I've got some tricky Spyware stuck on my home PC and I'm looking for some advice.

I've just run updated Ad Aware and Spybot scans, and I still can't get rid of these "Messenger Service" popups. They are designed to look like warnings from Microsoft, and try to scare you with things like registry errors, critical system errors, etc.

Of course, they are not from Microsoft, so they try and get you to their site not Microsoft's.

Anyhoo, besides running Norton, Spybot and Ad Aware (all with curent updates) does anybody have any other advice?

These pop ups are killing me and they pop up right in the middle of my son's "Dr. Seuss' ABC" software. And he's not happy about it.

I've got some tricky Spyware stuck on my home PC and I'm looking for some advice.

I've just run updated Ad Aware and Spybot scans, and I still can't get rid of these "Messenger Service" popups. They are designed to look like warnings from Microsoft, and try to scare you with things like registry errors.

Of course, they are not from Microsoft, so they try and get you to their site not Microsoft's.

Anyhoo, besides running Norton, Spybot and Ad Aware (all with curent updates) does anybody have any other advice?

These pop ups are killing me and they pop up right in the middle of my son's "Dr. Seuss' ABC" software. And he's not happy about it.
what browser do you use?

IE 6.0

I rarely go to RealGM anymore, but I wouldn't be surprised if I picked it up from there.

I get all kinds of popups when I go there, the Google popupblocker can hardly keep up.

IE 6.0

I rarely go to RealGM anymore, but I wouldn't be surprised if I picked it up from there.

I get all kinds of popups when I go there, the Google popupblocker can hardly keep up.
Damn, IE is a haven for spyware in the first place. you should've been on Firefox awhile ago Glenn [smilie=arnold.gif] .

It may also be a virus/spyware. some viruses load themselves into your registry as programs and lock you up with a heap of spyware to no end. First thing you might wanna do is run a virus check and if you do find something, look up what its exact purpose is and whether you need to do something extra to remove it.

Either way i doubt that its just spyware only if you cant find it with spybot.

Just hope it isnt Lop.com....that fuckers a pain in the ass to remove. [smilie=angryfire.g:

Also its a sin against humanity to run into RGM damn near Naked with a thin sheet of IE 6 on your back. [smilie=anxious.gif]

If its actually using your Windows Messenger, an easy answer could be just to turn it off.

http://www.itc.virginia.edu/desktop/docs/messagepopup/

Oh, and stop looking at porn with the same PC your kid plays on.
LOL @ "Daddy, what's a tranny?"

Format hard drive.

LOL@Spyware


(someone had to say it)

Easy solution.

Buy a Mac.

Easy solution.

Buy a Mac.
LOL@Macs

just let them spy on you.

http://www.geocities.com/allll_of_us/movie_spies_like_us_broken_arm.JPG

The Messenger Service is used by a lot of spam/porn companies to flood users with junk.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/security/learnmore/stopspam.mspx

I smell a Dr. Suess class action lawsuit. Children of the world UNITE!

Firefox really screwed up for me after the recent update - so much so that I just uninstalled the browser altogether.

Firefox really screwed up for me after the recent update - so much so that I just uninstalled the browser altogether.

I didn't uninstall Firefox but it fucked up big time for me too. I lost all my bookmarks along with my settings and extensions.

Firefox really screwed up for me after the recent update - so much so that I just uninstalled the browser altogether.

I didn't uninstall Firefox but it fucked up big time for me too. I lost all my bookmarks along with my settings and extensions.
what themes and extensions did you use? Some of them can cause crashes

Firefox has a notorious problem with your settings just disappearing.

Back up your bookmarks every week.

Firefox has a notorious problem with your settings just disappearing.

Back up your bookmarks every week.
I never got that problem. But i exclusively use it and never use IE except in a situation where the site doesnt allow Non-IE browsers.

Firefox has a notorious problem with your settings just disappearing.

Back up your bookmarks every week.

This was my problem. It worked fine until the update and then it seemed to happen every couple of days. I went to their problem solver message boards and there seemed to be a lot of people bitching and no answers so I bailed. it also started running terribly slow(evenwith fasterfox).

I don't recall which add-ons I had, the popup blocker for sure, and I believe one other(another popular one).

Firefox has a notorious problem with your settings just disappearing.

Back up your bookmarks every week.

This was my problem. It worked fine until the update and then it seemed to happen every couple of days. I went to their problem solver message boards and there seemed to be a lot of people bitching and no answers so I bailed. it also started running terribly slow(evenwith fasterfox).

I don't recall which add-ons I had, the popup blocker for sure, and I believe one other(another popular one).
Maybe they didnt do enough beta testing on the update. Probally rushed it after the rumor of a virus that could attack the older versions.

Firefox really screwed up for me after the recent update - so much so that I just uninstalled the browser altogether.

I didn't uninstall Firefox but it fucked up big time for me too. I lost all my bookmarks along with my settings and extensions.
what themes and extensions did you use? Some of them can cause crashes

I don't use themes but I had a ton of extensions.

Aardvark, GreaseMonkey, deskCut, CSSViewer, Adblock along with a bunch of RSS aggregators and quite a few others.

Firefox has a notorious problem with your settings just disappearing.

Back up your bookmarks every week.

I never had a problem with FF before but once I upgraded to the newest version, everything fucked up.

It was a huge pain trying to get all my bookmarks though. [smilie=angryfire.g:

Firefox has a notorious problem with your settings just disappearing.

Back up your bookmarks every week.
I never got that problem. But i exclusively use it and never use IE except in a situation where the site doesnt allow Non-IE browsers.

Go on the firefox message board and type "lost bookmarks" and its a HUGE problem.

Firefox really screwed up for me after the recent update - so much so that I just uninstalled the browser altogether.

I didn't uninstall Firefox but it fucked up big time for me too. I lost all my bookmarks along with my settings and extensions.
what themes and extensions did you use? Some of them can cause crashes

I don't use themes but I had a ton of extensions.

Aardvark, GreaseMonkey, deskCut, CSSViewer, Adblock along with a bunch of RSS aggregators and quite a few others.

Do you read em carefully? Some warn that they have been known to crash browsers.


Either way i hope i dont have to feel your pain on the bookmarks. mines has been solid so far. but im getting rid of the theme because it freezes from time to time.

If its actually using your Windows Messenger, an easy answer could be just to turn it off.

http://www.itc.virginia.edu/desktop/docs/messagepopup/

Oh, and stop looking at porn with the same PC your kid plays on.
LOL @ "Daddy, what's a tranny?"


The Messenger Service is used by a lot of spam/porn companies to flood users with junk.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/security/learnmore/stopspam.mspx


That did the trick guys, thanks. I appreciate the help.

I'll change the thread title to reflect the recent turn towards discussing browsers.

If its actually using your Windows Messenger, an easy answer could be just to turn it off.

http://www.itc.virginia.edu/desktop/docs/messagepopup/

Oh, and stop looking at porn with the same PC your kid plays on.
LOL @ "Daddy, what's a tranny?"


The Messenger Service is used by a lot of spam/porn companies to flood users with junk.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/security/learnmore/stopspam.mspx


That did the trick guys, thanks. I appreciate the help.

I'll change the thread title to reflect the recent turn towards discussing browsers.
Good work man, sorry you had the troubles. Either way Snakes on a plane, shit happens sometimes. As long as it gets fixed.