Run MSCONFIG from the Start/Run applet and look under the StartUp tab.
If anything is referencing this disable it.
The Get HijackThis., link below and get help from the forum. This may be a
new variant of some parasite.
+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Due to a new variant of CWS named "CWS.SmartKiller", many may have problems
accessing any spyware related sites if installed. A detection/removal tool
(delcwssk) is the miniremoval_coolwebsearch_smartkiller.exe by PepiMK and is
available at:
http://majorgeeks.com/downloads31.html
Due to many Spyware help sites being under a DDoS attack (Distributed Denial
of Service), they may/may not be accessible. You can download the latest
versions here:
http://majorgeeks.com/downloads31.html
Download/run Cool Web Shredder from:
http://www.merijn.org/
For Info on Cool Web Search Variants:
http://www.merijn.org/cwschronicles.html
Then download/install/run Ad-Aware to detect/rid of any other
parasites/spyware that may be installed. It can be obtained free from:
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/
After installing Ad-Aware, open it and click on the ref update to get the
latest up-to-date ref file, then run Ad-Aware and delete everything it
finds.
And/or download/install/run:
Spybot - Search & Destroy:
http://security.kolla.de/index.php?lang=en&page=download
If you still have problems, download/run HijackThis from:
http://www.merijn.org/
Do not remove anything with it until you get advice on what to remove,
HJThis will list many apps that are needed along with the bad ones. Read the
quick start here on how to create a log file that can be copied/pasted into
a forum that can provide assistance on removal of unwanted pests.
http://mjc1.com/mirror/hjt/#quick
Then post the logs to an appropriate NG here where they specialize in
spyware/hijacker removal:
http://forums.spywareinfo.com/