<p>It seems that something has taken over my computer and pop-up ads are constantly appearing. Also my computer is VERY slow. There is a pop-up message that keeps telling me that if I have problems to download Windows Antivirus Pro 2007.</p>
<p>Any suggestions? Thanks!</p>
<p>Try downloading a free program called ad-aware and run a full system scan. then be sure to delete all the junk it finds. Good luck</p>
<p>First - don’t click anything in those popup ads!</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Are you running an anti-virus program? If not, then download ‘Stinger’ from McAfee (free) and run it.
<a href=“http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/[/url]”>http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/</a></p></li>
<li><p>After that download AdAware and run it.
<a href=“http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_aware_free.php[/url]”>http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_aware_free.php</a></p></li>
<li><p>After that, make sure you have an up to date Anti-Virus app running on your PC. </p></li>
<li><p>Turn on the ‘Pop-up’ blocker on your browser and don’t respond to pop-ups unless it’s a very trusted site.</p></li>
<li><p>Be wary of opening email attachments. Don’t do it unless it’s something you’re expecting from a trusted source.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>all great advice. Run ad aware. Do NOT download stuff you shouldn’t. Do not open attachments from unknown sources. Install an Anti Virus.</p>
<p>That popup is the result of spyware. It’s relatively benign, being basically an advertising vehicle for that particular antivirus company. Nonetheless, clearly it’s a nuisance.</p>
<p>As for what you can do:</p>
<p>Start by downloading Windows Defender by MS, and Spybot: Search & Destroy. These two programs are both significantly better than Ad-Aware.</p>
<p>Next, get an antivirus. The best one on the market right now, imo, is ESET NOD32. It catches things nothing else will, and is very proactive about protecting your computer. If you want a free one, though, get avast! or avg; they are the best free antivirus programs.</p>
<p>If you know someone who’s relatively computer savvy, ask them to take a look through your task manager. Normally, those annoying spyware programs show up as weirdly-named processes, and terminating them can sometimes fix the problem. Don’t try it yourself, though, because unless you’re aware of what each process that’s legitimate is, you could end up killing something you don’t want to.</p>
<p>Finally, if your computer is very slow, just do a full reformat. Get your documents on a USB Key or portable hard drive, and just wipe the whole thing. This is always the single best solution, though it can be time consuming. Again, I suspect you don’t know how to do this, so if you have a friend who’s willing, that’s the best option, otherwise you might have to resort to Geek Squad or some such commercial solution (though it’ll be a rip-off).</p>
<p>When we had a major “infestation” a while back, we ran 4 or 5 different programs (including both spybot AND Ad-Aware)-- there were some things that one didn’t catch that another one did. Ever since then, we’ve been on the ball for getting antivirus and anti-spyware software (and make sure to keep downloading updates, so that you protect yourself from the new stuff).</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I will try them tomorrow and hope it works!</p>
<p>Try Spybot- Search and Destroy :)</p>
<p>run msconfig and look at the startup tab.</p>
<p>you can see what those programs here <a href=“http://www.pcselfhelp.net/startup[/url]”>http://www.pcselfhelp.net/startup</a></p>
<p>you can disable things from running when you bootup the computer.</p>
<p>You need to dance the Security Tango. Find it here, and do EVERY step.</p>
<p><a href=“http://securitytango.com/[/url]”>http://securitytango.com/</a></p>
<p>“don’t respond to pop-ups unless it’s a very trusted site”</p>
<p>Alway use the X symbol to close pop up window. Never use the inside block that may say 'Close window?"</p>
<p>To be safe I always use alt + F4</p>
<p>Macs are not currently afflicted with viruses or spyware.</p>
<p>Spyware is hardly benign. It acts like a parasite and saps system resources and can even open back doors into your personal computer for malware. Act soon to eliminate any on your computer and block any future infestations. Never reward spyware ads by clicking on them.</p>
<p>p2n-</p>
<p>Do you think the new version of ad-Aware that I installed could be causing connection problems I am having? We are having serious internet instability problems- Comcast is coming out here again today-- it is very frustrating. I am also wondering if some of the firewall/virus scan stuff that AOL puts on the computer might mess with connectivity, as we happen to have 2 versions of AOL o one of the computers. Is this possible? We are constantly having to reset the modem and/or router,which only sometimes works. Cable co blames our network, but then the modem gets no signal. Very frustrating we we are trying to get applications done!! HELP!!</p>
<p>jym:</p>
<p>Why use AOL? I don’t understand why anyone would use them any more.</p>
<p>The AdAware I’ve used isn’t resident. It just runs a scan when invoked. Because of that, it would have no effect on your connectivity.</p>
<p>I’ve had intermittent connectivity at times with my cable connection and it always turns out to be due to a problem on their network. The techs they send out aren’t usually very knowledgable - they just do the typical check the signal strength, replace the connector, sometimes swap out the modem, all to ne effect, then later someone addresses the problem on their network to improve the problem. My D has a connection from a different cable company and has had similar issues. When she had DSL she never had a single issue. </p>
<p>I would strongly suspect your cable company. Keep after them until they fix the problem. Remember that there are lots of components upstream from you before it gets to your house, that could be the root of the problem.</p>
<p>ucsd-
Too long a story to get into why I still have aol. Its free, so what the heck. I have so many things attached to my aol account I wouldnt begin to know how to change them to my yahoo account. If you want to rag me about having aol–stand in line. DH and DS do it all the time.</p>
<p>BTW Ucsd–
How’d you ever get someone at the network side to look at the problem? Or did they do that on their own? We went through this once before about a year or so ago-- the “techs” (and I use the term lightly) all did the typical finger-pointing, changed out splitters, modems, played with signal strength at the box, blamed it on upstreaming, our network, whatever they could blame that wasn’t their fault. How do I get the problem FIXED??? Right now they have the wrong repair date on their calendar- they PROMISED today, but, oops, it is in their system for tomorrow. They promised a callback to confirm. That too, of course, never happened. THESE IDIOTS!!! AAAARRRRGGGHHH!!!</p>
<p>jym: ISPs are some of the most irritating things to get repairs from in the world.</p>
<p>When I did it, it basically consisted of me continuously calling, noting down the names of customer service reps every time, and telling them that I had taken their names, and then getting my internal ticket tracking number. Thus, each time something didn’t happen, my next call would involve mentioning how many times my problem had gone unsolved. Finally I got through to the people who can really make things move, though it took the threat of writing some letters to do so.</p>
<p>It also helped that I’m experienced in computer matters, and so when they tried to give me the walkabout on stuff like splitter problems and the like, I just cut them off.</p>
<p>jym - I had Comcast high-speed Internet service for several years and would occasionally be beset with similar problems, not to mention that we had to replace the cable modem about once per year.</p>
<p>I have since switched to Verizon DSL (in anticipation of Verizon FIOS coming into our area in the next few months) and have only good things to say about Verizon. Verizon does a much better job managing their network than Comcast and is MUCH more reliable. While Comcast is blaming your system, I found that most of the unreliability comes from them.</p>
<p>How would I know this? I run hardware firewalls that maintain 24x7x365 logs. The logs showed when the WAN (Wide Area Network = Comcast/Verizon/whomever) was up or not and if certain other problems were allowed through the networks, like probes and attacks. Verizon is MUCH more reliable and permits fewer network attacks and probes than Comcast.</p>
<p>I do not think AdAware would cause your network issues at all.</p>
<p>
One way is to talk with any neighbors who have the same network and are experiencing problems at the same time as you and then inform the techs flat out that there must be a problem at a point common to multiple customers. I’ve done this a couple of times and it worked at those times although they still went through the usual check the signal strength, change the connector, etc. I recall one time when they did this but my neighbor across the street was experiencing problems at the same time. I told the tech this and they eventually found a bad component in a box down at the end of the street that was common to the drops on the street. If I hadn’t have pushed it the techs probably would have just left.</p>
<p>You might want to consider going to DSL. I haven’t yet but have at least thought about it and might do it someday if the cable company frustrates me too much.</p>
<p>ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad-
We had DSL before cable. Bellsouth was no prize. Finally got a guy onthe phone who admitted that our upstream/downstream signal wasn’t good (first tech should have seen that) and that problem is probably outside. However, the tech has to come tomorrow to then order the maintenance crew to come do outside work-- later in the week. What nonsense (and we went through this about 18 mos ago too). My suggestion to Comcast–There was already a tech here-- let them put in the repair order. Nope- no can do. GRRRR!!! </p>
<p>10f42- DH and sons are all computer people. They can easily “talk the talk”. We renetworked the computers after idiot #1 was here, because there was some glitch at that point with the network. Thats all fixed-- signal to the house is not. Works when it feel like working.</p>
<p>P2N-
Thanks for the input-- I will keep my eyes out for FIOS</p>