How to Eliminate Spyware, Adware, and Random Popups

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Since so many people have been coming to this forum with Spyware and Malware Issues, I thought I would link a guide from Tweak3d.net on how to remove Spyware, etc.

How to Eliminate Spyware, Adware, and Random Popups (http://www.tweak3d.net/articles/spyware/)

Before following the steps in this guide, be sure your PC is virus-free. If you don't have a virus scanner, check your PC online (http://housecall.trendmicro.com/) or download a scanner!

Take Care,

Richard

[IFTB]

Thanks NAC Inc, very clear and usefull. :ok:

[amanoffewwords]

I'm as I write I'm running ad-aware on a client's PC - 187 hits so far... Said PC had ground to a halt + caused IE to open 7 separate windows full of c..p everytime IE was run...and disabled NAV.

Thanks Rich and others for mentioning this nifty little program - full marks for usability too. :ok:

amofw

[Timothy]

Can this be Sticky? It should save a lot of FAQs.

Timothy

[E-Liam]

Hi Richard... et al.. :)

I've just read through the site you posted. Not bad as a first go, if a might simplistic, and will probably get most of the scum off your machine... the end, really.

Adaware is very good at what it does, within preset limits. It won't for instance take out the more invasive BHOs (Browser Helper Objects).

It also says prepare to "Nuke" New.Net. More than half of the time, a quick trip to Add/Remove Programs will suffice. But when removal screws the winsock and you can no longer access the internet for further advice, you'd probably wish that you had left well alone. :\ :uhoh:

Don't get me wrong though, any good advice (not withstanding the above exception) is better than none.

I could give examples of virii that aren't eradicated by the best AV apps; peper.a being one of the more recent ones that has needed the writing of a special script (Dr.peper), in order to get rid of it. Where do you find, and more importantly learn how to use it, if you don't even know that you've got peper.a?

When you run a virus scan, either online or from a resident program, and it says that the infected file can't be deleted...

Is that because..

A.. it's in System Restore, and therefore able to run happily, and at the same time avoid deletion, or

B.. did your mail checker catch it and quarantine it.

No problem with B, but a big (depending on which one you got) problem with A. Then you have many trojans which can evade detection by the usual AV methods. If your latest copy of NAV (updated to the hilt) says clean, why would you ever think otherwise.

Another one is CoolWebSearch.. Adaware and Spybot can both limit the damage on the older versions, but if you have one of the later variants like Smartsearch for instance, you may not even be able to open most security apps for long enough to run them, or even stay conected to the website long enough to download them in the first place.

Who goes to the Shredder download site and scrolls down to the bottom of the page, reads all the boring "techiebits" about byte verifier exploits, and then gets the relevant patches from Microsoft.. especially when they just grab a direct link from a webpage, and think running it once will cure all their problems.

Don't get me wrong, he's written good advice in the main but.. to coin a phrase.."If only life were that easy". :O

One that still makes me giggle.. :D then cry.. :{ (So I wanted to use the emoticon, does that make me a bad person??) :)

Q.. I get porn popups on my computer all the time, how can I fix it?

A.. Install Google's toolbar!

You might get lucky, but that's all it is. The question has been answered without knowing anything about the real cause behind the problem.

Just thought I'd put in a few comment's from someone on the front line as t'were.

I apologise if this looks a bit over-zealous. You may I think I'm a right old cynic, and .. and you're probably right.. :D but I usually spend several hours each day putting machines straight, when these snippets of information either do little or nothing to cure the main problem, or worse; as in the case of a corrupt winsock, destroy their connection completely.

Hope it helps to give you all a sense of perspective, when dealing with this scum.

Cheers

Liam

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Hey Liam,

It is a little simplistic, but that is how Rob (PPRuNe Towers) wants us to keep it. The Admin Team at PPRuNe do not want us to get too Techie, so I try to keep it to K.I.S.S. replies. ;)

(Just remember when you are posting, Rob and the gang are MAC users, so K.I.S.S. always applies.) ;)

Take Care,

Richard

[Tosh McCaber]

Interesting- I downloaded Spykiller from the site, as a free trial. Having tried it, I find that Spykiller say that I have 32 spyware and adware parasites on board- to get rid of them, I've to buy the software.

I already have Adaware (free) on board- it tells me simultaneously, and a lot quicker, that I only have one spyware booger affecting my progress.

Which one's right? or wrong!!

[Tosh McCaber]

Two hours later.

I noticed that my version of Adaware was out of date, so I downloaded version 6. Lo and behold, it caught up with 120 intruders! So I deleted the redundant Spykiller programme via add/remove programes in the Control panel. Even having deleted it, it must still be lurking in the regitry- it comes up every time I reboot. BEWARE- be very careful if you decide to install Spykiller.

a) You will have to buy the programme (Adaware 6 seems better and it's free!), and

b) It sticks like glue, even if you don't want it.

Over to you, Richard!

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Tosh McCaber,

Try running Ad-Aware with these settings:


Click on the Webupdate
Click Start
Select Drives/Folders to Scan
Select your main drive
Click on Next


That should do a deeper scan of your system.

Take Care,

Richard

[E-Liam]

Hi Tosh,

Just got in and going to bed, but re: Spykiller, it's being scrutinised by Spywareinfo.com at the moment as a probable malware in it's own right, much the same as SpyNuker.. which has already earned the status of scum.

And to Richard.. :)

I fully understand this site not wanting to go down a high-tech security route. This is a pretty specialised field, and there are plenty of places to get specific technical help. I just wanted to make people aware of the hidden dangers that exist out there.

Nothing that I say or do, anywhere on the web nets me, or anyone else, any material gain whatsoever. And I never recommend any software that isn't free and freely available, and most importantly safe.

Just to emphasize that there's no there's no subliminal commercial happening. :thmbup:

I just see what this crap can do to people's computers, and it makes me so

MAD .. :)

Perhaps I ought to get out more.. :D:D

Cheers

Liam

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Liam,

There are several of us in here that like to give the MAC crowd a little ribbing from time to time. All in fun.

The PC users of this forum are all very sharp. They all catch on very quick, but we dumb it down so the MAC gang can keep up. :ok:

Sleep Well,

Richard

[PPRuNe Towers]

errr, don't feel the need to dumb it down for us Richard. We simply don't get the problems you poor wintel users get.

Let's see, Networking, bios, drivers, video drivers, interupts and clashes, viruses, trojans, worms, malware, spyware, CD and DVD ripping and burning, drive configuration and formating, comms set ups, router configuration, wireless networking, firewalls and general security.

That about covers an average week here doesn't it? Try the search facility over, say, the last three years. Ever seen a query from a Mac user?

It just don't happen and around 15% of PPRuNers are Mac users going on our browser used stats

I enjoy the banter with our resident volunteer experts but there is a serious point to our guidance. This forum is viewed by a large number of lurkers suffering the pitfalls of Sir Bill's magnum opus. Tech advice here can get to levels that are simply offputting to the majority of poor souls sniffing for some help. This thread is a perfect case in point.

For those reading and assuming a messianic monotheistic worship of the Mac: The Lloyd's were founding Euro members of the Homebrew club running the Altair and coding by switch position in 1978. I first overclocked and refrigerated in the days of the 486DX and I've built approximately 130 PC's.
I've owned a registered copy of Windows since January 1988 - version two where the windows almost behaved if they overlapped. I still do - XP these days both standard and Tablet.

This forum is actually the sales pitch for the Mac not anything I write. It's the absence of problems from Mac users that tells the real tale for those who want a machine that works and does real work rather become an absorbing and occasionally maddening interest in itself.

Wintel is the greatest work creation project ever created - a cottage industry in every town and hamlet. But it is all a bit silly isn't it if you just want to use the internet, write e-mail, the odd letter and look after your music/photos coz that what's they are really used for in the real world???

So back to the average week here again: Networking, bios, drivers, video drivers, interupts and clashes, viruses, trojans, worms, malware, spyware, CD and DVD ripping and burning, drive confiuration and formatting, comms set ups, router configuration, wireless networking, firewalls and general security. It's just like my admin mailbag - the same problems again and again from the baffled, frustrated and confused. Groundhog Day for Techies should be the name of the forum

Oh, I forgot, you might have to open the case on an iPod to change the battery:E :E :E

Bantering regards,
Rob

[goates]

Well said Towers! I hope you posted that in the Apple thread in Jet Blast.

Saving to get a G5 one day,

goates

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Rob,

It is all the different combinations you can have with a PC that really makes it fun. It can get repetitive at times, as you say:

Groundhog Day for Techies

But there are good mysteries out there to be solved. I see PCs as the Free Market at its best and MACs as Full Government Control.

All the real innovating is happening on the PC side.

I will not argue about Windows and Microsoft having their problems, but WinXP has solved most of the problems. I will not ever miss the days of Win9X!

As for Viruses and Spam, Bill Gates has told World Economic Forum that by 2006 spam will be eliminated. He also noted that sometimes he's off the mark on his predictions:

"Two years from now, spam will be solved," he told a select group of World Economic Forum participants at this Alpine ski resort. "And a lot of progress this year," he added at the event late Friday, hosted by U.S. talk show host Charlie Rose.


Gates said Microsoft, where he has the title of chief software designer, is working on a solution based on the concept of "proof," or identifying the sender of the e-mail.


One method involves a human challenge, or requiring the sender of an electronic pitch to solve a puzzle that only a flesh-and-blood person can handle. Another is a so-called "computational puzzle" that a computer sending only a few messages could easily handle, but that would be prohibitively expensive for a mass-mailer.

The full story is here:

Bill Gates Says Make Spammers Pay (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040124/ap_on_hi_te/world_forum_gates_4)

Take Care,

Richard

[yintsinmerite]

Too detailed or not detailed at all, I agree with Timothy. This thread should be sticky. The questions come up at least once a week

Hey I have one of the old mac's in my loft with (I think) a massive 10Mb hard drive and a sensational 20mb external drive. Do I qualify for dumbed down posts too ?:{

[PPRuNe Towers]

Richard,

I hope with a vengeance that Bill delivers but I'm left scratching my head at the same time.

This isn't a points scoring exercise because it effects us all. How can anyone trust a solution from Microsoft? I followed your Gibson link today - a very interesting and useful site. But I also saw yet another cottage industry devoted entirely to righting the tosh produced by Redmond.

How can anyone produce repeated iterations of a product where buffer overruns in the clipboard open up the OS. The clipboard for heavens sake and it's been like that since 3.1 It's certainly a free market out there - free of secure, working, reliable software and system architecture.

Sorry about the thread drift but it needed saying with a new techie on board (welcome Liam!). It can be tidied up for the FAQ's. PPRuNers generally want to just use their computer for productive work or entertainment. The computer itself isn't an interest, it is a major annoyance. That's the reason for the word 'issues' in the forum title.

I think I'll go for a bit of a lie down now:bored: :bored: :bored:

Rob

[amanoffewwords]

So why is it that when you search Google with the string "Mac problems" you get 2920 results, including at the very top a forum dedicated to mac issues which currently seems to contain over 30000 threads.

The Google return for Macs may only be a tenth of what you get for "PC problems" but surely it should zero or an error code
404-page not found if life was so rosy with a Mac? :confused:

[goates]

Maybe we should make a sticky thread on Macs vs. PCs as it seems to pop up pretty regularily too.

As for Bill Gates saying Spam will be gone in two years, I'll believe it when I see it.

goates

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Rob & goates,

I do believe it is possible that Spam will be gone in two years, but I do not particularly think it will be Bill Gates to do it.

I think someone working in their garage will come out with something that will effectively eliminate it. (Till they come out with a new form of Spam.)

Take Care,

Richard

[PPRuNe Towers]

amanoffewwords,

Excellent point and deserves a straightforward response.

Primary concern is here is PPRuNe so I set you this challenge for your search urges when I switch the system back on later tonight.

For the 3 years this forum has run pull up all threads regarding Mac problems. That's all three years and set them against one week of PC problems. Actually, I'm happy to set them against one day and I include every aspect of software, hardware, viruses, malware - you name it.
Tell you what, I'll even throw in problems with iPods even if they aren't a Mac.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Rob

[goates]

amanoffewwords - I don't think any rational person would claim that Macs are 100% perfect, just that they suffer from from far fewer problems than PCs. Even if things were reversed and Macs had 90% of the market, they still wouldn't have as many problems as Apple does put some thought into security and not just randomly including new "features" into the operating system. Most of the recent security/virus issues with Windows took advantage of one of the many bundled programs and not the core operating system itself, but the end result is the same, thousands of annoyed users and thousand of dollars wasted.

Up until the last year, Microsoft has constantly refused to even consider the consequences of the new features they add. For example, can someone give me a legitimate reason as to why you would want an email program that automatically ran or opened any attachments it received? MS Outlook and Outlook Express are the only programs that I know of that did this. Most email programs force users to download the file first. I know this won't stop everyone from opening files that they shouldn't, but as the many virus writers found, it made for an easy way to propagate a virus.

I have a PC at home because I like to play with the hardware and software (I have Linux and WindowsXP on it). When I want to get work done though, I would rather use a Mac as it lets me just get on with the job I'm trying to do, and doesn't force to think about the computer or operating system.

goates

[phnuff]

Of course, if this is turning into a discussion on the merits of operating systems, I should take a few minutes off from knitting my yoghurt to sing the praises of Linux. Ok, its a disaster waiting to happen for the average end user, but its free(ish) and pretty damned good. Makes an old Pentium 1 fly along.


Now, IBM MVS, that was a real OS !!!

[IFTB]

How disapointing!

We have a basically good thread here.
(I'll remind you,)
"How to Eliminate Spyware, Adware, and Random Popups"
which is being hyjacked by the pro/anti Mac lobby.

Can we not start a seperate thread on that instead of distroying this one?
(New) PC users need the "how to eliminate"info in this thread, including E-Liam's comments.

But our Right Honourable 'Dep Chief PPRuNe Pilot' vs Goates crusade for Mac does not help anyone looking for the "Eliminate" answers.

Can we dump/delete some of the responses please?

Yours sincerely,
IFTB, struggler with Popups & TheLike

[PPRuNe Towers]

IFTB,

The point is safe, usable software and operating systems.

The point is making this stuff digestable for ordinary users.

The point was first made gently by Richard.

Show the initial, so called worthwhile part of this thread to the member of your household who doesn't fix things but actually uses a computer. Review this thread and so many others through their eyes.

The help being offered is daunting and thus useless to the vast majority of computer users. Comparisons to other way's of achieving a safe and useable computer at home are entirely valid.

Finally, it was pointed out clearly that the thread can be edited to provide a useful addition to FAQ's. This forum will not, I repeat, not turn into a techie paradise frightening away those who need actually help and ends up only encouraging and nurturing hobbiests, anoraks and IT people.

While we truly appreciate your help you will have to accept the criticisms and opprobrium of the linux, unix and Mac community. Your system of choice is responsible for all the viral attacks around the world and their propagation. Your system of choice is also responsible for problems on this forum running at over a thousand to one - wintel versus all other systems. Not even Bill Gates will suggest this resembles the reality of market share.

I trust I make myself clear. A glance back through this thread will indicate I still work on a daily basis with wintel and deal with the problems it brings both here at the Towers and professionally. As with the rest of PPRuNe if there is a better way of achieving something it will be pointed out.

Regards
rob

[IFTB]

PPRNT,

"It's your site so you can do what you want"

Maybe I expected this forum's aim to be different.
Your description, not turn into a techie paradise frightening away those who need actually help, is exactly what I had in mind when I wrote the above response. In my view the pro/con Mac discussions went way over my head and confused, not helped.
Anyway, I will not make such naive remarks again on your forum.
You can, indeed, trust that you made yourself clear.

IFTB
non-paying participant

[Check 6]

Symantec instructions for removal of adware (http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/adware.searchcounter.html)

The instructions are a little confusing, but after a little frustration I was able to repair my registry.

[Mac the Knife]

Not a techie paradise, but it can't be a Dick & Jane reader or the IT people won't visit.

Hmmm. I don't love BillG and M$'s monopolistic rapacity but let's not get lost here. Spam affects _all_ computers - the OS is irrelevant. Even in an all Mac world there would be spam. You can hardly blame Wintel for that or expect Gates to fix it.

".....I've built approximately 130 PC's" - how many Macs? (unless you had an Apple I)

It's easy to have system stability and no driver/BIOS/etc. problems if you are the only source for the OS and hardware and most of the software - in fact, you have no excuse not to!

And it's easy to have security when you have a UNIX based OS which has seen four major releases in three years all with added security patches. And OS 9 had plenty of security holes and opportunities for whoopsies since you were automatically at root level, even when working on a Word Document. Every single process in Mac OS 9 and earlier had root capability.

If there had been/were as many hackers targeting OS 9 (and below) then it would have been nearly as virus-beleaguered as Windows 9.x

XP is, in my experience, a very stable platform - I guess I've had two hard lockups in the last six months, both from tinkering at levels that ordinary user would not. Sure, you can wreck the OS if you try, but you can do this just as easily in OS X.

But I see Micro$oft as Full Government Control and very expensive at that which is why I am moving everything over to Linux. The Mac package is lovely, but still still costs too much.

What would I suggest for a complete beginner who could afford it and didn't want to have to learn anything? Perhaps indeed a Mac for the moment, but Linux is getting better and better (the new Suse 9 is superb) and in a couple of years.....

Mac - Linux User #302442

rm -rf /bin/laden/

[PPRuNe Towers]

Your starter pack could be a very good idea Mac.

All Apple computers come with X11 and all the libraries and tools to run X windows applications. I'm exploring the possibilities myself and welcome recommendations for stable programs that cover most peoples' needs.

There's a growing movement, initially at local government level, here in the UK to simply opt out of the software juggernauts' world and into open systems.

Interesting also that the latest worm appears (from some reports) to be directed at SCO. Many of you might be more familiar with them through the older names of Caldera and before that Santa Cruz.

Regards
Rob

[goates]

I agree that moving to Linux would solve many of the problems experienced by Windows, however that won't be an option for the majority of people for a few years yet. With some luck the various Asian and European governments' moves to Linux will speed this up. Right now this looks like the only way to break Microsoft's dominance, unless Apple can pull something off.

While the classic Mac did give everyone root access, you didn't have email programs automatically running viruses when received and you didn't have web browsers with the ability to install software from a website automatically through ActiveX controls. Microsoft has also had more than a few years to tighten security in Windows 2000 and XP, but they didn't. XP is very stable, and 2000 isn't far behind, but that doesn't matter if they can be so easily over run with viruses. Microsoft has had 4 years to fix these problems int the NT series (Windows 2000 and XP are really just NT 5 and 5.1 respectively) but didn't and didn't seem to care about it either.

It does look like someone is either really annoyed with SCO (most of the Unix and Linux communities) or some one is trying to give open source users a bad name. Can't say that I have any sympathy for SCO though.

goates

[Chaffers]

I just ran ad-aware 6 with the latest dat file before and after loading Pprune. Second time around with a clean system brought up two dodgy cookies... Can anyone else reproduce this?

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Rob,

I was just trying to keep the thread within your parameters when Liam made a long, detailed post.

Since this thread now has a life of its own, I figure we could let this thread go on, but I will start a new thread with just the info from the first post which we can use as a sticky till the current virus/malware attacks die off, then we can delete it and make the next sticky to meet the needs of the PPRuNe Members when that time comes.

Richard

P.S. As you know, we will always poke a little fun at the PC/MAC rivalry. :p

[Blacksheep]

I run my PC with Black Ice set to paranoid and never open e-mail attachments unless they are from myself. I have NAV with auto-updating and use Folder Guard to lock my personal data files and private folders. Despite all this I also use Adaware and The Cleaner regularly and still find spyware and trojans aboard my PC. Presumably they come in through web pages, suitably disguised within images etc. so as to avoid detection and then operate through the browser - which of course has permission to access the internet.

Does all this Spam really sell enough Viagra to be worth the effort? Are all those pimply faced youths really sporting 18" penises from the pills they buy on the internet? Has anybody eliminated all their debts, got a cheap mortgage, won a huge prize in a competition they never even entered or helped Emperor Bokassa's widow get her millions out of Africa? Are there enough gullible computer users out there to make all this crap profitable? It seems so - my SPAM reception rate is already over 120 a day.

Now we only have to wait two years for Uncle Bill to fix it. Thats it? M/S rides to the rescue? I despair of there ever being foolproof protection against the advertising industry. Apart from boycotting the advertised products and publically exposing the perpetrators as the fraudsters they are that is...

Thank you to all the Techies here who try to help the rest of us less gifted mortals to keep our machines running and useable. I for one appreciate the advice I find here...

[goates]

One interesting idea that I heard recently for stopping spam was to have everyone respond to every spam message they got. This would overload the spammers systems and make it very unprofitable for them.

The only method I have seen that would stop you from getting spam is to set up your mail server or client to drop any mail from an address not in your address book. The user would have to enter someone's email address before they received any email though which could get to be a pain.

Too bad we couldn't round up all of the spammers and make them pay for what they're doing to the internet. Maybe send them to war ravaged countries to clear mines. :E :E

goates

[yintsinmerite]

Mailwasher, gives you the chance to preview email and decide whether to accept/blacklist or bounce the email, although increasingly, due I think to spammer using non existing email address, it doesnt bounce all

[PPRuNe Towers]

More than happy with that suggestion Richard. You initial post was perfectly pitched for what we are after.

Regarding revenge on the spammers: bounce backs and so on. Anyone care to put in their knowledgable thoughts for the average Joe on why it is ineffective, and their opinions as to why legislators on both sides of the Atlantic seem to have studiously ignored the facts regarding 'from' addresses.

Regards
Rob

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Blacksheep,

For the average Spammer to make enough money to live on, they have to send out over 1 million Spam emails a day! It is easy to figure out the number of gullible people out there is extremely low.

To answer Rob, most of the email addys are spoofed, so bouncing does not always work. (I still prefer to bounce personally though.) :ok:

Take Care,

Richard

[E-Liam]

Hi,

I saw that there is now a sticky for this subject. Here's a useful, and techie free link to a post by Tony Klein, a renowned expert on spy/ad/malware...

http://forums.net-integration.net/index.php?showtopic=3051

I thought that I'd post it on this thread and Mr. Towers :) can decide whether to move it to the sticky thread or not.

Hope it's useful.

Cheers

Liam

[PPRuNe Towers]

Go ahead and cut and paste it over to Richard's thread Liam. Looks very good to me. I read your link to the tech guy forum last night. Read all five pages and loved the post where the semi guru admitted to opening a nasty attachment.............

Additionally I've stickied Mac the Knife's tyro's intro to Linux - looks an ideal taster for those who might want to dip their toe in the water with a dual boot system or a superannuated Mac.

I think there are three widely available distros for linux with adequate or better support. It would be nice to get some feed back on how they stack up for someone wanting to have a go for the first time.

Regards to all
rob

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Rob,

The Screen Savers has a great:

Linux FAQ (http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/answerstips/story/0,24330,3319121,00.html)

For anyone thinking about getting their feet wet with Linux.

If anyone wants info on the new Kernel then:

How to Install the Linux 2.6 Kernel (http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/linux/story/0,24330,3590865,00.html)

Take Care,

Richard