toolbar problem

[John Tannahill]

I recently upgraded from Windows 98 to XP. I am running
version 6.0 of Internet Explorer. I have a rogue toolbar
that seems to have taken my machine hostage. Its name
is "rwgrvkqlygl". That's right, it appears to be just a
random set of characters. I can turn this toolbar off
momentarily, but it seems to have a mind of its own and
soon reappears. It is blue, has a search window, and
then a series of selections like "Msn home
page", "Internet security", "Microsoft office", etc.
These topics are context sensitive as they change
depending what web address I am at. I have not been able
to find a way to get rid of this toolbar permanently.
Any suggestions?

Thanks,
John

 

[YoKenny]

I recently upgraded from Windows 98 to XP. I am running
version 6.0 of Internet Explorer. I have a rogue toolbar
that seems to have taken my machine hostage. Its name
is "rwgrvkqlygl". That's right, it appears to be just a
random set of characters. I can turn this toolbar off
momentarily, but it seems to have a mind of its own and
soon reappears. It is blue, has a search window, and
then a series of selections like "Msn home
page", "Internet security", "Microsoft office", etc.
These topics are context sensitive as they change
depending what web address I am at. I have not been able
to find a way to get rid of this toolbar permanently.
Any suggestions?

Coolwebsearch hijacker parasite maybe?

Get CWShredder
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/files/cwshredder.zip

http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/cwschronicles.html

Get and update through the online update function Ad-Aware and SpyBot Search
and Destroy.
Run them and update at least once per week.
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/
http://tomcoyote.org/SPYBOT/

 

[John Tannahill]

I have tried all the things you mentioned below, but still
can't get rid of it.

John

 

[YoKenny]

I have tried all the things you mentioned below, but still
can't get rid of it.

It's time for HijackThis. Follow all the directions as this must be a new
parasite.
http://www.tomcoyote.org/hjt/

 

[John Tannahill]

I think that the hijacker software might have done it!
It listed a toolbar named "rwgrvkqlvgl", I checked the
box next to it, and then hit the fix button. It looks
like it's gone! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

John

 

[YoKenny]

I think that the hijacker software might have done it!
It listed a toolbar named "rwgrvkqlvgl", I checked the
box next to it, and then hit the fix button. It looks
like it's gone! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Great.

But a judge has ruled that this kind of junk is OK!
http://news.com.com/2100-1024-5072663.html?part=dtx&tag=ntop
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030908/wr_nm/tech_popups_dc_5

I guess that it is time to invoke measures to stop this.
Install a good HOSTS file and keep it up to date just like your anti virus
application.
Read about it here:
http://asp.flaaten.dk/proxo/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=20

SpywareBlaster will stop known nasties from installing but keep it up to
date with the online update function.
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html