what is with popups not going away? adware, spyware? how do I get rid of this stuff? Our main computer has been violated:af: :af: :smash: this crap is pissing me off. My wife had to go in under safe mode and download some stuff she got from one of our other computers to fix it but the popups are still happening, I think adware sucks. what should we be using to get these spies out of this computer?

thanks

Slip, try this pop-up stopper.

http://www.panicware.com/product_psfree.html

the google popup blocker is very effective. also get ad-aware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/ )

I use google toolbar from http://toolbars.google.com and also I use ad-aware every other week or so to keep my machine running in tip-top shape, and I always check for the latest windows updates every now and then.

Also wpuld help to have good virus protection, either McAfee or Norton. Anything else is a risky proposition.

-Dan

Ever since I have used the spybot search and destroy I have had no problems.

Hi,

Most pop-ups are the result of clicking on the X in those little windows you get on your screen.

They are not x's to close that window as you think, they will actually activate the pop-up program that puts them there.

Instead of clicking the X in that window, just go to the bottom of your browser and right-click the tab there for it and choose CLOSE.

I also highly recommend Adaware (Free) and SpyBot

Adaware: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/

SpyBot 1.3: http://download.com.com/3000-8022-10122137.html

In addition, a great Browser that works fantastic and will not allow popups is Avant Browser which is free but will accept donations ( I send $10.00 ) at this site:

http://www.avantbrowser.com/

Just do not allow or click on MAKE THIS MY PRIMARY BROWSER.

That way you can continue to use your IE or Netscape and this one will just be a link on your desktop. But I actually use it more and more over Internet Explorer.

Take Care

Sarge

Originally posted by TheSpecialist
Ever since I have used the spybot search and destroy I have had no problems.


slip- get this ..... i just downloaded it and i have no pop ups now :)

I am glad to read this thread and be able to contribute.

When using Internet Explorer I was using the google toolbar with success.

But like a lot of people. I hate microsoft and will be transitioning my computes to linux. Before I do that I was trying out several open-source/free-ware software packages.

One browser that is open-source that I have been using with great succss is mozilla. It is a great browser, and allows you to have multiple "windows" open in a single window, using a TAB bar across the top of the screen, similiar to the tab bar at the bottom of an Excel spreadsheet.

I have never gotten a single pop-up since I started using mozilla.

-IWK

I don't know how PC Savvy you arwe but what I usually do after running Spy-bot and ad-aware is to open the task manager and look to see what processes are running. You'll usualy see some that make no sense. I plug the name of the executable into a search engine like yahoo and see if it comes back w/ any spyware info on it. If they do Then I go into the registry and remove any reference to that executable.



If your not real PC literate DON"T go hacking around the registry. you may cause more problems than the Pop-ups.

I have to agree with Iwannakeeper on his statement of using Mozilla. I'm using that as my browser and I'm running :[list=a]
Ad Aware 6.0
Spybot S&D
Hijack This
SpyWareBlaster
[/list=a]
I have turned of messenger service go to Steve Gibson Research (http://grc.com/) to see how you remove unwanted services and check to see if your computer are operating in stealth mode or are answering port scans.
Run, the 3 musketers... or look at the writeup for most popular freware Steve has here Check this out (http://grc.com/freepopular.htm)

The biggest security risks are all the homecomputers that are on DSL or Cable modems. Most don't run any kind of Firewall or the FW is misconfigured leaving the computer vulnerable to "malware". Most junk email from professional "SPAM" mail houses are now sent using "Open Proxy Servers" as relays. The proxy serves are installed on unprotected home computers and 'crawlers' are updating the proxy lists with new open proxies as they find them. Some ISP's are very lax when it comes to security and have a long reaction time when it comes to take a user off-line that have a computer acting as an spam relay.

If you own your email server, then you should use RBL's as one mean to block junk mail.
(Realtime Blackhole List) established in 1996, was the first, and is the most comprehensive, list of IP addresses of known sources of unsolicited commercial and bulk email (a.k.a. spam). The amount of spam is increasing exponentially; as methods to block and filter spam become more sophisticated, the methods being used to deliver it are also evolving. The RBL is the first level of defense in this ongoing battle to minimize and manage the impact of spam on both the people and the resources of your organization.

I'm blocking whole ip ranges that belong to ISP's dynamic IP range. There is no need for a dynamic IP address to have an SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) associated to it.

Sorry I'll get of the tantrum now... I'm just done reviewing 58 Virus alerts from the virus server, 3304 Spam in the spam trap and I still have 457 files in the SPAM review trap..... this is B$ costing us a lot of money. (This is all from noon until now. I was done at noon reviewving last nights cr@p.)

Nils