<s>
HijackThis	B-Application
(	O
also	O
HiJackThis	B-Application
or	O
HJT	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
free	B-License
and	I-License
open-source	I-License
tool	O
to	O
detect	O
malware	O
and	O
adware	O
on	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
originally	O
created	O
by	O
Merijn	B-Application
Bellekom	I-Application
,	O
and	O
later	O
sold	O
to	O
Trend	O
Micro	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
HijackThis	B-Application
is	O
used	O
primarily	O
for	O
diagnosis	O
of	O
malware	O
,	O
not	O
to	O
remove	O
or	O
detect	O
spyware	O
—	O
as	O
uninformed	O
use	O
of	O
its	O
removal	O
facilities	O
can	O
cause	O
significant	O
software	O
damage	O
to	O
a	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
February	O
16	O
,	O
2012	O
,	O
Trend	O
Micro	O
released	O
the	O
HijackThis	B-Application
source	O
code	O
as	O
open	O
source	O
and	O
it	O
is	O
now	O
available	O
on	O
the	O
SourceForge	B-Application
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
HijackThis	B-Application
can	O
generate	O
a	O
plain-text	O
logfile	O
detailing	O
all	O
entries	O
it	O
finds	O
,	O
and	O
some	O
entries	O
can	O
be	O
fixed	O
by	O
HijackThis	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Except	O
for	O
a	O
small	O
whitelist	O
of	O
known	O
safe	O
entries	O
,	O
HijackThis	B-Application
does	O
not	O
discriminate	O
between	O
legitimate	O
and	O
unwanted	O
items	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
HijackThis	B-Application
attempts	O
to	O
create	O
backups	O
of	O
the	O
files	O
and	O
registry	O
entries	O
that	O
it	O
fixes	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
restore	O
the	O
system	O
in	O
the	O
event	O
of	O
a	O
mistake	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
common	O
use	O
is	O
to	O
post	O
the	O
logfile	O
to	O
a	O
forum	B-Application
where	O
more	O
experienced	O
users	O
can	O
help	O
decipher	O
which	O
entries	O
need	O
to	O
be	O
removed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Use	O
of	O
such	O
tools	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
is	O
generally	O
discouraged	O
by	O
those	O
who	O
specialize	O
in	O
manually	O
dealing	O
with	O
HijackThis	B-Application
logs	O
:	O
they	O
consider	O
the	O
tools	O
dangerous	O
for	O
inexperienced	O
users	O
,	O
and	O
neither	O
accurate	O
nor	O
reliable	O
enough	O
to	O
substitute	O
for	O
consulting	O
with	O
a	O
trained	O
human	O
analyst	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
versions	O
of	O
HijackThis	B-Application
include	O
such	O
additional	O
tools	O
as	O
a	O
task	B-General_Concept
manager	I-General_Concept
,	O
a	O
hosts-file	B-Protocol
editor	O
,	O
and	O
an	O
alternate-data-stream	B-Application
scanner	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
HijackThis	B-Application
reached	O
end-of-life	O
in	O
2013	O
and	O
is	O
no	O
longer	O
developed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
team	O
has	O
recommended	O
an	O
unofficial	O
replacement	O
called	O
HijackThis	B-Application
Fork	B-Application
that	O
is	O
being	O
developed	O
by	O
Stanislav	O
Polshyn	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
2002	O
and	O
2003	O
,	O
IT	O
entrepreneur	O
Glenn	O
Bluff	O
(	O
owner	O
of	O
Computer	O
Hope	O
UK	O
)	O
made	O
several	O
attempts	O
to	O
buy	O
HijackThis	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
joint	O
development	O
of	O
HijackPro	O
,	O
a	O
professional	O
version	O
of	O
HijackThis	B-Application
with	O
the	O
built-in	O
capabilities	O
to	O
kill	O
processes	O
similar	O
to	O
killbox	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
HijackPro	O
had	O
2.3	O
million	O
downloads	O
from	O
an	O
illegal	O
download	O
site	O
in	O
2003	O
and	O
2004	O
and	O
was	O
being	O
found	O
on	O
sites	O
claiming	O
it	O
was	O
HijackThis	B-Application
and	O
was	O
free	O
.	O
</s>
