benny 0 #1 June 22, 2004 I don't know how or why, possibly all those booby sites I surf but my computer has become almost debilitated by ad-ware, spyware, whatever. I've now got 2 different programs running trying to alleviate it and it's cut down to one of the boogers about every 5 minutes. I want to get rid of them all. Is there a way?? Never go to a DZ strip show. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LivingLegend 0 #2 June 22, 2004 Thats the price of pleasure my friend. You can try the various cleansing programs that can be downloaded for free or as tryware like "ad-ware" & "omo" etc but you will never get rid of all the crap that accumaulates over time. Only way to do that is to format & re-install your OS or re-install from a backup if you have one. That MSoft for you! ________________________________________ 1.618 ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cajundude 0 #3 June 22, 2004 Download pestpatrol, spybot, or ad-aware to get rid of it. Just in case, download the stinger virus removal tool from McAfee to check for the most common viruses. Try these: http://www.moosoft.com/ http://www.pestpatrol.com/ http://www.safer-networking.org/ http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/ http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ScubaSteve 0 #5 June 22, 2004 Using Spybot and CWShredder together clean everything and are free$. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhillyKev 0 #6 June 22, 2004 Quote Using Spybot and CWShredder together clean everything and are free$. Not true. Ad-aware will find more even after you run those two, and vice versa. I usually run all three. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
benny 0 #7 June 22, 2004 Quote Quote Using Spybot and CWShredder together clean everything and are free$. Not true. Ad-aware will find more even after you run those two, and vice versa. I usually run all three. i've got ad-aware, it's found a ton, and i got winpatrol which allows me to stop things from running automatically at start up, but still they persist. Maybe I'll try this spy-bot too. Whoever thought they could make money off me by annoying the hell out of me and ruining my computer is sorely mistaken, I'm flat broke! Never go to a DZ strip show. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Push 0 #8 June 22, 2004 Some adware is not easily removable with Ad-Aware and whatnot. They just spring right back up on your next reboot. The programmers of Ad-Aware are pretty good at catching those buggers, but new ones come up. If you really want to get into it, here's some things that may help: 1) Use the task manager to look through the current running programs. Kill anything you do not recognize. DO NOT kill "explorer.exe", "svcmgr32" (or something, can't remember), etc. In general, experimenting with the task manager may require a reboot if you fuck up, but it won't destroy your system. THIS IS NOT A GUARANTEE. Figure out what's ok to kill and what's not. Look through the internet if you're not sure. You can get into the task manager by right clicking on a free spot on your taskbar and choosing "Task Manager" or something similar. On NT-like systems, that is, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP (not sure about this one) you can press Ctrl+Alt+Del and click on the "Task Manager" (or something) button. 2) Look through the internet, maybe some forums or something, about the adware that your removal software finds. Sometimes people post detailed descriptions of the newer versions, and you can use those to remove adware that Ad-Aware can't properly get rid of. 3) Pop-up blocking software can help with the symptoms of adware, though it can't remove it very well. 4) If you want to go really gung-ho, there is a registry key where plug-ins for Internet Explorer are registered, and there's a registry key where you can find a list of programs that start up with your system. You can find all kinds of trash there. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT screw with your registry if you don't know what you're doing! The registry is not like the task manager, you can irrepairably damage your system with it. And yes, I know I haven't told you what program to use to do this. If you don't already know, you shouldn't be doing it. Try getting a friend who knows to check it out. 5) Use Linux, not Windows Sorry for not remembering details, I've switched to Linux. -- Toggle Whippin' Yahoo Skydiving is easy. All you have to do is relax while plummetting at 120 mph from 10,000' with nothing but some nylon and webbing to save you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
unformed 0 #9 June 22, 2004 As others said, run Spybot, Adaware and CWShredder. Each can do work others can't. Also, install Sygate Personal Firewall as that'll tell you when a program is trying to access the internet and also giving you the option of allowing it or not allowing it access to the internet. Also, use Mozilla instead of IE. It's far less vulnerable to exploits, and has built-in popup blocking.This ad space for sale. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
benny 0 #10 June 22, 2004 ok, this crap has just about shut me down. it took me the past two hours to get my computer to even start up normally and i'm not really sure how i accomplished that. now where can i find this linux really really cheap (read: free)? oh please, i long for something that will give me complete control even if i don't know what the fuck i'm doing Never go to a DZ strip show. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
unformed 0 #11 June 22, 2004 Linux is free, absolutely completely free. For your first time using it, I'd try Mandrake Linux, which is really easy to use. It'll take a little while getting used to it, but once you do, you'll never want to go back.This ad space for sale. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites