Spyware

[Guest]

When I click the Internet Explorer icon, I get a message that says Explorer
has encountered a problem and needs to close. I have tried Ad-Aware to
delete the spyware but it is still there. How do you manually go in and
delete the spyware?

 

[David H. Lipman]

What Spyware. You have not indicated you have spyware. It is more a presumption than
anything else based upon the message "...Explorer has encountered a problem and needs to
close." That does not necessarily mean you have a virus or infector. It could very well
be a software corruption.

Dave




| When I click the Internet Explorer icon, I get a message that says Explorer
| has encountered a problem and needs to close. I have tried Ad-Aware to
| delete the spyware but it is still there. How do you manually go in and
| delete the spyware?

 

[Guest]

Even when I go to control panel, I get the same message. I talked with the
tech support group for my computer and they stated that it was spyware. All
I am looking for is help not sarcastic replies.

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

Even when I go to control panel, I get the same message. I talked
with the tech support group for my computer and they stated that it
was spyware. All I am looking for is help not sarcastic replies.

Where's the sarcasm? I don't see it. You haven't posted any details that
specifically point to spyware. You may have some, you may not. There are
many reasons you might get that error.

If you think you have spyware, scan for it. See
Dealing with Unwanted Malware, Parasites, Toolbars and Search Engines:
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm

 

[David H. Lipman]

Please, don't bite the hand that's trying to help you. If you call me "sarcastic" I'll walk
away as I have doubt's this is a parasite. If your unamed "tech support" was under the
impression it was, what did they do for you to come to the conclusion it was spyware ? Did
they run any software ? If they did, what was found ?

Try the following....
1) Download the following two items...

Trend Sysclean Package
http://www.trendmicro.com/download/dcs.asp

Latest Trend signature files.
http://www.trendmicro.com/download/pattern.asp

Create a directory.
On drive "C:\"
(e.g., "c:\New Folder")
or the desktop
(e.g., "C:\Documents and Settings\lipman\Desktop\New Folder")

Download SYSCLEAN.COM and place it in that directory.
Dowload the signature files (pattern files) by obtaining the ZIP file.
For example; lpt216.zip

Extract the contents of the ZIP file and place the contents in the same directory as
SYSCLEAN.COM.

2) If you are using WinME or WinXP, disable System Restore
http://vil.nai.com/vil/SystemHelpDocs/DisableSysRestore.htm
3) Reboot your PC into Safe Mode
4) Using the Trend Sysclean utility, perform a Full Scan of your platform and
clean/delete any infectors found
5) Restart your PC and perform a "final" Full Scan of your platform
6) If you are using WinME or WinXP, Re-enable System Restore and re-apply any
System Restore preferences, (e.g. HD space to use suggested 400 ~ 600MB),
7) Reboot your PC.
8) If you are using WinME or WinXP, create a new Restore point
9) Please report back your results

Dave




| Even when I go to control panel, I get the same message. I talked with the
| tech support group for my computer and they stated that it was spyware. All
| I am looking for is help not sarcastic replies.
|
| "David H. Lipman" wrote:
|
| > What Spyware. You have not indicated you have spyware. It is more a presumption than
| > anything else based upon the message "...Explorer has encountered a problem and needs to
| > close." That does not necessarily mean you have a virus or infector. It could very
well
| > be a software corruption.
| >
| > Dave
| >
| >
| >
| >
| > | > | When I click the Internet Explorer icon, I get a message that says Explorer
| > | has encountered a problem and needs to close. I have tried Ad-Aware to
| > | delete the spyware but it is still there. How do you manually go in and
| > | delete the spyware?
| >
| >
| >

 

[Juan]

Kevin:

If your system is in fact infected with spyware, it's likely you'll
find it in one of the following Registry keys.

Start\Run\regedit.msc\
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
there should only be the predetermined alphanumeric value here.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run-
there should only be the predetermined alphanumeric value here.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Run in this key there should be the predetermined alphanumeric value and
a few other alphanumeric values set there by the antivirus.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Run- there should only be the predetermined alphanumeric value here.

Unless you have installed program(s) that are set to run at startup,
which would show up here, any other values in any of the four keys
should be considered malicious and should be deleted after backing
up the key. To backup the key right click on Run or Run-
and select Export, and save to. To restore the key double click the
..reg file and confirm restoration. After you have confirmed and deleted the
parasite, delete the backed up .reg file.

It's recommended to have at least two antispyware programs, Spybot can
even take you to the infected registry key(s) after a scan [in advanced
mode]
right click on the result and select go to location. If the parasite is in
any other
part of the registry, this will take you there to delete it manually if you
prefer
this method..... Install the antispyware programs, update them and run them
once in normal mode... if you get no result, run them in safe mode.

Spybot Search and Destroy (free)
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html

CoolWWWSearch SmartKiller MiniRemoval (free)
http://www.spychecker.com/program/miniremovalcw.html
removes CoolWebSearch hijackers.

SpywareBlaster (free)
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

CWShredder 2.0 (free)
http://www.intermute.com/spysubtract/cwshredder_download.html

A description of the Safe Mode Boot Options in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315222&Product=winxp

Just in case your problem is a virus, run online scans in the following
websites.
http://www.pandasoftware.es/activescan/es/activescan_principal.htm
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/


-------------Original Message-----------

 

[Guest]

What Spyware. You have not indicated you have spyware. It is more a presumption than
anything else based upon the message "...Explorer has encountered a problem and needs to
close." That does not necessarily mean you have a virus or infector. It could very well
be a software corruption.

Dave




| When I click the Internet Explorer icon, I get a message that says Explorer
| has encountered a problem and needs to close. I have tried Ad-Aware to
| delete the spyware but it is still there. How do you manually go in and
| delete the spyware?