webbrowser affected by spyware

I have Norton Antivirus & Firewall protection. Skeptical of some performance
issues I had, I ran a scan yesterday and found my system was infected with 2
viruses. I have been unable to save my own default home address in my
webbrowser. I also received a pop-up notifying me that my system is infected
(unrelated to Norton and after the debugging mentioned above), encouraging me
to download a spyware program.

How do I regain control of my browser and get rid of pop-ups of this kind
that I think may be on my hard drive? Is there a way to scrub out malicious
code that I may have downloaded? Although I have a firewall and anti-virus,
is it possible I still have a 3rd party on my system?

Download SPYBOT this is the best spyware program
>-----Original Message-----
>I have Norton Antivirus & Firewall protection.
Skeptical of some performance
>issues I had, I ran a scan yesterday and found my system
was infected with 2
>viruses. I have been unable to save my own default home
address in my
>webbrowser. I also received a pop-up notifying me that
my system is infected
>(unrelated to Norton and after the debugging mentioned
above), encouraging me
>to download a spyware program.
>
>How do I regain control of my browser and get rid of pop-
ups of this kind
>that I think may be on my hard drive? Is there a way to
scrub out malicious
>code that I may have downloaded? Although I have a
firewall and anti-virus,
>is it possible I still have a 3rd party on my system?
>
>.
>

First. Make sure of these settings and nothing will install without you
answering YES. (Except what may install as part of some other software.)
Don't click YES if you don't know/trust the source.

Start | Settings | Control Panel | Internet Options | Advanced tab |
Make sure both of these are NOT checked.

 Enable Install On Demand (Internet Explorer)
[[Specifies to automatically download and install Internet Explorer
components if a Web page needs them in order to display the page properly or
perform a particular task.]]

 Enable Install On Demand (Other)
[[Specifies to automatically download and install Web components if a Web
page needs them in order to display the page properly or perform a
particular task.]]

Apply | OK

 Enable Install On Demand (Other)
Is part of the driveby downloading of unwanted programs. i.e. Scumware or
whatever will install w/o you even being aware of it.
=====

Second. If you need a scan right now.

Follow the instructions!
THE PARASITE FIGHT QUICK FIX PROTOCOL
http://aumha.org/a/quickfix.php

=====

Third.
It is known as scumware. Visit these sites. 1, 2, 3 and 4 are really good.
Download, install, run, update and run again; one or all. They are all
good, FREE utilities. Make sure you update every program, even if you
just downloaded it. You must have the latest updates. Without updates,
you have a gun without ammo.

>>>>>>>>>> Run CWShredder first!!! <<<<<<<<<<<<

1) CWShredder direct download:
http://216.180.233.163/~merijn/files/CWShredder.exe

2) SpywareBlaster
[[SpywareBlaster doesn't scan and clean for spyware - it prevents it from
ever being installed.
The most important step you can take is to secure your system. And
SpywareBlaster is the most powerful protection program available.]]
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

3) Spybot S & D (More for the advanced user)
http://www.safer-networking.org/ind...n&page=download

4) HijackThis (some other stuff that may be of interest also)
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html

4a) HijackThis (direct download)
http://aumha.org/downloads/hijackthis.zip

5) Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner v1.13
http://www.kephyr.com/spywarescanne...source=appvisit

6) ToolbarCop
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/toolbarcop.htm

7) Ad-aware SE Personal
http://www.lavasoft.de/support/download/

=====

MVPS HOSTS file is a free download from:
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/

Blocking Unwanted Parasites with a Hosts File
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

=====

Problems uninstalling? Here's some advice.
http://www.kephyr.com/spywarescanne...lproblems.phtml

Additional information & instructions.
A wealth of information here, boys and girls.

THE PARASITE FIGHT QUICK FIX PROTOCOL
http://aumha.org/a/quickfix.htm

THE PARASITE FIGHT
Finding, Removing & Protecting Yourself From Scumware
http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htm

Bugs, Glitches & Stuffups
http://www.mvps.org/inetexplorer/Darnit.htm

Dealing with Unwanted Spyware and Parasites
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm

Unexplained computer behavior may be caused by deceptive software
http://support.microsoft.com/defaul...kb;EN-US;827315

Spyware and Deceptive Software
http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/twc...re.mspx?gssnb=1

What you should know about spyware
http://www.microsoft.com/security/articles/spyware.asp

Cleaning Up XP
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_c.htm#cleanup

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.
Wes

In news:B4F01B25-E05F-4458-AAD1-63A81CD7B6BB@microsoft.com,
Adam <Adam@discussions.microsoft.com> hunted and pecked:
> I have Norton Antivirus & Firewall protection. Skeptical of some
> performance issues I had, I ran a scan yesterday and found my system
> was infected with 2 viruses. I have been unable to save my own
> default home address in my webbrowser. I also received a pop-up
> notifying me that my system is infected (unrelated to Norton and
> after the debugging mentioned above), encouraging me to download a
> spyware program.
>
> How do I regain control of my browser and get rid of pop-ups of this
> kind that I think may be on my hard drive? Is there a way to scrub
> out malicious code that I may have downloaded? Although I have a
> firewall and anti-virus, is it possible I still have a 3rd party on
> my system?