What is istsvc.exe? Is istsvc.exe spyware or a virus?

How to fix istsvc.exe related problems?
1. Run Security Task Manager to check your istsvc process
2. Run SpeedUpMyPC to fix related speed issues
3. Run Spyware Doctor to remove persistent malware

Process name: ISTbar spyware

Product: ISTbar

Company: Integrated Search Technologies, CDT Inc.

File: istsvc.exe

Security Rating: 5


"istsvc.exe" is part of ISTbar. This Internet Explorer add-in is spyware as well as a homepage and search page hijacker.http://www.neuber.com/taskmanager/process/istsvc.exe.html 
ISTbar may also install other parasites, including TinyBar, ToolbarCrash, SearchbarCrash, RapidBlaster and Download Plus.
If you don't recall downloading ISTbar, it may have found its way on your system by using an ActiveX control to silently install on your system by simply visiting a website. This is most commonly encountered on adult content websites.
You should remove it.

If you can not remove istsvc.exe (because you can not locate it, or it is in use), download Security Task Manager. This program can kill the process, delete or quarantine this file, or just list all security related information about this file and all other running background processes.


Click to Run a Free Malware Scan for the istsvc.exe worm.


Users Opinions

Average user rating of istsvc.exe: 1.5 based on 307 votes. Read also the 294 reviews.

277 users ask for this file. 13 users rated it as not dangerous. 8 users rated it as not so dangerous. 24 users rated it as neutral. 78 users rated it as little bit dangerous. 184 users rated it as dangerous. 40 users didn't rate it ("don't know").


All comments about istsvc.exe:
rate5 spyware ..   hasan
rate5 Spyware   Devnullius
rate4 Can prevent Win98 systems from starting   Ray Tracy
rate5 Application that is an Internet Explorer toolbar that helps a user to find adult material on the net. The application also displays advertisements.   Märu
rate5 cannot remove it by the delete command   Sandra
rate4 hard to dispose of and slows sytem down greatly   d roberts
rate4 it sucks  See also: Link   bob riley
rate5 used add/remove from control panel - cannot boot get queried for CD key information, like it is a new windows install   bobzoo76
rate3 It had a defect, so Windows asked me to send a problem mail :) after that i was able to delete it.   Nagus
rate5 used add/remove from control panel and it removed ALL my programs and caused system crash   MercyLady1
rate5 Can cause Windows to crash due to so many popups   Becks
rate0 agree with everything said here   Sugaree
rate0 It came up as a "potentially unwanted program: Adware-ISTbar.b" when I did a virus scan with the free McAfee software AOL is giving.   andresariza83
rate4 Can cause a system to bog down and crash   Greg3261
rate5 tries to access the internet and causes pop ups   neon41
rate0 if i released a file that did this much damage from my housei would goto jailwho are these asshole who think they can get away with damaging systems causing problems and costing people money   syk1k
rate5 cannot be removed. not even using 'delete on reboot' action   the dizzle
rate5 Installs itself stealthily   jatyap
rate4 there is a way to destroy the thing get into the registry editor and find: integrated search. delete all the integrated search values you see ( dont skip any) then go to program files and an istsvc folder should be there, delete that and the pain is all gone  
rate4 ad-aware and it's gone   cubic_globe
rate0 Its a pain in the backside.... Use safe mode.... to boot and delete it  
rate0 even when you delate it with one of the spy abattment softwear it comes back, it means that it makes the software thinks that it's delated but it's just an illusion   kais
rate0 comeback even when deleted   kais
rate5 spyware which keeps reappearing after being deleted from computer. I have tried adaware, spybot, hijackthis, trojan hunter to get rid of file but it keeps reinstalling itself as long as there is an internet connection.   Browso
rate4 It sucks it takes u anywhere he wants, system can get stuck from memory overloaded  
rate5 Spyware , Slows your Pc   Arnie
rate4 Made by a company called integrated search technologies. Can be removed by running add remove programs and then running add aware to remove registry entries   David Baptista
rate0 Look for the File in the Task Manager CLOSE IT then Erase or delete  
rate5 virus.   abc
rate5 hard to remove   Remi
rate4 Spyware indeed...! , you can remove the spyware by using "Security Task Manager" and end the process and then delete the file :)   Magnús Karl
rate5 This also stopped the anti virus software, set it to manual and prevented it restarting   Sponge Bob
rate0 Trend Micro identified it for me. I pulled up Task Manager and terminated it (was running). After that, I was able to delete it. I now must change the jumpers on the affected drive and re-install it on the bad computer for retest. The symptom was denial of service: could not reach any internet pages....   Bill Saunders
rate0 if using xp- Ctrl + Alt + Delete, find it in processes, right click and say "end process", then delete the file in explorer.   Matthew
rate5 He wont leave my comp :P   Evert
rate3 AdAware found it, hard to delete   Mixus
rate0 joapp das ding suckt richtig. is schon nice, wenn man 3x so viel upload hat wie download ( in byte) aber gar nichts im netz macht, außer zu surfen   peterpe
rate5 cannot delete it with del key and most anti-spyware programs fail to remove fully   James
rate5 extremely annoying   2curious
rate4 ITS hard to remove thx for help use add/remove it works  
rate5 Thing automatically reinstalls itself even with antispyware software   Nick
rate5 This is a trojan, It opens your computer up for more attacks by other viruses and spyware.   Buddy Neuman CSC
rate4 More annoying than anything...I had to remove it not only from memory..but my registry as well.   Slickcrash
rate5 Ad aware can't delete it.   MrTed
rate4 spyware, its going into autorun and i can't get out this compeltely..   fck
rate4 i have tried everything to remove this ISTsvc.exe... adaware, search and destroy and manual removal from the reg. SPYBOT S&D helps   PITT
rate4 it's suck , also offer many ad's ,maybe caused crashes or frezz!!! sometimes   for"sure
rate1 1. finish it in the task-manager 2. delete it   guest
rate5 it slows down your computer   Wim
rate4 Hard to get rid of  
rate5 ad-aware does not remove it at all.   Okan
rate4 It causes lots pop ups. I used Spybot, Adaware and Pest Patrol to remove it. I also manually deleted every reference to it in the registry and deleted it from C:\Program Files\ISTSVC\istsvc.exe (the file and the folder), but when I rebooted, it was there again!! This is a real pest the first time I have had this much trouble with removing!!   Christine
rate0 Don't know how i got it. Tried to delete from windows then from cmd promp. finally used Task Mgr to stop process then was able to delete containing folder in Program Files. Also went into registry and removed exe files. Hope I don't crash.   Don
rate5 it's annoying - lags my system down and pop ups   hclark
rate5 I can't delete it, even with the suggestion mentioned above - help!!!   Deb
rate5 It plants itself on IE and has a nasty habit of rehabitating spyware upon each reboot. If you run adaware or like programs you will see reoccurance of the same spyware imbedded into your system. It plants itself into numerous registry areas and even when removed it has hidden files to replant itself   Mark
rate5 its spyware   Coaster
rate5 It is difficult to remove and increases disk I/O load causing dangerous thrashing. This spyware has killed two laptop hard disks singlehandedly at the office.  
rate5 it wasnt there when i bought the computer and now my computer is jacked   matt
rate5 Now I know where the popups on my desktop were coming from   daemonzx66
rate4 RUN: REGEDIT (HKEY Local Machine, Software, Microsoft, Shared Tools, MSconfig, StartUp Folder (GET RID OF ISTsvc FOLDER!) Then delete the folder out of C:\Program Files.   ClassicLiz
rate4 Can't get the program to remove this program   Boris
rate5 I found it, and I can't even delete it. I had to end many tasks that I randomly chose before I can delete it. A nuisance   A
rate5 Took AdAware, SpyBot, and MoveOnBoot to get rid of it (I hope)  
rate5 its crazy it downloaded 6 trojans to my comp   ahlam
rate5 Keeps crashing my computer and MSN   Jenna
rate4 AdAware + SpyBot + FreeAV were not able to remove it completely. Now I'll try with your STM   Giro
rate5 Tenacious a real pain   Jaybee
rate4 I tried deleting the folder "program files\ISTsvc" which contained only the exe-file, but it was running. Therefore I used alt-control-delete to start taskmanager and stop it manually. I was then able to remove the folder, and I hope it won't come back this way.  
rate4 displays a lot of popups. Remove it by killing the process in the task manager, and then use HijackThis to remove all associated entries.  
rate5 I dont know what it is but i cant delete it manually   Nielz
rate4 I don't recomend using internet explorer. To prevent your pc from this virus use the mozilla web browser.  See also: Link   Chou
rate4 Take a look at corel photobook cannot a href="http://corel-photobook.spb.ru/" target=_blank corel photobook /a else. http://corel-photobook.spb.ru/  See also: Link   David Harold Brown
rate4 Spybot, Adaware Pro, Pest Patrol, Reg Mech, Spy Dr, all claimed to remove it but it was there upon reboot.. Check out the link to get the removal tool from semantic  See also: Link   Joe
rate5 cannot be removed by adaware, GIANT spyware, etc - continues to attempt to install itself even after it has been "removed", insterts a value into registry that makes it run when you start windows - installed a toolbar and gave me popups on my otherwise popup free comp - check out the link for symantec's removal tool, if that doesn't work you'll have to delete it from registry manually, follow directions on link page  See also: Link   losingmyself
rate4 A simple removal tool to remove this virus/trogan can be found in the following link.  See also: Link   Ben Stokes
rate0 may be related to LimeWire (free version) just found this collumn and tried to delete Linmewire first, then ISTsvc would be deleted right away..   noon
rate5 Due this "thing" I had a number of pop-ups so big that I think it is on the Ginnes Records book   Rurouni Alucard
rate0 I aquired the IST- used combo of adaware,spybot s&d. must uncheck it in msconfig startup first, reboot, run aa then spybot, then do run a search and kill the pagefile of ist\ist.exe   Fahstahouahn
rate5 It sucks!!! My computer has slowed down so badly that it takes me 2 minutes to start internet explorer! And i cant get rid of it! Sigh!   Mr.goldfish
rate5 could crash a system but you can remove it with a tool see link for more details  See also: Link   benjamin042
rate5 keeps bringing on popups could cause a crash on your system   benjamin042
rate5 paralyses your computer by using all of the virtual memory - stops regedit, task manager and prevents memory dependent virus/firewall systems from operating   WiLiWiLsOn
rate5 not very much, but the fact that it is very difficult to remove and has a task htat is invisible makes it very suspicious. I didn't give the program acces on the internet with zone alarm. That made the computer slow.   Tom Haring
rate4 Took me a lot of time. Tried Adaware and Spybot. After using them multiple times I finally got it deleted. I also tried the removal tool 2 times   Spybuster
rate0 Very Difficult Ad-Aware Lavasoft remove but it respawn.   Relieve3D
rate5 Very hard to get rid of. Seemed to download tons of other spyware adware ect.. It got to the point I couldnt do anything to get rid of it. Had to reformat.   Yaotzin
rate0 restart windows in safe mode, then go to control panel and uninstall istsvc then go to windows/prefetch and deleat the file   patrick
rate5 INFECTA OS PROGRAMAS E É DIFICIO REMOVELO POR SER UMA CHAVE DE REGISTRO .   LUANA
rate5 almost imposible to fix/delete hijackthis, ad_aware, spybot, Mccafe, Norten, delete comand... none of it works. still looking for a solution   Jared
rate4 Nothing, only it pops up, when i run ADaware and "AD" says it's a spyware...   Danny
rate4 It is created in \program files\istsvc folder. It works as a backdoor for downloading various programs (including viruses) in c:\windows\temp, then tries to execute them. In my case it came with another program file which installed itself in the root directory. Their giveaway aspect is their date/stamp, which is the same. You can delete both manually when restarting the computer in DOS mode.   tam7
rate4 ISTSVC use file PHVNOLP.EXE (hidden file alocated in c:) to modify Registry key and R. value   Gus
rate5 Can't be deleted, i tried to end the process in taskmgr, and then quickly delete it, but didn't work, still in use somewhere. i'm going to try Security Task Manager now!  
rate0 newly researching it but I suspected it was spyware. Will delete  
rate0 It cannot be removed with adaware or spybot. This program masks itself and re-installs itself on re-boot!  
rate5 cannot be stoped  
rate5 internet explorer not funtional   gey
rate5 Can be hard to get rid of at times-It sucks like all adware   Teamster
rate0 I have this file and i cannot open My computer or ACDSee...   heather
rate5 scanned as spyware, only removable after a reboot by adaware   ME
rate1 It's Great!! =D My Machine runs 150% Slower and crashes every 5 seconds   Your momma!
rate0 it also execute a print command automatically on start up of your syste.   Connie Lersch
rate5 It is a very intrusive pain in the neck, delete registry keys and files in safe mode   MM
rate5 interestingly, this spyware managed to start IE from within Firefox and then installed itself via that.   nik
rate4 simply rename the exe file then delete the bas**rd, then go in regedit as shown above to kill the registry items   dexy
rate5 Awful spyware. You have to end the process first, then remove it from Add/Remove programs. Use Ad-aware to get all the other crap.  
rate5 Used process explorer from sysinternals to find out what the parent process was and killed that (it was respawning the istsvc.exe process).  See also: Link   ncd
rate0 It installs multiple proceses in the Registry making your system unstable. It is dangerous. My laptop was in kind of a mess and I had to work on it for a day to resolve the problem.   Belarc
rate5 Loads as a process. Must kill by Ctrl-Alt-Del, then find process, kill it. If comes back then kill bwnaicv.exe process, and then kill istsvc.exe again. Spybot and Ad-aware only temporarily remove it.  
rate5 My BitDefender antivirus made a report that this prog had tryed to write himself into startup menu. I've deleted the folder with this prog, and my Internet connection failed. It tampered with my registry, I think.   Vladimir
rate0 In order to successfully remove this beast, you need to kill istsvc's parent process first, "ukipvm.exe" - this is usually stored in "C:\Windows\ukipvm.exe". Choose to kill the process tree for this, and then manually delete it and "C:\Program Files\ISTsvc\istsvc.exe" using Windows Explorer.   Ryan
rate1 This file realy bugged me for hours , you may think you would think of it straight away i downloaded mal ware programs, tried everything but i didnt think the file would be in the add and remove section in the control pannel.I deleted it from the add and remove section rebbooted pc and ran ADaware and i finaly got rid of it simple but it works   speedy
rate3 It's really annoying mostly, makes the computer lag quite a bit at times and keeps giving me pop-ups. The first time I ran the tool to remove it, it claimed that the program was not on my system (It was, I saw it running with my own eyes) so the tool may or may not work for you. I'm running it again after deleteing every found source that I could come across.   JJ
rate4 I just bought a new computer and even w/ Norton Anti-V. I can't remove this file. When I tried to do this manually it also will not work claiming that some other program is using it. After entering " Task Manager" and ending the - -.eve I could still not delete the pogram or directoy which it had installed on my computer. No as for Active X (which i have read on the German section of this site may have silently installed it)   Florian
rate5 Go to fee downloads.com, download adaware, (you will find it toward the bottom of the page), run it in safe mode. You get to safe mode by restarting your computer and pushing the F8 key while your computer is restarting. Don't hold it down, just keep pushing F8 until the screen comes up and asks you how you want to start your computer. Use the up and down arrow keys and point it to safe mode. Now run adaware and restart your computer. See if that works.   Idon'tlike computers
rate4 first run this program from nortons.....then open task manager by pressing ctrl/alt/delete buttons till it opens...then find istsvc.exe.right click it and end process..x out of task manager..then open add/remove program files..find istsvc.exe..and remove it...then open up enternet explorer and empty tempary internet files..offline files as well..clear history..delete cookies...then reset your home page to whatever you use..and click apply....this should get rid of this pest...  See also: Link   william r moore
rate4 Its annoying as all get-out i cant kill the blasted thing, i ve manually picked every file out and deleted them but they just keep coming back!, grrr   Miles
rate5 it keeps installing itself on the system, adaware does not remove it properly, must delete it out of your program files and delete all of your temp files. must end process before removing from your progam files   ryball
rate2 on this link to the parasite himself you get rid of the virus  See also: Link   pelle
rate0 go to configuration and then software. There you can delete it.   Zacar
rate0 The removal tool failed to find the spyware. I followed the advice given by a user called dadclass (follow the link). Worked like a charm.   Simon
rate2 Hard to remove but possible, but I know the answer! Download Adaware and clean your disk in "secure mode" then Replace the C:\Program Files\ISTsvc\ cataloge and create a unharmfull executable file instead and name it istsvc.exe. But make shure that the executable is small and selfclosing othewise will your memomy be drained after a while. Then write protect the cataloge and the newly created file. This would solve the problem even for future atacks! Good luck   Axl
rate4 Resurrecting freak. It slows down my PC performance.   freakedout
rate0 It is now preventing the installation of Mcfree  
rate5 Trojan as Identified by Antivir. Spyware/adware as Identified by Spybot/ Ad-aware. Restarted my computer due to constant freezing, cpu would not restart without dsl connection being unplugged. spybot got rid of it temporarily until i re-established my dsl connection. Look in your C:\Windows\Prefetch directory if you have one. it is there with a .pf extension after the normal istsvc.exe filename. I think that's how it re-starts itself. As of yet, I haven't been able to delete it permanently.   Pete
rate2 constantly reenters itself into running processes, which is why you cannot just delete it. you need to cancel the running process, then run adaware...it will work. I run mozilla for my default browser and do not get many popups at all.   BrettM
rate5 i hate it, i even tried my Move on boot program and it still came back, when you end its process it comes back too..   Sean
rate5 setzt Arbeitsspeicher herunter   Ben
rate3 It's not dangerous, but it is annoying. Quarentine it if you can.  
rate0 nobody likes it.....everybody says it should be removed. Security Task Manager removed the file. Thank you. It will cause damage if left unattended on your computer. It is hard to find spyware that will remove this file. You have to stop the task before you can delete the file. Use Security Task Manager!!   yehyehyeh
rate4 Dunno how I got this; very annoying...I'm constantly getting a "Server is Busy: Switch To, Retry, Cancel" option box; cannot close it, cannot hit cancel...   Jess
rate5 C:\program files\istsvc\istsvc.exe is recreated and executed every time I reboot   Phat Bastard
rate5 related to spyware   zero
rate4 Running task mger you can see ISTsvc is running but once you stop it it will pop back because there's a second program running in processes keeping it in use and preventing you from deleting. I found the second program cprjv in windows folder. In task mgr stop the second file, delete it,, stop ISTsvc and delete it.   Craig Andrews
rate4 I removed thru add/remove programs, and then ran adaware se, and also spybot, and restarted pc, remember to remove first thru add/remove programs. Spybot and adaware removes all of this.   Tim
rate2 it's dangerous and mainly crash internet explorer. it shows adults pop-up   ajay
rate5 funny thing i used firefox for months now then this popped up... opping IE instead LOL   ace_balasador
rate5 I bought software to get rid of it, and it seemed to work, but once i restarted my computer, it was back again!! Spyhunter doesn't work   Stephanie
rate0 Delete failed until I did: 1- task manager [End Process] on istsvc.exe 2- deleted folder on c: drive 3- ran AdAware   hartt
rate5 this is the worst file I have EVER seen! I have deleted all reg keys pertaining and deleted it in safe mode. I still...cannot get rid of the file in program files.!  
rate4 Still comes back even after deletion with the Symantec tool. I've tried Spytbot, Adware, Symantec's tool and Microsoft's Adware beta program. It keeps coming back!  
rate5 Very nasty. But there is a way to get rid of it that I found in the Lavasoft Adaware Forums. Basically, there is another process running that prevents you from deleting istsvc.exe. You have to go into the Task Manager and figure out which process is the one related to istsvc. You can do this by googling all the process names. When you find the right one, end it. Then you can end istsvc and delete it. Then run Adaware, HijackThis, etc. Reboot and you should be OK.   Dagurasu
rate0 very problematic--in my case it had an automatic backup file in quarantine; deleted from here and possibly a couple of other spots in adaware and finally permanently removed   Sherri
rate4 To remove: 1, Uninstall all toolbar-programs and all programs connected to the virus(You'll se when you are in "Add/remove programs"). 2. Remove "tydxrvn.exe" (C:\WINDOWS\tydxrvn.exe). 3, remove "istsvc.exe" (C:\Program\ISTsvc\istsvc.exe) and now its gone!   Jacob aka "Computer gEEk"
rate1 Spyware/adware file or trojan easily removable with proper tools  See also: Link   3Tech Computers
rate3 It will be removed by Ad- aware, but not complete. After a reboor it installs again.   Hans Krijgsman
rate5 Be careful with this unwanted file. It causes your PC crashes and difficult to shut down or reboot then your PC should be reinstalled.   Syahril Adar
rate5 can be removed. restart in safe mode (press F8 key on reboot) should be under C:\Program Files\ISTSvC. just delete it and then run a scan for anything containing istsvc and then delete all of t hose files   Aaron Tilley
rate0 My information is that this is spyware and must be removed from your computer   well wisher
rate5 Im using XP home edition, You can't just simply end the prosses in task manager and then find the file and delete it. I've tried this and it will continue to tell me "Cannot delete Istsvsc: It is being used by another person or program. I've also tried using the registry editor Doing all this from Classic Liz's suggestion.... (RUN: REGEDIT (HKEY Local Machine, Software, Microsoft, Shared Tools, MSconfig, StartUp Folder (GET RID OF ISTsvc FOLDER!) Then delete the folder out of C:\Program Files. ) But The file wasn't found using that path, it wasn't in c/documents...   KreenDurron
rate4 Killing it in the task manager and then deleting it wont make it go away for ever. Use one of programs listed.   darklord
rate4 I just simply used the Install or remove new programs and it worked ! not kidding   xcooba
rate4 Legt alle internet-explorer lahm   slimey
rate5 annoying; can be removed in safe mode (f8)   sjoerd
rate3 had a really hard time getting rid of this, fix posted at following link  See also: Link   Rabbit
rate5 when im running this program remove istcv something it says that i dont have the file but when im searching there is a ist but i have it on c\program   philip
rate4 creates pop ups and wants to download stuff   pcp101
rate5 It is detected by ad-aware, spybot,... and these programs can be used to delete the program. However, after a few seconds it is installed again by other programs that are not (yet) detected by spyware removal programs. I identified a program called "lnxnyavf" that kept on installing "istsvc", but I expect that ISearchTech (the creator of istsvc) will come up with different names every day.   George
rate4 Pain in the ass program! Use MozillaFirefox or Opera. Using Explorer to surf the net, is like driving a car with sugar in the gas tank.   Sayun
rate5 sehr hartnäckig   kosta
rate5 prob. got it from downloading porn off limewire- sometimes you are directed to a site when you try to play it. i have removed it but it came back   jaime
rate5 This is part of that little search bar located just above the windows system tray clock. It drops into a folder under Windows called isrvs Which is hidden but can be removed in safe mode. See link to remover which does remove it.  See also: Link   Chris
rate5 it pops up when i start windows and it takes with it lots of pop up ads like those new offer for you stuff and because of that my computer is darn slow. It won't even install games because of it's darn speed!   Plip
rate5 its a git to get rid of   glyn
rate5 Keeps coming back!   Bill
rate5 run ad-aware then run C:Program Files\istsvc.exe /remove   ck
rate0 spybot would not remove it. used add/remove programs  
rate5 it create lots of pop ups, and installed multiple programs on my compy. i hate it.  
rate4 It uses a 2nd process to keep itself alive, goto start- run- type: regedit- goto HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run - there should be something with 5 random letters/numbers with the path to the 2nd file in it. I hit CTRL+ALT+DEL, ended the task (it was named something like pcjb or something) and the istsvc.exe thing, and haven't seen it since that time.  
rate5 hard to erase program. it pops back on everytime its removed. i uninstalled the program that it attached to still came back. used IE residence came with the Spybot S&D finally stopped the program from creeping back into registry problem solved!  
rate5 Is this not illegal...Damaging a person's property with your unwanted software? These guys need to go to jail for property damages, I think. Meanwhile, it doesn't do anything if you run Mozilla Firefox or the full Mozilla Suite.   LinuxGeek
rate5 Seems to like stopping you sound too, Still trying to solve problem...is in Add remove...however not too sure how much help that was. Seems to install other virus'/spyware.  
rate5 keeps coming back even though you delete the files   fiona
rate5 this file has prevented me from logging onto the internet and/or not letting me login at all from my home address. However I am able to login from another location. Strange!!   challad
rate5 to remove istvc, find the folder istsvc "c:\programfiles\istsvc" and then rename the folder... then manually delete the istsv.exe   jetreaver
rate5 Removal instructions: br 1. End process in Taskmanager: istsvc.exe br 2. Use Security Task Manager to locate and delete the file br 3. Search registry for istsvc.exe and remove all keys   Kai
rate5 Adult content high jack, browser redirect, possible downloader or downloaded with other backdoor. spybot finds and adaware finds also but may not remove root cause. This has defeated the Norton antivirus and symantic.386 file is missing needs to be relaoded. In dos mode to progra~1\istsvc\istsvc.exe and del the file then rd the directory. Rerun Spybot and Adaware then reinstall AV software if needed. Symantic also has a Fixistsvc on site. Bit of a nasty so say the least.   Rick
rate5 Extremely invasive. It manages to bury itself, and continually come back up, no matter how many times it's crushed.  
rate5 I have been frustrated, because the anti-spyware programs do not seem to remove it permanently. I wonder if it tracks your IP and attempts to install itself over the net if it isn't there. Anyway, I killed the process like everyone else has, went into Visual Basic and made a dummy executable called istsvc.exe that does nothing but display a message box. Then I set the security to deny all rights to the file, so that it cannot be overwritten. I have yet to see that message box pop up and the dummy file has not been changed, so I have effectively disabled the mechanism albeit in a kludgey way.   Christopher
rate5 This thing is horrible. William thank's for the Symantec link.. Arg this thing is just a P.O.S. if you ever get it Goto the link that William R said and use their tool (or do it manually)  See also: Link   Michael McMullen
rate4 There's another exe that install and run istsvc.exe. For those of you who cannot remove it even with spyware cleaner, try windows security task, check the istsvc process, then check what caused it to run. Delete the program that runs istsvc. Also there are some files placed in temp. internet files, be sure to delete them too.   raisin
rate4 spyware for marketing, really hard to remove reinstall itself   Dvda
rate4 A pain to remove, but not impossible. Easy way is to press F8 to get to the boot menu, then select Command Prompt. Once there, do a cd \progra~1\istsvc then del *.* - THAT'll fix it's wagon!   Troublemaker
rate4 is a pain to get rid of. Go to C drive, Windows folder, and delete Janet.exe This is what it runs through and will get rid of it   Tony
rate4 Whatever it is, it's a pain. It slows the computer and messes up everything. Went through all "scan" and can't delete", then went into "Add or Remove Programs" and got it! For now anyway.   Pierre
rate4 strangely, microsoft's anti-spyware seems pretty good. it got rid of istsvc.exe with no fuss, no muss, no reboots, no safe-mode, etc.  See also: Link   orion
rate3 can be simly uninstalled! Control pannel -- add/remove programs :)  
rate3 Keeps installing itself every time i'm on line. Ad-aware delates it on re boot. but returns every time i'm on line. Causes loads of pop-ups, a real pest.   Dave.
rate1 Annoying when windows Xp starts. Removed it with Adware Away. Easy folks, No Sweat   Stan the man
rate0 This programs knocks my computer offline several times each day   PeggyHHH
rate0 I used regedit from diamondcs.com to find where it was located (you can't remove the registry key - once you find it, you have to ctrl-alt-delete to shut down the registry editor), then I rebooted and started my computer in MS-Dos mode, preventing the spyware from starting up with windows, and, using dos, went to the folder (cd c:\progra~1\istsvc will get you there) then, FROM THAT DIRECTORY (important so you don't remove necessary files) delete the files (del *.*). That doesn't remove the registry key (I haven't worked that out yet) but as long as you remove the exe file it can't run.   Angella
rate5 This program has removed Windows Update from my system. I turned off my firewall, I turn it back on and it turns it off again. It has turned off automatic update, I turn it back on and it turns it off again. It will not allow me to access task manager. When I click remove in add/remove programs it fashes the approval screen so fast there is not way to click on it, I have tried a hundred times. It downloads so much stuff my system freezes.I've had to pull the plug just to get my comp to turn off.Thank you IE for this program as well as ISIB!!!!  
rate5 go to www.norton.com, somewhere on that page it says symentec security check, click on it, somthing will open, click on virus check. install all the activex things. at the end it will say found spyware/adware.etc it will not let you delete it but it will say where the virus adress is go to that adress and delete the file/files!!!!!!!!!!!   CAMCAR
rate5 To remove: kill the process tree of the parent proces that is usually a u* process (Use wintasks to look at all processes in detail). The Use Symentec Wipe Info tool to remove the u* process and the c:\program files\istsvc folder. Finally, use a good registry cleaner to cleanup the registry   Mansoor
rate5 kept coming back after removal with spyware s&d, restarted and noticed without connection it wanted dial-up, so i used msconfig to take out some random startups. found that xcqppvyq.exe fixed it, so deleted, cleaned up with spyway s&d and it ain't coming back   bp
rate4 Nasty Adware - installs additional apps, too - use IST's uninstall process from their web site (see link) to get it out of your browser add-ons and start up, then use Ad-Aware to clean up the reg entries and left over files.  See also: Link   Dennis Clarke
rate5 More than most of these people posting here. Most people here can not complete a sentence much less explain the problem. Geez, it won't delete, computer won't reboot. Then why did you mess with it? get a pro involved....  See also: Link   Poindexter
rate4 Found this file (uhlxrf.exe) in processes of tsk mgr, ended it along with istsvc.exe, and then I was allowed to delete the file folder from C:\Program files. It is probably duplicating itself w/other processes.   Leo
rate0 tried speedy's advice...add/ remove programs,..then ran spybot..and it seems to be gone......when i bring up task manager, I don't see it listed anymore...hopin this did the trick..   Tom..(cowdude1)
rate5 removal instrutions- go to the start menu and search. search for bb.exe, istsvc.exe, ist, and delete it (run in safe mode) ------------------ go to microsoft.com, and install microsoft antispyware   CAMCAR
rate3 i detected it and had it deleted by AVG antivirus but it seems to have affected some files on my computer. i'm unable to install mozilla's firefox v1.02 or 1.04 which i was able to do before   joel
rate2 (TRY TO) remove C:\dokuments and settings\username\lokal settings\Temp\temp.frC106\istsvc.exe FIRST (C:\Dokumente und Einstellungen\benutzer\Lokale Einstellungen\Temp\temp.frC106\istsvc.exe)   rain
rate4 Easy to remove. Hard to keep from coming back. Had to identify additional processes and files which resurrected istsvc.exe on the next reboot after I killed it.   Doug
rate5 It is sooo STUPID all it does is bring popups and it anoys da crap out of me.my computer yousto be going soooo quick now its slow like shit.   Grant
rate4 I dont know how to get rid of that ... i did try adware, it did delete some of those fles but not all and after restarting my cpu it's back!   Kaur Laanemäe
rate1 Very nice program, yeah, Sure to be good for my collection on my linux system, not dangerous at all, i even started it with wine!  See also: Link   Marctraider
rate5 Tried to remove using Add/remove programs and after that Windows 98 does not start properly; not even in safe mode. Please help.  
rate2 i don't know how to get rid of it i've been reading other peoples coments so i'm trying them out i hope it will go away   Miguel
rate5 portal for other adware, the company offer a fix on their site, but who would trust them...anyone tried it?  See also: Link   murman
rate4 This is rampant in the gnutella network - do not download files of 399k or 765k in size from this n/w   web-surfie
rate5 its peice of crap and maker of it should be skinned alived over a open fire  
rate5 thank you william r moore!! your link helped me delete the stupid file!!  
rate5 The company claims to link to a site offering a fix, anyone tried it?  See also: Link   Murray
rate5 My firewall Says it's an Application Hijacker (Sygate firewall Pro)   Gavin
rate5 It opened up a back door which let a mega virus in!!!   bob johnson
rate5 Very Dangerous, delete as soon as you can find it!  See also: Link   Aaron5367
rate4 Spyware. I removed it with Pest Patrol.   ionut
rate5 it can cause death and severe headache   the bombdigitty
rate1 Solution: sorry this works  See also: Link   RFX
rate5 I found this spyware on my laptop and it took me over a day to get rid of it. After many tries with NoAdware and manually editing the registry and trying to find tha associated task that reinvents the istsvc. I finally downloaded a beta copy of Microsoft Antispyware. I als took Axl's suggestion and created a dummy executable called istsvc.exe and write protected it. When I started my machine I got a message that told me the spyware was active and asked if I wanted to delete it. I said yes and I haven't seen it since. I am not sure if the Microsoft Antispyware would have caught it alone.   Jerry Olson
rate5 i have tried every combination of steps i can think of to remove this thing. i've bombed my registry, deleted every file and folder in and out of safe mode, ran every program i can get my hands on (in and out of safe mode, before and after rebooting). sometimes it's gone for a few hours, but for the most part i can just watch it reappear in my program files after a few minutes online. i've got 6 spyware removal programs (all mentioned above) NAV, hijak this, etc. nothing is working. this is my second infection. in 8 years, this is the only one that makes me wipe and reload (TWICE now)   ed
rate5 This file is like the Borg, no matter what I attack it with it regenerates somehow. I have used Spybot S@D which removes it after a restart, but when i restart the machine again its back. It writes and re writes registry keys. it just will not go away. I have used Trend micro PC-Cillin and Norton Antivirus to remove this and i still have it. I am going to try some of the tips here to see if i can get rid of it   francis
rate4 Annoying as hell. Ended process but it came back. Entered safe mode and deleted, but it came back. Norton Anti-V couldn't delete. Finally! I removed it! Was only successful after using "security task manager" and selecting remove and uninstall in that program, then Start - Run - Regedit - Edit "find - Istsvc.exe" and deleting all folders that were named that. Has not resurrected since. Try it.   Erin
rate4 remove it using the Add/remove program thingy in yur control panel. then rename it to something else (istsvc.jpg for example) then run the file registry and delete the istsvc folder. after tt end the istsvc process from the windows task manager and then delete the file using explorer and empty the recycle bin. it works for me and i have not seen it in my task manager anymore so far. good luck   zp
rate3 It's funny: you can't delete it manually, the anti-virus and the spyware eliminator program can't delete it, but you can remove it using ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS :))) !! But i think the best way to remove such "things" is to delete them in pure DOS mode !!!   GHD
rate5 I had to delete a 10k file call c:\windows\hsnqgh.exe before I could stop istsvc.exe from reinstalling it self. (also deleted registry entry to run hsnqgk.exe at startup) These bozo's should be taken out & shot!!!!   dougie
rate0 hard to remove I got rid of it. Listen folks just do what people are saying. ****go to task manager and end the program, then go and delete it from your files.**** hope this heps folks..it worked for me.   k
rate5 slows down comp, restarts comp, drops connection, upload is 3x download, reinstalls itself after connecting to internet, cant open regedit   istsvc casualty
rate5 This file comes into your PC usually if you are visiting websites that consists of Pictures or download any file from private website.   Syahril Adar
rate4 Difficult to completely remove. Norton page (Listed below) gave me the correct info to (Finally) eliminate this annoying pest.  See also: Link   Jack Black
rate3 Cant remove it from add/remove program,but one thing its for sure ,i think it slows down your system performance   kuhen
rate5 Won't go away, even through all the suggestions listed above. It just keeps coming back on the machine.   ANNOYED
rate0 It is very dangerous when you have it on your system. It is capable of slowing down your system!   Afemjoh
rate4 Tried some of the above things unsuccessfully. Finally nailed it with ms antispyware.   Maik
rate4 Spyware, easy to remove but annoying as hell. use add/remove programs to get rid of it   Mike
rate3 1. Remove from task mgr. 2. Use add/remove panel to remove file.   Eric
rate5 in regestry, slows down network very fast, damages registry   butch
rate5 it won't install if u r using firefox to surf the web.   spyware SuX
rate5 i cant remove it. damn!! norton cant remove it ! why ?   .
rate1 to kill this service, you must install Ad-Aware 1.6  See also: Link   istsvc.exe
rate3 It is not allowing me to open the Internet Explorar   Pawan
rate3 i used the add/delete program n it got erased   booga
rate5 I hate this disgusting program.  
rate5 I found at Task Manager   Jaky
rate5 hide my sytem32-folder, and shutdown several antivrus-progs   Vegeta
rate5 It has a nasty habit of reapearing... caution when trying to delete, its like a cancer it can be aggrivated and cause ur system to totally lose it and u must pay bigg bucks to replace a new hard drive... totally annoying...   Claudio
rate5 I can log on to my internet server but totally can't surf net, can't send and receive mail, window media player also being wiped off. I deleted it but still can't surf, send and receive mail at all. finally, last resort, re-format my system.   Hitchcock
rate5 Stops propper function of Internet Explorere and freezes screens, reinstalls itself after deletion from Windows and remove program and does not allow multi websites on internet. Only last website available all previous stalled and error messages required to sent befor exciting sites. No page back allowed This is absoluteley frustrating and cause for massive amounts of lost time and anger. Still cant remove without reapearing   Lional
rate5 The mother of all annoyances. I've tried about 5 different removal tools yet it keeps coming back. Even the advice given here hasn't worked, been through about half of them...   San
rate5 Ugh. I ended it in Task Manager, then tried to delete it in Explorer and it said it couldn't be deleted as something else was using it. I keep having to turn on my computer, end it in Task Manager then after about an hour it comes back and won't let me load anything so I have to restart.   Sarah
rate5 Go to start control panel add/remove programs and select ISTSVC And click uninstall do that and its gone =)  See also: Link   Bas
rate5 I used xoftspy and it removed several files of it so far noproblems   Ahill
rate5 so dangerous.i used all tools and it can't be rmoved at all   alderessy
rate5 That code is a pest that kept trashing my video & sound. I had to make a clean windows install   Joey P
rate4 Use Add/Remove Programs. It worked for me(XP)   Patrik
rate3 You can take it to geeksquad, they're the best. Also, don't be wanting mp3/porn or anything of the sort, use limewire for mp3's. My friend got this and he has to use safe mode. Quick thought, try a System Restore, NOT Factory; System. Start All Programs Accessories System Tools System Restore restore to an earlier date. 3!   -ShareWare
rate3 This "Tool" bar is annoying more than it is dangerous & loads 2 processes in start-up named SAcc.exe & istsvc.exe + installed the following programs which can be seen in add/remove programs 1)ContextPlus 2)ISTsvc 3)MP3 Toolbar 4)SideFind 5)Surf Accuracy. Use Ctrl + Alt + Delete to open Task Manager , highlight the processes & select End Task for both of these processes then close Task Manager. I used a program called "Your Uninstaller" which automatically removes the registry entries with the programs & then I went to C:/Program Files & deleted the folders & restarted my computer. Gone!  See also: Link   Bitwraith
rate3 Crashed on a friend's computer, it caused some "16-bit subsystem" error saying "illegal instruction".   TerrorBite
rate2 Go to your 'configuration screen Software and then you must be able to remove istsvc.exe without installing another program.  See also: Link   Emiel
rate0 Add/remove programs in sontrol panel, find it and delete it, It works!   eeric
rate0 i kept killing istsvc.exe process and it kept restarting. I also couldn't delete the program file - until i killed the another process qtpfm.exe. Kill that first  
rate4 This file runs threw 3-4 different processes. If you think that you can just delete you can't if you locate the Window System 32 folder they also install an .exe that will auto launch and download it again and again I have used Ad Aware Spybot and went manually threw safe mode, c-prompt and no luck. I finally got rid of all this by going and taking it out of registry(risky) then starting in safe removing the folders out of Program Files then C:\Windows has 2 files and System 32 has 2 too. after all this I had my IP Changed and it all seem to hold it back.   MiKe
rate4 Security Task Manager will help   Matthew
rate5 symantec task manager is the sollution  See also: Link   phoinix
rate5 reinstall os and done   jb
rate5 I went to their site, and they actually have a page telling how to get rid of it, and it's finally GONE!  See also: Link   LAO270
rate5 it eats up the virtual memory causing you to close down applications!! Close it from tast manager!  
rate5 make my PC very slow , restart windows   hmmousa
rate5 I am really getting tired of all of the Norton Security popups, and istvc.exe is one of them. I cannot figure out how to delete it. If anyone is nice enough to help me out, my e-mail is car-man_08@hotmail.com. I would really appreciate any help you could give.   Big Dave
rate5 You should also look for a program called SideFind in your C: Program Files, this program is linked to ISTsvc and may be responsible for downloading the file to your systems along with StatBlaster, Avenye Media files, SideSearch, 180 solutions msbb and Power Scan.   CC
rate5 brings up pop ups...very annoying...try to kill the process and then delete it   crazymac
rate5 This is so simple to remove. All you must do, for Windows XP users, download security task manager and end it's process. Exit Security Task Manager. Now, open regular windows task manager and open up Program Files. End it's process in Windows Task Manager and then delete it.   Xavier
rate5 Computer do not start in safe mode   Sohel
rate5 thanks bitwraith....it works.....leute versucht die idee von bitwraith....es funktioniert!! your unistalles gibt es auch als free trial version (umsonst, auf 30 tage begrenzt)   bobbele
rate5 "istsvc.exe" is part of ISTbar. This Internet Explorer add-in is spyware and a homepage and search page hijacker.   Gilberto Cardosso Lopez
rate1 Just Remove Firewall   Rita Maria Paris
rate5 google web site   Sutardjo
rate4 brings up a folder called ISTsvc everytime you boot. Slows down loading immensely.   Kara
rate5 Spyware/Task manager disabled/Chance System32 and driver dates   Diebels
rate5 Go to this link and get rid of that thing!  See also: Link   Mystic Finger
rate1 just run the "istsvc.exe /remove" in dos....   andrew
rate5 I try to stop it in alt-shift-ctrl, uninstall it in control panel, use adaware and delete it in a short time, but a still can't delete it (and the popups appear just now)   Ah!!!!
rate4 Big Problem-want to delete-it runs our computer and wastes countless hours--help--Number2Sunshine   Linda Nee
rate3 Causes Pop-Ups based on your surfing, collects surffing patterns   ISTsvc Doctor
rate3  See also: Link   ISTsvc Doctor
rate4 i know it stuff ups msn messenger. the program kept coming on the desktop even after i deleted it   rach
rate2 really really good   becciboo
rate3 This is so simple to remove. All you must do, for Windows XP users, download security task manager and end it's process. For more spyware removal tools  See also: Link   Mike
rate5 Spyware   Alexey
rate0 After countless hours fighting this scumbag trojan this WORKED for me.  See also: Link   Sammy
rate5 it takes over your pc. go to your windows procces and keep deleating it, take a while for it to stop. then go to download.com and get drweb, superantispyware, IObit and that will help get rid of some of the crap it downloaded. nothing can kill it.   4evertools
rate5 Well I never really experienced that threat before but maybe this is a good method ~ go to task manager look for istsvc.exe then end process then go to start run type in msconfig then go to startup then uncheck the Spyware/Trojan/Virus then Apply settings then restart computer then go to Start type in regedit (I don't where the infected files are) look for the infected items then delete them... Then look for the infected files in C:\Program Files and look for the exe file that caused the infection... Use different methods of fighting this threat~~ Maybe try out Firefox and the add-ons  See also: Link   Oh Tricky Threat
rate5 dangerous spyware/adware/trojan.   Hacker

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istsvc.exe
[istsvc.exe in German] [all processes]