Pop-Up BS......

brettw22

All of a sudden I'm getting pop-ups all over the place. I had an old version of ad-aware that I upgraded from the basic to the personal or somethin and ran that several times, but keep getting them.

I have NAV that is current, but finds no virus'.

I had downloaded a program called SecretMaker to try and block the pop-ups (which seemed to mostly work) and then my laptop started getting blue screen out of nowhere. It would end Windows and just sit there until I hard-powered it off.

Any suggestions on how to stop this crap?

fireshoes

You might try Spybot Search and Destroy. It seems to get the stuff Ad-Aware doesn't. Also I use Mozilla Firefox for a web browser, which has an extremely effective pop-up blocker built in. I like it better than standard pop-up blockers because it blocks the windows I don't want, but opens the ones I do.

Demiurge

I had the same issue as you and my only solution was to reformat my hard drives. I hope you find a solution, but often that seems to be the easiest way. I know I was of no help saying that, but that's all I could do. A lot of the anti-spy programs I was using were detecting the problem, but they couldn't fix it. Good luck.

shepx2

Also try this program: http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

And visit this website: http://forums.spywareinfo.com/

It sounds like you have a malware program of some kind. Those forums helped me get rid of one a few months ago.

brettw22

I did try to do a few system restore points but windows told me that it couldn't do that since there was no changes in my system, which seems odd. I tried them from the past 3 weeks with no luck.

Demiurge

Originally posted by brettw22
I did try to do a few system restore points but windows told me that it couldn't do that since there was no changes in my system, which seems odd. I tried them from the past 3 weeks with no luck.

Same thing happened to me. I don't know if it's an XP flaw or what.

pjdami

Hi Brett,

I had the same problem a few months ago. I downloaded some weatherbug program for local weather and instead got a huge amount of popups.

As mentioned above, try Spybot search and destroy, Adaware, and download a trial copy of pestpatrol here:

http://www.surfsecret.com/products/downloadtrial-PESTP.html

Pestpatrol found stuff the other two didn't and John S. here on the forum (the IT guru by day... Badabing DJ at night highly recommended it.

After that ordeal, I exclusively use Mozilla or Firefox now. Eff Internet Explorer and all its security flaws.

Good luck.
P.

brettw22

I'll try some or all of those suggestions........forgot to mention....I uninstalled SecretMaker......

nadams

I just have to say that I use exclusively IE, and as long as you watch where you click and don't say yes to everything, you are not very likely to get spyware. I work on computers on the side (in addition to my job as a technician at a school), so I see a lot of this. In only the most extreme cases is reformatting the solution.

My suggestion is to update Ad-Aware, run it, install spybot, run it, and then go download spy sweeper and run that.... (I think spy sweeper has a 30 day trial or something). Just remember that you have to update it like an antivirus program. Also, don't install every spyware removal program you find on the internet. They often contain spyware themselves. So far, all of the ones in this thread seem okay.....

bobman1235

Originally posted by nadams
I just have to say that I use exclusively IE, and as long as you watch where you click and don't say yes to everything, you are not very likely to get spyware.

While this may be true, it's still much much MUCH more likely that you will get spyware inadvertantly when using IE than you ever would using something like Firefox. I'm pretty computer literate (it's my job), and I still got a few spyware / adware programs before I switched away from IE, no matter how careful I was. Two years ago I switched to Firefox and haven't looked back, and haven't had a problem since.

Then again, installing a garbage piece of software like WeatherBug, you should really know better. Anything like that is RIDDLED with malware. Just take the extra six seconds and go to a weather website. But if you insist on using any type of Freeware like that, try to check up on it first. Do a quick google, see if anyone has had bad experiences with it.

steveinaz

No need to reformat. If AdAware and Spybot S&D don't kill them, here's an alternative method (a little complicated):

With your computer running idle, wait for the pop-ups to start, well, popping. Quickly press cntrl/alt/del and look at your "running processes" and look for processes that are grabbing resources---they will blink numbers like a Christmas tree. Write down the names of these processes.

Now search for these files on your computer, almost always found in the Win directory or System 32. When you find them, one by one right click them and look at the properties. If the file has some wierd "company name" (HT is a popular one), delete that mo-fo. Don't delete entries that are legit, Microsoft, HP, stuff like that--just the odd-ball stuff. (NOTE: before you can delete the processes file, you have to disable it in Task Manager).

Do this for each process you noted in step 1. After completing this, run regedit and search your registry for each of those processes, and delete the keys where they are found.

Reboot your computer and start surfing, if you still have some pop-up action going on, re-check...you may have missed a process or 2.

The problem with persistant spyware is that they create entries in the registry, which is why Spybot S&D and AdAware will find them and remove them, but upon reboot--they come right back. (and some don't even require a reboot to re-appear).

faster100

Also virus' and spyware can lay dorment in the system restore folders, when ever you detect either, delete the system restore points and then delete or remove items, or as said.. when you reboot they will be there again..

polkatese

Brett,
try HijackThis and OmegaKiller programs/Freeware. It resolved mine. Most likely you have BHO issues in your windows registry.

steveinaz

It's definitely a good idea to write down your normal running processes, once you're up and running correctly. It helps in the future if you have this problem again.

Download and buy Registry Mechanic, a very good registry maintenance tool that will remove any "orphaned" entires, amongst other things it does to keep your registry fit & trim.

Girl_Addicted

Yeah, use spybot search and destory and the ad-aware, or whatever, simultaneously. Also try zone alarm...it's a free antivirus program...works pretty well for me...so far?

shepx2

Zone Alarm is a pretty good program, IF you do not do any computer gaming. There is a well-known bug in it that affects internet performance. It doesn't affect web-browsing, and it doesn't affect all computers.

Strong Bad

Pest Patrol has worked the best for me. I've used Spybot S&D and the free version of Adaware, but Pest Patrol always found alot more stuff than the others could find. Sometimes there are things that even PP can't find, even after updating the engine. That usually means going into the processes running portion of task manager, looking for strange executables running, stopping them and searching for them for deletion. Some of the worst are the "Coolwebsearch" items.

We use Zone Alarm Pro at work for mobile users and I use it at home. Works very well, but at times it can get a little touchy with regard to program access. I simply turn it off when playing an internet game.

John

brettw22

I'll try to catch the stuff via task manager John.....

One thing that S&D keeps finding repeatedly (even when i run the scan one right after the other) is DSO Exploit. I don't know what that is, but it's the one constant so far with S&D.

brettw22

Originally posted by steveinaz
With your computer running idle, wait for the pop-ups to start, well, popping. Quickly press cntrl/alt/del and look at your "running processes" and look for processes that are grabbing resources---they will blink numbers like a Christmas tree. Write down the names of these processes.

They don't seem to pop-up unless I'm actually dlicking around......I left it connected all day today and had none.......but now that i've been online for a bit i've received probably 8 or 9