pop up insanity

[JordanVanVoast]

I've been surfing smoothly for many months with nary a
single pop up until suddenly yesterday, I've been under
vicious attack.

What is very confusing is that I thought I had a fairly
formidable defense...

I have the Google toolbar installed (which has a pop up
blocker)

I have AdAware 6, Spyware Blaster, and Spybot Search &
Destroy. I run all of these programs at different
intervals and zap any spyware which shows up, but in the
past, I rarely had to run them, and now, new spyware
seems to show up by the hour.

Any idea what is going on?

I have downloaded a few new programs lately....some of it
freeware. But I think I went back and removed all of
these but to no avail.

How should I proceed?

Some of the most frequent ads which show up are right
when I open Internet Explorer...an ad for AOL 9 comes up,
and another frequent ad is for a fish tank screen saver
(no thanks)

Thanks for your help,

Jordan

P.S. I have a program called Ad-Subtract (which I
purchased some time ago), but I've decided that it is
somewhat useless, so I un-installed it.

 

[Jan Il]

Hi Jordan

It is likely you have parasites, spyware, adware, malware, or hijackware on
your system causing the problem, which your antivirus will not detect, as it
does not have the same definitions.

(Unexplained computer behavior may be caused by deceptive software
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=827315)

Try this and see if it helps.

Tools > Internet Options > Advanced > Browsing
Uncheck the Enable 3rd party browser extensions

Then do the following to clean the cause from your system:

Download and install, then you *MUST* update the programs prior to running
to be sure they have the latest definitions, then run the programs below.
They are free and very effective. Be sure to run both SpyBot and Adaware,
as what one does not detect the other may. It is important that you do all
the steps and follow all directions carefully:

IMPORTANT:
Before trying to remove spyware using the programs below, download a copy of
LSPFIX from the URL below - some malware may kill your internet connection
when it is removed, this program will enable you to regain your connection.
http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm

It is important that you run the programs in the order that they are listed
here. The first three programs will clear your machine of all other items so
that you can have a clear HiJackThis Log for the experts to read and analyze
for you.

(NOTE: If you can not download these programs from the Internet, if your PC
has CD read capabilities, go to another computer with CD-ROM burning
capabilities. Create a folder on the hard drive of the other computer called
HOLD, download the programs to that folder, then burn that folder to a CD.
Copy the HOLD folder to your HD and then install the programs from there
and run them. After you have IE access again, update all programs where
possible to get the latest definitions and run them again to be sure there
are no lingering items on the system.

CWShredder: Free
http://tinyurl.com/2l9kl

SpyBot Search & Destroy: Free
http://download.com.com/3000-8022-10289035.html?tag=lst-0-2

AdAware: Free
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/

HiJackThis: - Free

Go to
http://computercops.biz/downloads-cat-14.html ,
or
http://tinyurl.com/2oce8
and download HiJackThis. Unzip to a folder other than your Desktop or the
Temp folder, doubleclick HiJackThis.exe, and hit "Scan".

When the scan is finished, the "Scan" button will change into a "Save Log"
button. Press that, save the log some place you remember where it is.
Most of what it lists will be harmless or even required, so DO NOT fix
anything yet.

Open the copy of your log in NotePad and make a copy. Then you can go here
to post you log:

Jim Eshelman's site here:
AumHa Forums - HiJackThis section:
http://forum.aumha.org/

Spyware and Hijackware Removal Support, here:
http://216.180.233.162/~swicom/forums/

or Net-Integration here:
http://www.net-integration.net/cgi-...86d536d57b5f65b6e40c55365e;act=ST;f=27;t=6949

or Tom Coyote here: http://forums.tomcoyote.org/index.php?act=idx

<<DO NOT POST YOUR LOG FILE TO THIS NEWSGROUP>>

You will need to register to open a new thread to post you log. It is free,
and no one will Spam you, it is one of many that provides this service. Once
registered, go to the HiJackThis section on the forum list and click to
open. Then start a new post and post your log. The experts there will
analyze the log and report back the results. Please allow at least a few
hours or a days time for a response, depending on when you post the log

Remember, you must return to the HJT site to get your answer. It is a good
idea to click the "Notify" box so that you will get an electronic
notification by e-mail to let you know when a response has been posted.
But, you must still return to the site of your answer

HJT Tutorial
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/index.php?showtutorial=42


Hope this helps.

Jan

Smiles are meant to be shared,
that's why they're so contagious.

Please reply to the newsgroup so others may benefit.