Most of you know that I just got a new laptop. Everything has been going great with it.

Well, up until a couple of days ago.

Recently, have been getting a lot of pop ups and everytime I turn my computer on, the first thing that automatically comes up is the internet, and it is spyware.com. What the heck is it? Is it legit? Out of curiosity, I let the site to a check on my computer, and it located some problems. They want me to register with them so they can fix the errors. I got a little freaked out and didn't register because I don't know what it is.

Anybody know anything?

 

Welcome to the wonderful internet. There are dirt bags everywhere who happily install cookies and software on your PC without your permission. Tracking cookies will identify what sites you visit and report back your surfing habits. Hijackers will take your browser to websites you don't neccessarily visit. For starters, try the free anti spyware programs. Spybot and Ad Aware. Just do a google search on them and you'll find plenty of download sites. Here's a good one for Spybot:SpyBot Here's one for Ad Aware

Beware though, if you have a hijacker installed, even doing a search may trigger it to take you to some other company's spyware packages. Once you have Spybot and Ad Aware installed, run them and let them clean out everything they can. Most of the other companies will scan, but not clean unless you purchase. One good one I found is Spy Sweeper. It will do a scan and clean, but will not let you update to newer definitions unless you pay for it, so it's like a one shot deal. Another good freebie to keep you clean is Spyware Blaster , which also has a link inside Spybot that takes you to it. Very good stuff for free and even if it wasn't free. Good luck and I'm sure others will chime in with their experiences and recommendations

 

I'm not sure about that site, but I would get yourself a free copy of Adaware...and also a free copy of ZoneAlarm. I use Adaware to remove 'spyware'....tracking cookies and other software that sometimes gets installed on your pc when you download free software sometimes. I think those file sharing programs you download are some of the biggest culprits. Anyway, get Adaware and make sure you update it...then you run it occasionally to remove spyware from your pc.
ZoneAlarm is a personal firewall and will keep intruders out as well as alert you to spyware that's trying to access the internet. It's a pain at first, but you have to allow each program that needs access to the internet to have access. Then you can catch all this garbage that normally sneaks by you and accesses the internet without you knowing about it (when you're online).

I work in an IT dept...and I love Adaware and Zonealarm (both have free versions for home users).
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/conten...lid=dyncomp_za

 

I use Ad-aware 6.0 from LAVASOFT It works great; finds all the spy cookies and registry entries that you don’t want. I run it a couple times a week to keep the system clean.

I also run House Calls from TREND Micro, it’s a web based free virus scan.

http://www.trendmicro.com/en/home/us/personal.htm

http://www.lavasoft.de/

 

Some good advice above. Get Adaware or Spybot. Run them, love them, live them. HOWEVER, all that does it help clean up the crap (and it can't get it all depending on that you got)... Some tips on preventing this stuff in the future: DON'T USE INTERNET EXPLORER. PERIOD. It has more holes than my 10 year old underwear and it stinks just as bad as they do after a workout in 100 degrees & 90% humidity.

For the love god get rid of IE! Use something cool like Opera (http://www.opera.com/) or Firefox (http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/). They are a crapload better and don't fall pray to ****-poor HTML code and sneaky backdoor installs. They also have built-in searching (real searching, not that fake IE crap) and pop-up blockers.

Now that you've sworn off IE, it's time to get serious about security. Since you got that brand new Dell I know your running XP. Enable it's built-in firewall. Use the help or search Microsquishes site. Do it, and do it now. Make sure you have ANTI-VIRUS. If you don't, I'm driving down to pummel you right now. Now that you have it, make SURE you turn on it's auto-updates and keep your subscription current. You don't, you pay.

I'm getting all riled up... I hate IE. I hate MS... grrr...

Happy computing!!

 

I disagree, I love IE, MS & XP

 

Okay, my 2 cents worth.

I use:

Zone Alarm
Ad-Aware
Spybot
Hi-Jack This (occasionally)
Window Washer

I knock on wood (tapping on head) never have a problem. All are freeware - see www.CNET.COM. Window Washer is only a trial, I just reinstall when needed. Clears out the .DAT files.

My sister screwed up last year and didn't have a firewall, spyware took over! She couldn't do anything without pop-ups taking over. We cleaned it up with the programs above and she is thrilled. If you're on cable, GET THE FREE FIREWALL!

One other thing. Some items would reload at startup. So, check your startup menu.

Click on the Start button on the bottom left corner, select run, type msconfig, then chose the tab to the right that says startup. Look for unfamiliar items that you may not need at startup and uncheck...if you're not sure, go to www.computing.net and do a search, you'll find out quickly whether it's legit or not. That's the BEST place for computer help.

My friend is having a similiar problem (again no firewall), going over his house tomorrow to tackle it...

 

Here's my suggestion:

Disk Cleanup (built into windows) at least once a month.
AVG FREE eddition full system scan every night (auto-updated) http://www.grisoft.com
Spybot S&D at least once a week (although it hasnt been updated in I dont know how long because it never finds any...)
Disk Defragmenter 7.0 scheduled every night (there's a version built into Windows, but you cant schedule that version...)
Plus a good firewall running 24/7 (I use ZA free edition) http://www.zonelabs.com

Not to mention make sure you visit windows update and keep up to date on all the critical updates.

Take that for what you will. It's kept my windows install clean for near 3 years.

 

Make sure you are running version 1.3 They are no longer doing updates for earlier verisons. It came out a couple of months ago and is updated pretty regularly. Seems like the old version would have alerted you, but hey, it is free.

 

Don’t fool with that mickey mouse Spybot
use Ad-aware 6.0 from LAVASOFT
Daily updates are always available if you chose to add them
This is the real McCoy

http://www.lavasoft.de/

 

There are a lot of spyware tools here, http://majorgeeks.com/downloads31.html

Before you get nailed, I would recommend using spyware blaster. Over the weekend, I got hit going to a guitar tab site. Spent most of the afternoon cleaning it out. Used Adaware, spybot and a few others and manual cleaning. I came to work, installed spyware and went to the site with my work machine and nothing was installed.

What is spyware? It's the spawn of hell, written and distributed by a$$h*(^s that deserve to be taken out for a ride like the dog in National Lampoon's Vacation, but I'm not bitter.

Anyone live in Washington state? That's where nCase headquarters are, they are one of the worst of the last generation spyware writers. If you live near there, please drive by and beat up some programmers.

 

Let me REITERATE

Don’t fool with that mickey mouse Spybot or any other crap!

use Ad-aware 6.0 from LAVASOFT
Daily updates are always available if you chose to add them

This is the real McCoy

http://www.lavasoft.de/

 

Actually SpyBot is a good partner to use in conjunction with Ad Aware. Ad Aware offers good detection, but the free version offers nothing in the way of protection. SpyBot on the otherhand allows you to immunize against over 1000 possible infections and set it up to alert you when they try to install. For example according to my SpyBot alerts, everytime I visit this message forum, it says our good friends at F150 Online are trying to install the Doubleclick tracking cookie. Relatively harmless, but Spyware just the same. Shame shame!

 

Jeez jpdadeo, you on Lavasoft's payroll? It's a good program, but it still doesn't catch everthing. Run two programs and you should get most of the nasty stuff.

I actually really like XP and some other MS products. But they are spread too thin and crank out too many products to put the quality into it that they desperately need. The almighty dollar prevents us consumers from getting tight, secure coding. :sigh: But IE is by far the worst product ever. Not because it doesn't work or is buggy, but becuase its security posture. That single piece of software exposes your machine to hacks, worms, viruses, spyware... you name it, you'll get compliments of IE! And pop-ups.. .GGRRRRR... so glad I don't have to deal with those!

Some of the other suggestions are not needed nor will they help you. Disk defrags are mostly a thing of the past, and they really only need to be run MONTHLY, not daily/weekly. Unless your big on adding/removing programs or working with digital media - there is NO benefit. And for the love of pete go PURCHASE a good AV program like Norton or McAfee. Don't rely on 'Free' scanners. They cannot offer you the level of protection you need, period. And the XP disk clean up is pretty worthless as well.

Zone-alarm is a decent program, but can be more annoying for a novice than anything else. Enable the XP firewall, and if I remember correctly, you already have a wireless router thingy... that offers a decent level of protection too.

 

Hey slappy, you were praising XBOX. Thats MS.




jamzwayne = Smarta$$