Home Possibly Unwanted Program QkSee

QkSee

Posted: January 28, 2016

Threat Metric

Ranking: 6,605
Threat Level: 1/10
Infected PCs: 95,234
First Seen: January 28, 2016
Last Seen: March 10, 2025
OS(es) Affected: Windows


QkSee is a Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP) whose installation may sometimes occur without the user's knowledge. Furthermore, QkSee doesn't have anything special to offer since it is just an average image-viewing utility that isn't better than the default Windows Picture & Fax Viewer. According to QkSee's official website, their software offers better image loading times, optimized resizing, an attractive and easy-to-use interface, as well as compatibility with a long list of image formats. However, all these claims are over-exaggerated, and users who install QkSee will not see any major improvements.

A peculiar fact is that the 'Download' button found on QkSee's official website is not working. Reputable and useful applications don't include dead download links on their websites, but this isn't a surprising fact considering that QkSee's favorite distribution method is software bundling, and very few people would visit QkSee's page to download the application. Software bundles are a commonly used method to monetize freeware applications, as well as to distribute less-known software to more people. Software bundles usually offer users the option to opt-out of the installation of QkSee, but many users might accept the offer and install QkSee on their computers mistakenly. When installed, QkSee may set itself as the default image viewing application, as well as launch a background service (QkSeesvc.exe) as soon as Windows is loaded.

If you don't find QkSee useful, then it is best to remove this application from your computer. The application is safe and uninstalling it via the Windows Control Panel should not leave any files behind. However, if you want to be 100% sure that QkSee was removed successfully, you should use an anti-malware scanner to erase it.

Technical Details

File System Modifications

Tutorials: If you wish to learn how to remove malware components manually, you can read the tutorials on how to find malware, kill unwanted processes, remove malicious DLLs and delete other harmful files. Always be sure to back up your PC before making any changes.

The following files were created in the system:



C:\WINDOWS\System32\MRT\6F31010B-5919-41C2-94FB-E71E8EEE9C9A\FilesStash\92009CF8-4354-A8DA-6528-ADC69A8E55F8 File name: 92009CF8-4354-A8DA-6528-ADC69A8E55F8
Size: 1.43 MB (1433240 bytes)
MD5: cc9cb26b6e4f9e6a6d262e9c4759d6f4
Detection count: 1,272
Path: C:\WINDOWS\System32\MRT\6F31010B-5919-41C2-94FB-E71E8EEE9C9A\FilesStash\92009CF8-4354-A8DA-6528-ADC69A8E55F8
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: January 23, 2024
C:\Program Files (x86)\QKSEE.del\qkseeSvc.exe.DEL.del File name: qkseeSvc.exe.DEL.del
Size: 708.72 KB (708728 bytes)
MD5: b873ac74ea60b71cb960354ccab10846
Detection count: 787
Mime Type: unknown/del
Path: C:\Program Files (x86)\QKSEE.del\qkseeSvc.exe.DEL.del
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: October 30, 2023
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Temp\ist1228.tmp\tools\qksee\uninstall.exe File name: uninstall.exe
Size: 1.48 MB (1487096 bytes)
MD5: 772396722395ee25349ccff29620b3ca
Detection count: 410
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Temp\ist1228.tmp\tools\qksee\uninstall.exe
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: November 29, 2023
%PROGRAMFILES%\qksee\qkseeSvc.exe File name: qkseeSvc.exe
Size: 675.03 KB (675032 bytes)
MD5: 334a47e9d12f98655473d5c7447997d9
Detection count: 344
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: %PROGRAMFILES%\qksee
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: September 5, 2020
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Temp\ist541D.tmp\tools\qksee\qkdup.exe File name: qkdup.exe
Size: 360.49 KB (360496 bytes)
MD5: c30ae43bfd5d6bbba1480032552219c4
Detection count: 232
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Temp\ist541D.tmp\tools\qksee\qkdup.exe
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: May 5, 2023
C:\Windows\System32\MRT\2168C094-1DFC-43A9-B58E-EB323313845B\FilesStash\trz4C61.tmp File name: trz4C61.tmp
Size: 658.54 KB (658544 bytes)
MD5: 90e796ec0ce1fc65571977cefea9d72e
Detection count: 155
File type: Temporary File
Mime Type: unknown/tmp
Path: C:\Windows\System32\MRT\2168C094-1DFC-43A9-B58E-EB323313845B\FilesStash\trz4C61.tmp
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: February 24, 2023
C:\WINDOWS\System32\MRT\3AC662F4-BBD5-4771-B2A0-164912094D5D\FilesStash\C532B9F4-FB3A-1340-FA8F-DBB1FFCD3AA1 File name: C532B9F4-FB3A-1340-FA8F-DBB1FFCD3AA1
Size: 699.95 KB (699952 bytes)
MD5: 0e8528072ddee7329c4e53c0897af8d4
Detection count: 152
Path: C:\WINDOWS\System32\MRT\3AC662F4-BBD5-4771-B2A0-164912094D5D\FilesStash\C532B9F4-FB3A-1340-FA8F-DBB1FFCD3AA1
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: June 6, 2022
C:\Program Files\qksee\myuser.exe File name: myuser.exe
Size: 92.75 KB (92752 bytes)
MD5: 186b1bea3ce41301dd6577bb8ba1d452
Detection count: 101
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: C:\Program Files\qksee\myuser.exe
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: January 5, 2023
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Temp\ist27E7.tmp\qksee.exe File name: qksee.exe
Size: 1.35 MB (1351968 bytes)
MD5: 1ee7389ba9a6af6202741669b48cde17
Detection count: 89
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Temp\ist27E7.tmp\qksee.exe
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: June 7, 2024
C:\Program Files\qksee\ucp~1421699\ASD_Wai.exe File name: ASD_Wai.exe
Size: 265.36 KB (265368 bytes)
MD5: 794268a9f657ad630e29b7f73683a909
Detection count: 66
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: C:\Program Files\qksee\ucp~1421699\ASD_Wai.exe
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: November 22, 2023
C:\WINDOWS\System32\MRT\6F31010B-5919-41C2-94FB-E71E8EEE9C9A\FilesStash\4D6DBDB1-58E0-552D-B3EE-1550020C86D4 File name: 4D6DBDB1-58E0-552D-B3EE-1550020C86D4
Size: 706.2 KB (706200 bytes)
MD5: d9332a5cf7af75588fde19ed511a62ce
Detection count: 56
Path: C:\WINDOWS\System32\MRT\6F31010B-5919-41C2-94FB-E71E8EEE9C9A\FilesStash\4D6DBDB1-58E0-552D-B3EE-1550020C86D4
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: April 23, 2023
%TEMP%\NSIS_00000000\QkseeInstall.exe File name: QkseeInstall.exe
Size: 2.94 MB (2945117 bytes)
MD5: 4df54508ae15a746989d960cdd77a8d6
Detection count: 7
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: %TEMP%\NSIS_00000000
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: March 31, 2020

More files

Registry Modifications

The following newly produced Registry Values are:

File name without pathqksee.lnkHKEY..\..\..\..{RegistryKeys}SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.ico\OpenWithProgids\qkseeViewer.icoSOFTWARE\qkseeSOFTWARE\qkseeSvcSOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\qkseeSOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\qkseeSvcSYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\eventlog\Application\qkseeServiceSYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\qkseeServiceSYSTEM\ControlSet002\services\eventlog\Application\qkseeServiceSYSTEM\ControlSet002\services\qkseeServiceSYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\eventlog\Application\qkseeServiceSYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\qkseeServiceHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\[APPLICATION]\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall..{Uninstaller}qksee

Additional Information

The following directories were created:
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\qksee%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs\qksee%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\qksee%APPDATA%\qksee%PROGRAMFILES%\qksee%PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\qksee
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