Search function

[Daniel Alston]

When I try to conduct a search, the "search companion"
area is blank- nothing's there. What can I do? Have I
been infected by something? It used to work. The only
thing that is different about my computer now are these
annoying pop-up boxes with ads, that look like message
boxes. Sometimes when I shut down, I'll get a message
about an "SM Hidden Windows" program shutting down. Are
these related issues?

 

[Mark-MCSE]

The issue you are experiencing is caused by a third party
application or spyware that is installed in the system.

A Spyware program is an add-on type program that can
install itself without your knowledge when you visit sites
that are equipped to perform the unattended download.

This program and others like it are supposed to help users
find information but in our opinion they cause problems
and in this case prevent you from using the system
normally and present the error message.

Anti-virus programs are not capable of finding this
program or others like it, but you can use a program like
Ad-Aware to detect and remove such Spyware programs.

You can download and install the Ad-Aware spyware removal
utility from the following Web site:

http://www.webattack.com/get/adaware.shtml

Moreover, you can also download and install third party
pop-up killer software to remove pop-up advertisements.
The following Web site offers a free
download called Internet Organizer Pro 2.1:

http://downloads-zdnet.com.com/3000-2381-10111435.html

 

[Kelly]

Hi Daniel,

Why doesn't Search work?
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/top10faqs.htm

You need to turn of networking on your internet connection. You do this by
either disabling NetBIOS over TCP/IP or turn on the firewall.

To disable the Messenger Service:

Go to Start/Control Panel/Administrative Tools/Services. Double click the
Messenger Service and change Automatic to Disabled, then click the Stop
button.

Or use this automated edit:

Disable Messenger Service (Line 95)
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

Home PC Firewall Guide
http://www.firewallguide.com/

More information and options here on using a Firewall:
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_m.htm#ms

This edit automatically ends tasks and timeouts that prevent programs from
shutting down and clears the Paging File on Exit.

Auto End Tasks to Enable a Proper Shutdown (Line 76)
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

/top10faqs.htm