Cannot Delete Unwanted icons on desktop

[Guest]

Hey guys, I ahve a problem here. I left my computer on overnight,and well
when I woke up,i found 7 extra icons on my desktop ,such as: Website Hosting
, Bingo , Casino Online , Printer Cartridges , Card Games , Poker , Travel. I
can't delete them, if i right-click,the information menu doesnt show up,so i
tried deleting them by pressing the delete button on the keyboard...Didn't
work either. And when i lcik on those icons, they redirect me to a website.
So yea i need help
Thanks alot..Dave

 

[Guest]

You have Spyware. Download and run Spyware removal software (Adaware, Spybot
Search & Destroy, Hijack This).

And as a side note, you can try to remove the unwanted desktop items through
a dos command line if they don't delete. Go to Start-Run, and type in cmd and
hit return. You will then need to get to your desktop, by typing cd
\documents and settings\%username%\desktop. then you can delete the files
using the del command.

 

[Yves Leclerc]

Spywares!!!

Use:

AD Aware SE 1.05
Spybot: Search and Destroy 1.3
CWShredder

to remove these. Then install SpywareBlaster to block them from installing
again later. Install a good firewall program (Zone Alarm Free) or activate
Windows SP2's firewall.

 

[Guest]

Alright,i alerady have Spybot search and destroy,though i don't know what to
do with it..should i "check for problems" or "Search and destroy"??and what
do I do after selecting what I listed above? and for mtjoyhero, i tried to do
the run thing...didn't quite understand what you said. so yea...I'll try the
spybot thing,and I'll install zoneAlarm

 

[Guest]

Umm guys...can someone reply please?..i dont know what to do with the
spybot..i checked for problems but then i dont know what to do...and i still
don't get what mtjoyhero said about the cds thing..thanks

 

[Don Varnau]

Dave,
See the tutorial at http://www.safer-networking.org/en/tutorial/index.html
There's additional information about Spybot at
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd/index.html

Ad-aware SE from http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/ is another
excellent tool for removal of malware. It's considered by many to be a
little easier to use, and a little safer than Spybot.

Either program should be updated (use the "update" feature) before use as
the malware definition files are updated frequently.

There's more information, including important security tips at:
Dealing with Unwanted Spyware and Parasites:
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
More security tips at http://www.aumha.org/a/parasite.htm
Bugs, Glitches & Stuffups: http://www.mvps.org/inetexplorer/Darnit.htm

Don
[MS MVP- IE/OE]

Umm guys...can someone reply please?..i dont know what to do with the
spybot..i checked for problems but then i dont know what to do...and i still
don't get what mtjoyhero said about the cds thing..thanks

[snip]

 

[Guest]

Thanks a million Don..and i think that took you ALOT of time to say...but
thanks anyway...im looking for a non-downloading way to get rid of them,but
if there are none,then tell me and i shall download them...yet again
Thanks......Dave

Dave,
See the tutorial at http://www.safer-networking.org/en/tutorial/index.html
There's additional information about Spybot at
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd/index.html

Ad-aware SE from http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/ is another
excellent tool for removal of malware. It's considered by many to be a
little easier to use, and a little safer than Spybot.

Either program should be updated (use the "update" feature) before use as
the malware definition files are updated frequently.

There's more information, including important security tips at:
Dealing with Unwanted Spyware and Parasites:
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
More security tips at http://www.aumha.org/a/parasite.htm
Bugs, Glitches & Stuffups: http://www.mvps.org/inetexplorer/Darnit.htm

Don
[MS MVP- IE/OE]

Umm guys...can someone reply please?..i dont know what to do with the
spybot..i checked for problems but then i dont know what to do...and i still
don't get what mtjoyhero said about the cds thing..thanks

[snip]

 

[Don Varnau]

Dave,
Those shortcuts were created by an adware/parasite program. The easiest,
safest way to remove such malware is with Ad-aware and Spybot. Give those
programs a try. They've been used by (probably) millions of people.

Don
[MS MVP- IE/OE]

Thanks a million Don..and i think that took you ALOT of time to say...but
thanks anyway...im looking for a non-downloading way to get rid of them,but
if there are none,then tell me and i shall download them...yet again
Thanks......Dave

Dave,
See the tutorial at http://www.safer-networking.org/en/tutorial/index.html
There's additional information about Spybot at
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd/index.html

Ad-aware SE from http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/ is another
excellent tool for removal of malware. It's considered by many to be a
little easier to use, and a little safer than Spybot.

Either program should be updated (use the "update" feature) before use as
the malware definition files are updated frequently.

There's more information, including important security tips at:
Dealing with Unwanted Spyware and Parasites:
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
More security tips at http://www.aumha.org/a/parasite.htm
Bugs, Glitches & Stuffups: http://www.mvps.org/inetexplorer/Darnit.htm

Umm guys...can someone reply please?..i dont know what to do with the
spybot..i checked for problems but then i dont know what to do...and i still
don't get what mtjoyhero said about the cds thing..thanks

[snip]

 

[Malke]

Thanks a million Don..and i think that took you ALOT of time to
say...but thanks anyway...im looking for a non-downloading way to get
rid of them,but if there are none,then tell me and i shall download
them...yet again Thanks......Dave

Hi, Dave. There is no easy, "non-downloading" way to get rid of spyware
EXCEPT by taking the machine to a good local computer repair shop (not
a BestBuy or CompUSA type store) and having them do it for you. I'm not
saying this to hurt your feelings; this is practical advice. If you
don't want to be bothered, let a pro do it for you and go do something
fun while they do. There is no shame in doing this. When I have a
problem with my car, I don't hesitate to take it to the mechanic.

Otherwise, you've gotten good advice. Here are my own malware removal
steps. Use updated tools (which, yes, you would have to download) and
run all scans in Safe Mode.

1) Scan in Safe Mode with current version (not earlier than 2003)
antivirus using updated definitions.

2) Remove spyware with Spybot Search & Destroy and Ad-aware. These
programs are free, so use them both since they complement each other.
There is a new version of CWShredder from Intermute. I would not
install the other Intermute programs, however. Alternately, there are
CoolWebSearch malware removal steps at SilentRunners.

Be sure to update these programs before running, and it is a good idea
to do virus/spyware scans in Safe Mode. Make sure you are able to see
all hidden files and extensions (View tab in Folder Options).

HijackThis is an excellent tool to discover and disable hijackers, but
it requires expert skill. See below for HijackThis links. A combination
of HijackThis and About:Buster works well in removing the About:Blank
homepage hijacker. Again, this is an expert tool and novices should get
help with it.

3) If you are running Windows ME or XP, you should disable/enable System
Restore because malware will be in the Restore Points. With ME, you
must disable System Restore completely. With XP, you can delete all but
the most recent (presumably clean) System Restore point from the More
Options section of Disk Cleanup (Run>cleanmgr).

4) Make sure you've visited Windows Update and applied all security
patches. Do not install driver updates from Windows Update.

5) Run a firewall.

Links to help with malware:

Software/Methods:
http://www.safer-networking.org - Spybot Search & Destroy
http://www.lavasoftusa.com - Ad-aware
http://www.majorgeeks.com - good download site
http://www.intermute.com/spysubtract/cwshredder_download.html
http://www.silentrunners.org/sr_cwsremoval.html. - SilentRunners

HijackThis:
http://www.aumha.org/a/hjttutor.htm - HijackThis tutorial by Jim
Eshelman
http://spywarewarrior.com/viewforum.php?f=5 - Spyware Warrior HijackThis
forum
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/
http://forums.tomcoyote.org/
http://www.spywareinfo.com/forums/

General:
http://forum.aumha.org/ - look under "Security" for various forums
http://rgharper.mvps.org/cleanit.htm
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
http://www.aumha.org/a/parasite.htm - The Parasite Fight
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm

Malke

 

[Guest]

Thanks alot guys...but i scanned with spybot AND adaware...i removed tons of
thigns with adaware...but the icons still appear...and i donwloaded tons of
things that you guys ecommended...still though...the icons remain..and its
funny..not only me..but my friends also got the same problem, the same day
and at the same time

thanks alot guys..Dave....and malke,I don't live in the states,so i don't
know any of those shops...I live in good"ol Canada

 

[Malke]

Thanks alot guys...but i scanned with spybot AND adaware...i removed
tons of thigns with adaware...but the icons still appear...and i
donwloaded tons of things that you guys ecommended...still
though...the icons remain..and its funny..not only me..but my friends
also got the same problem, the same day and at the same time

thanks alot guys..Dave....and malke,I don't live in the states,so i
don't know any of those shops...I live in good"ol Canada

CompUSA and BestBuy are "superstore" types of places. I'm sure your
country has that type of place, too. The reason for my blurb about them
is that, while they do computer repairs, they tend to be quite
expensive and their usual response is to reinstall Windows. It's better
to take a machine to a pro who will try and save the system (if
warranted) and/or retrieve data that wasn't backed up first.

There really isn't any way for me to know what "downloaded tons of
things" means, so all I can say is if you have run through all of the
removal steps I and others gave you - exactly as we said to do it - and
your machine is still not clean, then take it to a professional as
recommended. When I remove malware, I always go through and manually
delete the bad files first, but that requires a deep knowledge of
Windows operating systems and skill. It isn't something I would
recommend a home user try to do.

Good luck,

Malke

 

[Don Varnau]

Dave,
Have you just recently installed Messenger Plus from
http://www.msgplus.net/ ? (Or possibly another site?) If so, you can
uninstall Messenger Plus and reinstall it (if desired) without the sponsor
program (which includes Lop.)
See
http://www.msgplus.net/help_faq.php for more information.

Don
[MS MVP- IE/OE]

Thanks alot guys...but i scanned with spybot AND adaware...i removed tons of
thigns with adaware...but the icons still appear...and i donwloaded tons of
things that you guys ecommended...still though...the icons remain..and its
funny..not only me..but my friends also got the same problem, the same day
and at the same time

[snip]

 

[Guest]

Alright Don , you're right i did install msn plus a couple of days
back...and im getting a feeling that it's form that,so yea I'll uninstall it
right away and see if anything happenes,hopefully the cions will
dissapear.and Malke,i appreciate all your time helping. Thanks alot guys, I
owe you

Dave

Dave,
Have you just recently installed Messenger Plus from
http://www.msgplus.net/ ? (Or possibly another site?) If so, you can
uninstall Messenger Plus and reinstall it (if desired) without the sponsor
program (which includes Lop.)
See
http://www.msgplus.net/help_faq.php for more information.

Don
[MS MVP- IE/OE]

Thanks alot guys...but i scanned with spybot AND adaware...i removed tons of
thigns with adaware...but the icons still appear...and i donwloaded tons of
things that you guys ecommended...still though...the icons remain..and its
funny..not only me..but my friends also got the same problem, the same day
and at the same time

[snip]

 

[Guest]

Ah YES! it worked!!so msn plus was the problem! heh thanks alot don,i really
do owe ou now!Fianlly annoying icons are out and the toolbar is gone too,so
its all good now!

Yet again,Thanks a MILLION not to only Don,but to everyone who helped like:
mtjoyhero, Yves, Malke. I'll come here again if i get any problems.

Dave