Bah! Spyware. Whinging ahead!

[der_kluge]

I really like Spysweeper. You can download the free trial. It's fully functional for like 30 days. It should help get rid of a bunch.

 

[Lasher Dragon]

Indeed IE can be a real pain - I still use it myself however LOL I'm used to it. I do have Opera installed, but to be honest I always forget about it and just click on the "E" when I want to get online. There are plenty of non-MS browsers out there to choose from - my friend installed Opera for me saying it was good, but really with my setup I haven't had any problems as-is, so haven't bothered to play with Opera.

 

[Darth K'Trava]

I've had the stuff come back after running Adaware. What I found that works is to find out the site for the spyware. Search the 'net for the program(s) you find. Then when you find the site it originates from, then go into your browser (instructions for IE) and go to the security settings, then "restricted sites". Enter in the address(es) that you got off the 'net into this section and click "ok". Voila! Lots less spyware! Doesn't matter if whatever stuff you're using has any agreement to get spammed by spyware! Heh heh heh

 

[IronWolf]

Just remember, if you are surfing the web with Internet Explorer its not really your computer anymore...

 

[Darth K'Trava]

Like it ever was to start with..........

AOL: all your computer are belong to us.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

Hijack This! is also good for finding things that are running or start up on reboot. That stops the proggie from running, so you can kill it eaiser.

If things keep coming back, I'll second running Hijack This! and also try CWShredder. Both are designed to target specific, hard to eliminate browser hijackers. But MAKE SURE to read the info on the download pages for both of them, if you delete something that you actually NEED to be running, you can do more harm to your PC than the spyware was doing.

As far as the general spyware removal programs, you really should pick up Microsofts Antispyware Beta program, it was developed by Giant and purchased by Microsoft. Giant ranked highest in a recent study of all the various spyware removal programs out there (I don't have the link here at home, but can post it tomorrow from work). Now that MS has bought it from Giant, who knows what they will do to it, but it does eliminate a ton of stuff very quickly.

After you are clean, forget that you have IE on your PC except to run Windows Updates, and go get Firefox. You'll be glad you did.

 

[Michael Morris]

Hijack This! is also good for finding things that are running or start up on reboot. That stops the proggie from running, so you can kill it eaiser.

I strongly recommend against anyone using hijack this unless you really know what you're doing. It's a powerful program in that it lets you see all the common keys spyware tends to use, but it doesn't let you know what they are for. It is very easy with highjack this to kill a critical system process and bring the system down.

There's a variety of antispyware programs out there. There's no reason not to use multiple ones. I recommend Spybot Search & Destroy, Ad Aware, and Spyware Blaster. I've also heard good things about Micro$oft's new anti spyware program which is, for the moment, free.

Migrating to Linux is another possible solution but not for the faint of heart. Consider using a dual boot configuration and playing with it first. Linux doesn't have as wide a software library as Windows and it will take you awhile to get used to it's idiosyncracies. Once you learn it though, it is 1000 times more secure (and securable) than winbloze.

Less drastic is to make sure you are running XP service pack 2 and install Mozilla Firefox 1.0.1. Scan your system for viruses (if the spyware is coming back up you probably have those) and be prepared to get rid of any freeware programs like Kazaa or the like which are bundled with spyware.

 

[Inconsequenti-AL]

Hey, thanks very much! I'll give the Microsoft AntiSpyware stuff a go and see how well I get on with that...

Hijack This and CWShredder sound a little risky to me. Think there's a good risk I'd fry something I'll regret.

Firefox is also added to the to-do list...

This is one of those times I really wished I knew more about my OS.

 

[derek_cleric]

This is one of those times I really wished I knew more about my OS.

You'll be an expert after this.

After you get your pc cleaned up, install WinXP SP2. Run Windows Update for any additional patches. Either download a firewall or turn on the WinXP firewall that comes in SP2.

If you're not running XP, goto http://www.pricelessware.org/ and download Kerio Firewall and some anti-spyware tools.

Most importantly.......Don't knowingly install any spyware/adware! Nothing like the user shooting themselves in the foot!

--Ray.

 

[Zedcuk]

I won't connect my computer to the internet without a Linsys router/firewall.

I don't even have Ad-Aware on my comp.

Delurking as this is a topic dear to me and i feel i need to clear something up. A router with a firewall built in will not stop spyware from being installed onto your computer.

The biggest reason : its all served via port 80 which is HTTP. If you can browse a web site you can get spyware : fact.

More likely those of you who are not suffering either have a fairly decent personal firewall in place (not many currently can really address spyware properly) or an AV prodct that can detect it in certain forms.

using firefox should help - or any non ie webbrowser, running AV, PfW and spyware detection software will also help.

Not running P2P programmes or visiting hacking / Pron sites will also lower your exposure...

Many of the tools mentioned here are fine for spyware detection and prevention.