This morning I woke up to “kikin” asking me to “Upgrade [my] browser.”Ā I hit Task Manager and noticed that the popup was deliveredĀ by Viewpoint, a plugin I had probably been forced to install along with another piece of software (such as AIM or AOL).Ā Viewpoint is a self-avowed Internet Marketing Technology company that produces aĀ media manager, media player and toolbar.Ā Their technology is similar to Quicktime or Real Player, and is about as necessary to have on your computerĀ as those two.Ā Kikin is a browser plugin which will monitor your internet habits and deliver ads and marketing that they think you’ll buy into.Ā
Anyway, like most people IĀ don’tĀ appreciate popups of any kind (reminds me too much of the popup hell we used to have before browsersĀ got wise)Ā so I have said “no thanks” to kikin, and I’m now uninstalling Viewpoint’s programs (Start–>Control Panel–>Add/Remove Programs) to prevent this from happening in the future.Ā
Update 1/2011 – A reader has informed me that the popup may no longerĀ have an optionĀ to say “No Thanks” to the install.Ā I suggest using CTRL+ALT+DEL and then End the install program or process if you can figure out which it is.Ā
Just a comment to thank you for taking the time to post this. I had a user who came across this and with your advice was able walk him through Control-Panel and removing Viewpoint.
+1
+1
Thanks š
Same Here, Thanks… saved allot of time, by finding this post, rather than thinking machine was infected with something.
Same thing happened to me — thanks — it was a little bit of a scare. Any idea who tricked me into installing viewpoint? I would like to send them a nasty note
Another note of thanks… THANKS!!!
I had the same thing, but no “no thanks” button. Mine says “Note: NO system restart” and “By clicking “update” you are agreeing to the terms of service and privacy policy. kikin powered by Google will become your default search provider.” Don’t know how viewpoint got on my computer, but it’s coming off today. Any company that uses predatory sign up methods like this should be banned from the net.
Very helpful! Thank You
Another note of thanks. Yours is the one answer that came up when I typed “Kikin powered by Google” into my search engine, which, coincidentally, is Google.
The newest Kinkin popup does not offer a “no thanks” option. But I still uninstalled Viewpoint!
I suspect Kinkin is associated with Kindle for PC? That is the only thing I have installed recently (earlier today).
Thanks for the update Robert…I’ll add that to the article
I dont have veiwpoint but every website I go to get replaced by kikin i am surprised that i was alowed on this site without that stupid kikin poppin up and replacing the page
We here at kikin would like to apologize for this inconvenience and misunderstanding. We were unaware of this problem and we have since discontinued working with distributors using these pop-ups.
@Robert, we are unaffiliated with Kindle for PC and Iām glad you found a solution to this problem.
If you have any further problems, please feel free to let us know at info@kikin.com.
Well I for one am glad that after 4 months, you’ve decided to discontinue working with distributors using pop-ups. Sarcasm aside, people should know that Kikin tracks your web searches, sends URL info to its servers and stores preferences locally so that it can deliver “relevant content” to the end user. It integrates with social media ( +1 ), but the way they make money is through revenue sharing with content partners (sponsored results I assume ( – 5 ). Good luck Kikin. Google started mixing social media results at the end of Feb and I’m sure they’re tuning the machines daily. Jus sayin’
(I predict that Kikin sells itself to a bigger fish this year. No doubt the consumer data they have gathered thus far is of some value to someone somewhere)
Let the battle of Social Search begin!!! http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/30/us-google-idUSTRE72T5J720110330
I also have Kikin all of a sudden on my browser. When I go into “Add and Remove programs” there is no “Viewpoint listed.” Any idea how I can get rid of this annoying and pesky thing?
Viewpoint doesn’t have to be present in order for Kikin to install or try to install itself…that’s just one vector to be aware of (especially if you have the popup I described). If it’s already on your system, just uninstall via Add/Remove Programs and tell the family not to install it again! Now would also be a good time to do a scan for other malware using a program like MalwareBytes (see my Tools section).
This program really messes up Microsoft office, and it is very hard to figure it out. I had over 40 hours of tech time on my computer, trying to figure out what was slowing down Word and PowerPoint, and they could not figure it out. I finally deleted this file not knowing what it was and it fixed all problems.