImageIOHandlerFactoryInterface:\C:\Program Files (x86)\VIDKit\.
  6. Right-click and Delete this registry key.

Modify DNS Settings

Windows XP

  1. Open the Start menu and click Control Panel.
  2. Go to Network Connections, double-click Local Area Connection, and choose Properties.
  3. Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click Properties.
  4. Choose Obtain an IP address automatically and Obtain DNS server address automatically.
  5. Click OK and restart the computer.

Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/Windows Vista

  1. Launch RUN (Win+R), enter Control Panel, and click OK.
  2. Select Network and Internet and open Network and Sharing Center.
  3. Select Change adapter settings or Manage network connections (for Windows Vista).
  4. Right-click the chosen network and choose Properties.
  5. Click the Networking tab.
  6. Choose Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)/Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) and click Properties.
  7. Choose Obtain an IP address automatically and Obtain DNS server address automatically.
  8. Click OK and restart the computer.

In non-techie terms:

Do you have any use for VIDKit? It is unlikely that you do because this potentially unwanted program is not that great. In fact, it fails to offer any irreplaceable services, and, on top of that, it installs third-party software that changes DNS settings and displays suspicious, potentially unreliable advertisements. The removal of this PUP and the programs associated with it is not extremely easy, but our guidelines should assist you. You can also rely on automated malware removal software to clean your operating system from malware, and we recommend installing this software for the provided Windows protection as well.