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Spyware?
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Spyware? |
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LoveBug
Moderator
Member Elite
since 2000-01-08
Posts 4697
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Hey.. I suspect I have some kind of spyware on my computer.. there are SOO many popups, it's hard to even check my email! It's a fairly new and fast computer, but now it freezes and crashes constantly. Also, my start page changes every time I come on, even though I set it to default every time it changes. How do I fix this?? Oh, make me Thine forever |
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Ron
Administrator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-05-19
Posts 8669Michigan, US |
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/ http://www.safer-networking.org/ http://housecall.trendmicro.com/  |
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Susan Caldwell Member Rara Avis
since 2002-12-27
Posts 8348Florida |
Oh yes. They got me last week.  I used something the gov. recommended for us gov. employees...guess they don't want us infecting our gov. computers...lol But Ron has you covered so...good luck. |
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Jeffrey Carter
since 2000-04-08
Posts 2367State of constant confusion! |
Ron, already gave you all the programs that I use... they can be a little tricky at first so if you need any help you can email me. |
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Alicat Member Elite
since 1999-05-23
Posts 4094Coastal Texas |
Another good program is Spybot S&D (search and destroy). Besides scanning for known bots, trojans, and sundry, it also has the options for locking your startpage and internet options. If also using Adaware, that program will see the locked start page as a problem, but it's rather easy to add that one to the exclude list. We use trendmicro's housecall, avg (free standalone virus scanner with boot scan), adaware, and spybot. Coupled with a packet sniffing router, little gets in, except through my SO's email...and those nefarious critters get quickly and automatically quarantined. |
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Jeffrey Carter
since 2000-04-08
Posts 2367State of constant confusion! |
hehe Ali, the second link Ron gave was to Spybot S & D, but I agree, it is one of the best programs out there; along with Adaware 6.0. I clean my computer every couple days with complete virus scan, Spybot S & D, Adaware and delete my cookies and temp. files. It can get a little tedious at times, but the performance I get is well worth the effort. |
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Alicat Member Elite
since 1999-05-23
Posts 4094Coastal Texas |
Heh...I always do forget the links. Another good prog for removing normal stuff, like internet cache, cookies, registry entries, and installed programs, is EasyClean. Simple interface, floating button helps, and multiple buttons for different functions. If you use it to totally clear your internet cache, be patient, as it does take a while, but is a lot more thorough than the same option in your browser settings. |
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LoveBug
Moderator
Member Elite
since 2000-01-08
Posts 4697 |
I ran those programs and I'm still getting the same amount of popups and spyware.. arg :P Oh, make me Thine forever |
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Alicat Member Elite
since 1999-05-23
Posts 4094Coastal Texas |
I'm not sure what operating system you're using, since with 98 and 98se there's msconfig, which shows all startup items, win.ini, system.ini, autoexec.bat and config.sys. Easyclean also does the same thing, and from the listing, you can choose to remove items you don't want to load at startup. If the culprit isn't there, you might want to check your StartUp folder, as well as sysedit, which allows you to edit your core startup files. Check win.ini for run= and runonce= to see if anything nefarious is lurking there. |
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LoveBug
Moderator
Member Elite
since 2000-01-08
Posts 4697 |
Windows XP |
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Jeffrey Carter
since 2000-04-08
Posts 2367State of constant confusion! |
On any of the pup-ups does it say Windows Messenger Service at the top of the window? If so you can turn off that particular service in Windows XP safely by doing the following.... Click Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services Scroll down to Messenger in the list and right click it then click Properties from the pop-up menu. Under Start up type select DISABLE then click OK or Apply. You may need to restart your computer after doing so. Here is a link to a list of other Services that you may be able to safely disable on your computer ... http://www.zdnet.com.au/insight/0,39023731,20280986,00.htm Good luck. Hope this helps! |
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LoveBug
Moderator
Member Elite
since 2000-01-08
Posts 4697 |
Admin. tools aren't under Control Panel :P Oh, make me Thine forever |
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Jeffrey Carter
since 2000-04-08
Posts 2367State of constant confusion! |
Try this then... Click Start > Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance > Administrative Tools > Services |
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