Jim,
You need to scan your system for spyware and remove what
it detects. Go to
www.lavasoftusa.com and download Ad-
Aware which is free. Install the program and at the main
screen, click on Check for updates. Complete the update
process and hit Start to scan your system. Once if
completes, you will end up at a results screen. If there
are not already check marks in front of all items, right-
click on any one of the check boxes and choose Select all
objects. Then hit next to quarantine the items. You
want to be sure that your Internet browser window is
closed before doing so. Repeat the process until the
scan no longer produces any results. If you get to a
point where it deletes everything but just a few items
that it won't delete, you should post a notice at
www.lavasoftsupport.com and they will walk you through
the process of removing the stubborns ones.
You should also know that your antivirus software only
deletes or quarantines viruses. It does not repair the
damage that it does. There are several variants of the
Sasser virus and so you should determine the exact name
or variant of the Sasser virus that you were infected
with and then go to your antivirus software companies
website and read the technical details on that virus so
that you know what damage it did and what repairs are
necessary if any.
Generaly speaking you get spyware from clicking on links
in spam email, links on websites operated by unscrupulous
people, and installing programs from the same. In other
words, this problem will continue unless you take steps
to be more careful where you click. If you go to
www.abcnews.com, you can be pretty confident that you
won't get spyware from them, but if you click on
www.joesfreesoftware.com, you can almost be you will. Be
careful where you click.
While your original thoughts of reinstalling Windows is
not the best choice for most people, it may or may not be
for you. It really depends on if you have valuable data
that you would potentially lose in the process and how
much time, effort, and/or money you are willing to spend
in the process. Regardless, you should make sure that
when you are all finished that you ALWAYS have ansivirus
software with current updates on your computer. Scanning
your system with a program like Ad-Aware will help get
rid of the spyware but the best way to keep it out of
your machine to begin with is to be careful where you
click.
Good Luck!
