computer virus?

SPYWARE REMOVING

you MAY have:

MESSENGER SPAM:

these next two security settings affect ONLY XP Home as Vista has these already coverd.

Services.these 2 "ports" are open by default in XP and need to be closed to hackers.

start

control panel

administrative tools

services:

Alerter:

right click

select properties

from drop down menu select disable

next find Messenger in the M section and also disable the same way.

IF the above does NOT solve your popup problem,it's almost sure you need;

SPYWARE PREVENTION and REMOVAL:

1st,shut down system restore:

the REASON we shut down System restore is that nasties like to hide tthere and when you restore to an earlier time,you drag those nasties right along with your earlier restore point and you've gained NOTHING!

shutting down system restore DELETES those old restore points ALONG with any nasty hiding in them.

later,we'll set up a new CLEAN restore point to work from.

XP HOME:

start

all programs

accessories

system tools

system restore

settings

drive (c)

check OFF box

VISTA:

The Windows Vista System Restore feature will make sure that software installations, drivers, and other updates can be rolled back. The only price to this feature is some disk usage. If you want to disable System restore, which is a bad idea, it's really pretty simple.

Just to make sure you understand… Windows Vista has just been released. There are bugs. Things will crash. Disabling System Restore will keep you from rolling back changes.

So, you've read this far. Now let's disable it. Type system restore into the start menu search box

click open system protection.uncheck:

OS (c) (System)

turn system restore off { ok }

now it's time to turn to internet options and clean up THAT puppy!

XP or Vista:

start

control panel

internet options

General:

history_clear

cookies_clear

temp files_clear

Privacy:

advanced

override

allow 1st party cookies

Block 3rd [ tracking ] cookies

XP ONLY:

Advanced:

ActiveX:

un check all "unsigned or unsafe ActiveX elements

ok,exit internet options

next:

start

my computer [ XP ] or computer [ Vista ]

local disk drive (c) [XP] or OS (c) [Vista]

windows

prefetch folder

edit

select all

press delete

now go to:

temp folder

edit

select all

press delete key

COOKIES [XP ]:

my computer

local disk drive (c)

documents & settings

username

cookies

delete all

COOKIES: Vista:

start

search pane enter

appdata

local low

microsoft

CryptnetUrlCache

Content & MetaData

empty these 2 folders of vista cookies

that's about all you can do internally,now for some security downloads i use and HIGHLY reccomend:

Avast anti-virus

http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html

AVG Free Advisor - AVG Anti-Spyware Free Edition

Download antivirus for free, as well as other free AVG products, join the millions of home users that trust AVG to protect their computers.

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/download-free-anti-spy...

AVG Anti-Rootkit 1.1.0.42

http://www.freewarefiles.com/program_9_90_22524.ht...

Arovax Shield :

protects your IE and Firefox from unwanted extensions like odd toolbars or malicious browser helper objects and keeps your default home page settings secure. It pays particular attention to hosts file, system registry and other crucial areas of your PC which are most frequent targets of malware.

Arovax Shield discovers and blocks suspicious activities. After this it acts depending on your preferences: notifies you letting you make the final decision or automatically defines if the activity is actually harmful to your computer.

And while other security systems of similar complexity and security level are beyond the pocket of most small companies and individual users, Arovax Shield is absolutely free and available to anyone.

http://www.arovaxshield.com/

Spybot - Search & Destroy 1.5.

This new version features a lot of improved detection mechanisms (which in parts were already made available through the regular 1.4 updates in the past months), improved Operating System support (Windows Vista integration, restored support for Windows 95, more compatibility with Wine, support for bootable Windows CDs), improved browser support (e.g. for immunization)

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

Yahoo! Toolbar helps you:

Make the Web a safer place

* Spyware Protection eliminates dangerous spyware

Organize your Web experience

* Bookmarks keep your favorites at your fingertips

* Personalized buttons get you to your most used sites in 1 click

* Web Search with instant suggestions as you type

Stay in touch with friends

* Yahoo! Mail alerts let you know when you've got new mail

http://toolbar.yahoo.com/

this next download will clean out old,unneeded files making your computer faster.

Over 90 million downloads!!!

CCleaner :

is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. But the best part is that it's fast (normally taking less than a second to run) and contains NO Spyware or Adware! :)

http://www.ccleaner.com/

this next download allows you to check any link BEFORE you open/download it! there will be a GREEN icon for SAFE and RED for DANGER.

pay attention to these icons when doing google,yahoo,ect.,searches.

The Browser Defender™ toolbar allows you to surf safely by displaying site ratings as you browse the Internet. When you visit a site its address will be checked by our servers and a rating shown in toolbar based on any malicious behavior or threats we have found associated with the site.

The toolbar also integrates with the search results provided by popular search engines such as Google and Yahoo! so you can see if it is safe to continue before you visit a site.

http://www.browserdefender.com/download/

this next download allows you to check each link by right click BEFORE you open/download it.

you now have TWO methods to protect yourself from malicious downloads!

LinkScanner Lite - Reviews and free LinkScanner Lite downloads at Download.com

LinkScanner Lite - Analyze Web site content and safety and receive advices in real time. - Review and free download at Download.com

http://www.download.com/LinkScanner-Lite/3000-2144...

download/install/update/run all the anti spyware/anti-rootkit freeware [ did I mention EACH of the above is FREEWARE? LOL! ]

run these at LEAST twice !

OK,NOW !!

it's time to turn restore system back on again and create a new,CLEAN restore point for you:

XP:

start

all programs

accessories

system tools

system restore

settings

drive (c)

setting

place a check in the restore box where you un checked it before

look for the create a restore point link and create your new, CLEAN restore point.

VISTA:

start

search pane enter:

system restore

click open system protection link

check OS(c:) (System)

click create a restore point

follow prompts

you can use this procdeure to rid yourself of messenger pop ups,spyware,virus',ect.

no different!

just add Avast anti-virus

http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html

Malware Removal Guides and Tutorials

http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/Malware-Removal-Gui...

Dealing with Unwanted Spyware and Parasites

http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm

2

Sure, it sounds like you are infected with some kind of malware. I would question whether or not your security suite is complete (antivirus, antispyware, firewall, etc) and whether it is from a reliable vendor (mcafee, norton, kaspersky, etc) and whether it is properly configured, up to date, and automatically updating the latest malware signatures.

Also, I would question whether your operating system has the latest security updates (windows update).

You can certainly attempt a web based scan from either symantec.com or from http://housecall65.trendmicro.com/ and test whether your "antivirus" truly is working properly.

Despite common myths, firefox is not any safer than IE. I have seen it cause this type of conflicts, too... as you have described where things will not go to the correct browser. I would suggest that if you perform the above steps and truly find no malware that you consider uninstalling Firefox, rebooting, and then performing a repair on IE.

Good Luck!

Sounds like your a victim of a bad adware infection;

You can download S&D Search and Destory and AVG to scan your system and remove these infections; both softwares are free and can be downloaded from http://www.download.com/

Also I recommend downloading third party pop-up blockers/killers, this will help a lot.

Most likely, you have a spyware intrusion. Download Spybot Search & Destroy, install it, and run a scan. Using Firefox is also a good idea.

PCTools products do get good reviews. The good thing is they have free versions of their products. They work great. Spyware Doctor from the Google pack is a must. I highly recommend it. I bought Webroots Spysweeper and spyware doctor finds stuff spysweeper does not. Having both is a perfect combo and I recommend running two anti-spyware products.

PCTools Anti-Virus

http://www.pctools.com/free-antivirus/

PCTools Threatfire - Malware Protection

This free tool makes your current anti-virus better. Definite Download

http://www.threatfire.com/

PCTools Firewall Plus

http://www.pctools.com/firewall/

The Google Pack includes a free starter edition of Spyware Doctor.

http://pack.google.com/intl/en/pack_installer_new....

Reviews

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136191/article.h...

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You can do an online scan for viruses and spyware for free from the major vendors. Some of these require Internet Explorer to run because of Active-X

Trend-Micro

http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

Computer Associates

http://www.ca.com/us/securityadvisor/pestscan/

Panda Software

http://www.pandasecurity.com/homeusers/solutions/a...

Symantec Security Check

http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/?langid=ie&veni...

Mcafee Free Scan

http://us.mcafee.com/root/catalog.asp?catid=free

Kaspersky Scanner

http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner

Microsoft Protection Scanner

http://onecare.live.com/site/en-US/center/howsafe....

F-Secure

http://support.f-secure.com/enu/home/olsbeta.shtml

BitDefender

http://www.bitdefender.com/scan8/ie.html

NOD32

http://www.eset.com/onlinescan/index.php

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Its good to run two anti-spywares even if some extra resources are taken.

SuperAntiSpyware does an excellent job. AVG's full version gets great reviews.

Adaware

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware

Microsoft Defender

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/s...

AVG

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/avg-anti-spyware-free/...

Spyware Terminator 2

http://www.spywareterminator.com/

Spybot Search and Destroy

http://www.safer-networking.org/

SuperAntispyware

http://superantispyware.com/

--------------------

Anti-Spyware for a cost.

Personally I bought Webroot's Spysweeper, their product is great and well worth the money. Watch Best Buy ads because sometimes it goes on sale for $10 to $15.

Webroot Spysweeper

http://www.webroot.com/consumer/compare/freeware.h...

PCTools Spyware Doctor

http://www.pctools.com/spyware-doctor/

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There are free anti-virus scanners availble. They work well. I like AVG and PCTools anti-viruses the best of the free anti-virus programs.

If you are not willing to spend money it is good to have some kind of anti-virus software

avg

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1

avast

http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html

Avira AntiVir

http://www.free-av.com/

-------------------

For a Cost

This is my recommendation for anti-virus. Free are good, but they are not as accurate as the top paid anti-virus software

Top-Tier

Kaspersky

http://www.kasepersky.com/

Nod32

http://www.eset.com/

Please follow this link to http://www.eusing.com/free_registry_cleaner/regist... download and run the scanner. It will search out all of the unwanted entries and usually solves alot of problems such as the one you are experiencing.

It is a free registry cleaner and does a pretty good job with my registry.

I had the same problem, what I did was I uninstalled my anti-virus software and downloaded avg free and avg anti-spyware, both are free, and both work really well.

are you virus definitions up to date? try microsofts free antivirus scan online (http://onecare.live.com/site/en-US/default.htm)