SPYWARE PROBLEM???

[Andy]

Hi....

FRUSTRATED!!!!

The other day, I noticed that some spyware was on my
system - a few things made me notice, though I don't know
how they got there...

- bottom search bar from some "place" had no uninstall
instructions - couldn't get rid of it.

- homepage auto-changed; URLs addded to favorites and
desktop

- popups from "same places" started to appear, even
though I have a pop-up blocker

- etc.

I used Spybot and Spykiller 2004 - each one found stuff
the other could not. Then, I purchased SpyHunter
V1.5.81 - this found a lot more stuff than the other
two. Finally, after rerunning all three, it appeared
that my system is free of spyware and adware.

YET....the pop-ups continue to happen here and there
(with TWO pop-up blockers running) - and, most tellingly,
all of a sudden, when booting up, at the splash that
says "LOADING PERSONAL FAVORITES" before going to the
desktop, this used to take a couple of seconds,
tops....NOW, it takes a FULL MINUTE. There STILL HAS TO
BE something wrong here, and I'd like to avoid
reinstalling Windows XP like the plague!!

Anybody have any suggestions??? PLEASE????

Thanks so much!!

Andy

 

[David Hollway [MVP]]

Hi....

FRUSTRATED!!!!

The other day, I noticed that some spyware was on my
system - a few things made me notice, though I don't know
how they got there...

- bottom search bar from some "place" had no uninstall
instructions - couldn't get rid of it.

- homepage auto-changed; URLs addded to favorites and
desktop

- popups from "same places" started to appear, even
though I have a pop-up blocker

- etc.

I used Spybot and Spykiller 2004 - each one found stuff
the other could not. Then, I purchased SpyHunter
V1.5.81 - this found a lot more stuff than the other
two. Finally, after rerunning all three, it appeared
that my system is free of spyware and adware.

YET....the pop-ups continue to happen here and there
(with TWO pop-up blockers running) - and, most tellingly,
all of a sudden, when booting up, at the splash that
says "LOADING PERSONAL FAVORITES" before going to the
desktop, this used to take a couple of seconds,
tops....NOW, it takes a FULL MINUTE. There STILL HAS TO
BE something wrong here, and I'd like to avoid
reinstalling Windows XP like the plague!!

Hi Andy,

I appreciate that this is too late to help you, but.. there's really NO need
to spend money on anti-spyware software, because some of the best
anti-spyware programs out there are completely free. Many people swear by
Ad-Aware (www.lavasoft.de, if I recall correctly) and my personal favourite
is the excellent Spybot Search & Destroy (http://security.kolla.de). Try
downloading either one of these - Spybot, for preference. Then update them
using their inbuilt update feature, and then scan your system. See what
comes up. I must admit I can't recall seeing a "Loading Personal Favorites"
screen on my own XP machines - perhaps it flashes up too quickly on a
"clean" PC for me ever to have noticed it, but it may be that this is a
remnant of some more spyware on your system.

Once you've disinfected your system, install a decent firewall; either the
built-in XP one or a third-party one like the excellent and free ZoneAlarm
(www.zonelabs.com). The soon-to-be-released Service Pack 2 for Windows XP
has a much-improved firewall and other security enhancements, so you may
want to update to that once it's out, which will probably be sometime this
summer.

Hope this helps..

 

[Guest]

what kind of pop-ups do you get? do they say messenger? you have a messenger program that runs on xp that has nothing to do with microsoft or msn messenger. it allows popups on your desktop no matter what you do. you have to disable it to stop it. also check out zone alarm firewall if you don't have something already. it runs a free version and works like a charm.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I'll try what you've
suggested and see what happens.

Andy

 

[Plato]

- popups from "same places" started to appear, even
though I have a pop-up blocker

There are several types of popups:
http://www.bootdisk.com/xptop10.htm#3