Internet Help!

[JT]

on my pc, ive got a firewall (sygate), some pop up stopper thing, and spybot anti spyware thing installed. despite all this, i still get spyware, really bad. this box keeps appearing, with "your search results for valium"!! and a big list, and also these downloading file boxes, that just keep coming up, about three times after you close it.

But, THE most annoying thing, is that whenever i close explorer, my internet home page gets changed to "about:blank". thats all it says in the address bar, and its like a really crap search page. no matter what i do, i can't stop it, and it is REALLY pi**ing me off! also, about every minute, a popup tries to appear but gets blocked. ive tried everything i can think of - running searches, running spybot, deleting all the cookies, but nothing

HELP, IM GONNA THROW THE PILE OF ***** OUT THE WINDOW SOON!! :ffs: :censor:

[Matthew_McNally]

copy your data off.

wipe and rebuild.

you can spend ages TRYING to clear a load of this crap off - but you won't get it all, and you won't get it all off completely cleanly.

when you have it built fresh;

- use a non administrative user for everyday use.

- use firefox, not internet explorer

- install spybot sedarch and destroy, keep it up to date and use its "immunize" function.

or you could nuke it from orbit....

[JT]

copy your data off.

wipe and rebuild.

you can spend ages TRYING to clear a load of this crap off - but you won't get it all, and you won't get it all off completely cleanly.

when you have it built fresh;

- use a non administrative user for everyday use.

- use firefox, not internet explorer

- install spybot sedarch and destroy, keep it up to date and use its "immunize" function.

or you could nuke it from orbit....

erm..how do i do that - wipe everything, i mean? also, i dont have the cd to setup windows xp and everything - would i just be able to copy everything on to a cd?

[SMW]

might be worth trying this - it gets most of the :censor: and under the advanced section you can restore IE to original format, reset hi jacked start pages, search toolbars etc.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...en&Hash=654YDW6

[sera_beetle]

i know you have spyware programs but try Adware - which is free ware

it's all ways worked for me. it's worth a try before nucking it!

Tim

[Robie]

Use mozilla firefox and you will prevent any more spyware getting onto your machine.

Go through add/remove programmes and remove things like Search toolbars and stuff.

In safe mode run Adaware, Spybot and microsofts new one. Maybe try a virus scan aswell.

If that dosent work its time to get backing up and format.

[Crisis]

Try Ad-Aware. Search on google and use that. I used to have about:blank and whenever a 404 was made it would have some crap window. Works a treat now. Also using Firefox.

[JT]

thanks for all the suggestions. ive tried them all now, including adaware (ive got about 3 spyware progs, and 2 anti virus ones), but they've not worked

If that dosent work its time to get backing up and format.

this might sound thick, but how do i do that? :D im not that good with computers when they go wrong!

[Jesus]

If you are getting messenger pop-ups (just grey windows with text which you have to click OK to), just disable the 'messenger' service.

These are IP related popups.

Download Avast AntiVirus here.

I'd recommend backing up your data, re-installing Windows, and before connecting to the internet install Avast Antivirus, Sypot Search & Destroy, Ad-Aware SE, Mozilla Firefox and ZoneAlarm firewall.

Configure ZoneAlarm to enable web access. When programs try to connect for the first time you will be asked if you want to allow them. If they are to do with Internet Explorer... don't allow it. If they are to do with Avast AntiVirus, ZoneAlarm, Spybot or Ad-Aware... allow them. Tick the box to remember the option.

Connect to the internet and Avast Antivirus will go off and download the latest virus definitions, and program updates. You will need to register Avast within 60 days to enable you to continue getting free updates. This is free for non-commercial use and takes about 3 minutes.

Start Spybot and 'search for updates' and then 'immunize'.

Now run a scan... 'check for prroblems'.

Start 'Ad-Aware' and check for latest downloads.

Now run a 'full system scan'.

Fix problems found as prompted with both programs.

Run a Spybot and Ad-Aware update once a week, and perform full system scans once updated.

If you don't use the 'messenger' service yourself... disable it.

As long as you keep on top of your PC, it should be pretty plain sailing. Don't wait until you have a problem before thinking about fixing it. At the end of the day, prevention is better than cure.

Hope this has made sense tp you.