Problems...

[Guest]

I am having some problems with my computer. I will be connected to the
internet (through MSN)...leave my computer for a bit, come back and I have
over 15 pop ups, and things downloaded onto my computer (there are icons on
my desktop). I have a pop up block, and I have 2 spy ware programs, I
regularly search and fix the 'problems' it finds...I don't know what else to
do...these pop ups are non stop, they pop up when I am activly on my computer
also....they are very annoying, and are screwing up my computer....my
computer has been doing very odd things ever since they have started to
come....my computer will just randomly shut down, with no warning, and my
computer is always freezing up. I do not know what to do anymore.

 

[steve h.]

I am having some problems with my computer. I will be connected to the
internet (through MSN)...leave my computer for a bit, come back and I
have
over 15 pop ups, and things downloaded onto my computer (there are icons
on
my desktop). I have a pop up block, and I have 2 spy ware programs, I
regularly search and fix the 'problems' it finds...I don't know what
else to
do...these pop ups are non stop, they pop up when I am activly on my
computer
also....they are very annoying, and are screwing up my computer....my
computer has been doing very odd things ever since they have started to
come....my computer will just randomly shut down, with no warning, and my
computer is always freezing up. I do not know what to do anymore.

you have spyware bigtime. go to download.com and download Spybot Search
and Destroy and Ad Aware and get rid of it

 

[steve h.]

I am having some problems with my computer. I will be connected to the
internet (through MSN)...leave my computer for a bit, come back and I
have
over 15 pop ups, and things downloaded onto my computer (there are icons
on
my desktop). I have a pop up block, and I have 2 spy ware programs, I
regularly search and fix the 'problems' it finds...I don't know what
else to
do...these pop ups are non stop, they pop up when I am activly on my
computer
also....they are very annoying, and are screwing up my computer....my
computer has been doing very odd things ever since they have started to
come....my computer will just randomly shut down, with no warning, and my
computer is always freezing up. I do not know what to do anymore.

you also need to run your antivirus and check your firewall, if you have
one

 

[sendem]

I am having some problems with my computer. I will be connected to the
internet (through MSN)...leave my computer for a bit, come back and I have
over 15 pop ups, and things downloaded onto my computer (there are icons
on my desktop). I have a pop up block, and I have 2 spy ware programs, I
regularly search and fix the 'problems' it finds..\\\

But what are you using to prevent infection? Fixing the stuff after the
fact is silly. You need the ounce of prevention.
What AV program are you using? What firewall are you using?

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

What firewall are you using, and are you sure it's configured
properly?

There are at least three varieties of pop-ups, and the solutions
vary accordingly. Which specific type(s) is troubling you?

1) Does the title bar of these pop-ups read "Messenger Service?"

This type of spam has become quite common over the past several
months, and unintentionally serves as a valid security "alert." It
demonstrates that you haven't been taking sufficient precautions while
connected to the Internet. Your data probably hasn't been compromised
by these specific advertisements, but if you're open to this exploit,
you may well be open to other threats, such as the Blaster Worm that
recently swept cross the Internet. Install and use a decent,
properly configured firewall. (Merely disabling the messenger
service, as some people recommend, only hides the symptom, and does
little or nothing to truly secure your machine.) And ignoring or just
"putting up with" the security gap represented by these messages is
particularly foolish.

Messenger Service of Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;168893

Messenger Service Window That Contains an Internet Advertisement
Appears
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=330904

Stopping Advertisements with Messenger Service Titles
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/communicate/stopspam.asp

Blocking Ads, Parasites, and Hijackers with a Hosts File
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

Oh, and be especially wary of people who advise you to do nothing
more than disable the messenger service. Disabling the messenger
service, by itself, is a "head in the sand" approach to computer
security. The real problem is _not_ the messenger service pop-ups;
they're actually providing a useful, if annoying, service by acting as
a security alert. The true problem is the unsecured computer, and
you've been advised to merely turn off the warnings. How is this
helpful?

2) For regular Internet pop-ups, you might try the free 12Ghosts
Popup-killer from http://12ghosts.com/ghosts/popup.htm, Pop-Up Stopper
from http://www.panicware.com/, or the Google Toolbar from
http://toolbar.google.com/, which is what I use.

3) To deal with pop-ups caused by any sort of "adware" and/or
"spyware,"such as Gator, Comet Cursors, Xupiter, Bonzai Buddy, or
KaZaA, and their remnants, that you've deliberately (but without
understanding the consequences) installed, two products that are
quite effective (at finding and removing this type of scumware) are
Ad-Aware from www.lavasoft.de and SpyBot Search & Destroy from
www.safer-networking.org/. Both have free versions. It's even
possible to use SpyBot Search & Destroy to "immunize" your system
against most future intrusions. I use both and generally perform
manual scans every week or so to clean out cookies, etc.


Bruce Chambers
--
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