Recently a number of shortcuts for cheap cigarettes,
viagra, etc., appeared on my desktop, and also in my
Favourites folder. I can delete them, but once I start up
again, they're back. Also my homepage is constantly
changing to something called "your-search", which usually
results in a 404 error.

Knowing this to be a spyware problem, I downloaded Ad-
aware, and it cleaned a huge number of things off my
machine. When I restarted my computer, though, there were
the ads back again.

A friend suggested that I try doing a system restore. I
did, and it seemed to fix the problem, until I realized
that some data files had reverted to their earlier
versions. Needing the current data, I undid the system
restore (temporarily), copied the files to a diskette,
and tried to do the system restore again. It won't allow
me to do it. I have now tried several restore points, and
none of them work.

My question is threefold: (1)How can I get rid of this
spyware that has infested my system, when Ad-aware
doesn't seem to work; (2)Is the problem with System
Restore a symptom of this, that will go away when I solve
the spyware issue, or do I have to do something else to
fix it; and (3)if I hunt down the people who created this
plague, is it legal to beat the living daylights out of
them?

"Dave Roddick" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:129e701c4184f$c82c3580$(E-Mail Removed)
> Recently a number of shortcuts for cheap cigarettes,
> viagra, etc., appeared on my desktop, and also in my
> Favourites folder. I can delete them, but once I start up
> again, they're back. Also my homepage is constantly
> changing to something called "your-search", which usually
> results in a 404 error.
>
> Knowing this to be a spyware problem, I downloaded Ad-
> aware, and it cleaned a huge number of things off my
> machine. When I restarted my computer, though, there were
> the ads back again.
>
> A friend suggested that I try doing a system restore. I
> did, and it seemed to fix the problem, until I realized
> that some data files had reverted to their earlier
> versions. Needing the current data, I undid the system
> restore (temporarily), copied the files to a diskette,
> and tried to do the system restore again. It won't allow
> me to do it. I have now tried several restore points, and
> none of them work.
>
> My question is threefold: (1)How can I get rid of this
> spyware that has infested my system, when Ad-aware
> doesn't seem to work; (2)Is the problem with System
> Restore a symptom of this, that will go away when I solve
> the spyware issue, or do I have to do something else to
> fix it; and (3)if I hunt down the people who created this
> plague, is it legal to beat the living daylights out of
> them?

First eliminate any scumware.
See
Dealing with Unwanted Spyware, Parasites, Toolbars and Search Engines
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
especially
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm#Coolwebsearch

Note that AdAware and SpyBot S & D will each catch some things the other
won't. Also, each needs to be updated before every use, even when just
downloaded. There's also a lot more to do than just those two programs.
CWShredder is also available here:
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/regs...cwshredder.zip
**Post your HijackThis log to
http://forums.spywareinfo.com/ or the Spyware forum at
http://forum.aumha.org/ for expert analysis, not here.**
Alternative download pages for Ad-Aware, Spybot, HijackThis and CWShredder
may be found on this page:
http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htm.
If trying everything at that site does not fix the problem please post back
in the same thread.

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP, IE/OE
Please respond in Newsgroup. Do not send email
http://www.fjsmjs.com
Protect your PC
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

in ie tools options advanced uncheck both "enable
install on demand",,apply.or you get 'firefox' from
mozilla.org and get rid of the ie security problems..
blocks popups too and ad' blocker available. and a better
cookie manager/blocker.


>-----Original Message-----
>Recently a number of shortcuts for cheap cigarettes,
>viagra, etc., appeared on my desktop, and also in my
>Favourites folder. I can delete them, but once I start up
>again, they're back. Also my homepage is constantly
>changing to something called "your-search", which usually
>results in a 404 error.
>
>Knowing this to be a spyware problem, I downloaded Ad-
>aware, and it cleaned a huge number of things off my
>machine. When I restarted my computer, though, there were
>the ads back again.
>
>A friend suggested that I try doing a system restore. I
>did, and it seemed to fix the problem, until I realized
>that some data files had reverted to their earlier
>versions. Needing the current data, I undid the system
>restore (temporarily), copied the files to a diskette,
>and tried to do the system restore again. It won't allow
>me to do it. I have now tried several restore points, and
>none of them work.
>
>My question is threefold: (1)How can I get rid of this
>spyware that has infested my system, when Ad-aware
>doesn't seem to work; (2)Is the problem with System
>Restore a symptom of this, that will go away when I solve
>the spyware issue, or do I have to do something else to
>fix it; and (3)if I hunt down the people who created this
>plague, is it legal to beat the living daylights out of
>them?
>.
>

You forgot to metion that the answer to #3 was YES.

"Frank Saunders, MS-MVP" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
> "Dave Roddick" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:129e701c4184f$c82c3580$(E-Mail Removed)
> > Recently a number of shortcuts for cheap cigarettes,
> > viagra, etc., appeared on my desktop, and also in my
> > Favourites folder. I can delete them, but once I start up
> > again, they're back. Also my homepage is constantly
> > changing to something called "your-search", which usually
> > results in a 404 error.
> >
> > Knowing this to be a spyware problem, I downloaded Ad-
> > aware, and it cleaned a huge number of things off my
> > machine. When I restarted my computer, though, there were
> > the ads back again.
> >
> > A friend suggested that I try doing a system restore. I
> > did, and it seemed to fix the problem, until I realized
> > that some data files had reverted to their earlier
> > versions. Needing the current data, I undid the system
> > restore (temporarily), copied the files to a diskette,
> > and tried to do the system restore again. It won't allow
> > me to do it. I have now tried several restore points, and
> > none of them work.
> >
> > My question is threefold: (1)How can I get rid of this
> > spyware that has infested my system, when Ad-aware
> > doesn't seem to work; (2)Is the problem with System
> > Restore a symptom of this, that will go away when I solve
> > the spyware issue, or do I have to do something else to
> > fix it; and (3)if I hunt down the people who created this
> > plague, is it legal to beat the living daylights out of
> > them?
>
> First eliminate any scumware.
> See
> Dealing with Unwanted Spyware, Parasites, Toolbars and Search Engines
> http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
> especially
> http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm#Coolwebsearch
>
> Note that AdAware and SpyBot S & D will each catch some things the other
> won't. Also, each needs to be updated before every use, even when just
> downloaded. There's also a lot more to do than just those two programs.
> CWShredder is also available here:
> http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/regs...cwshredder.zip
> **Post your HijackThis log to
> http://forums.spywareinfo.com/ or the Spyware forum at
> http://forum.aumha.org/ for expert analysis, not here.**
> Alternative download pages for Ad-Aware, Spybot, HijackThis and CWShredder
> may be found on this page:
> http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htm.
> If trying everything at that site does not fix the problem please post
back
> in the same thread.
>
> --
> Frank Saunders, MS-MVP, IE/OE
> Please respond in Newsgroup. Do not send email
> http://www.fjsmjs.com
> Protect your PC
> http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/
>
>

"Jerry" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:uA1$(E-Mail Removed)
> You forgot to metion that the answer to #3 was YES.
>
>> "Dave Roddick" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:129e701c4184f$c82c3580$(E-Mail Removed)
>>>
>>> My question is threefold: (1)How can I get rid of this
>>> spyware that has infested my system, when Ad-aware
>>> doesn't seem to work; (2)Is the problem with System
>>> Restore a symptom of this, that will go away when I solve
>>> the spyware issue, or do I have to do something else to
>>> fix it; and (3)if I hunt down the people who created this
>>> plague, is it legal to beat the living daylights out of
>>> them?

Actually, I don't think it is legal.
It should be, though.

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP, IE/OE
Please respond in Newsgroup. Do not send email
http://www.fjsmjs.com
Protect your PC
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/