Adware Problems

[clhare]

All of a sudden I'm getting alot of ads popping up that never did before. I don't know why or how to get rid of them again for good. Any suggestions?

My teenage daughter's been web surfing alot lately, and I'm wondering if she went to some sites that started this mess.

Cheryl

[Ken Puls]

Hi there,

Two great articles by Johnske on this...

First one
Second one

There's some good links in both of them that should get you started (at a minimum). The second one in particular has a bunch of links to get rid of spyware that is already installed, and how to protect from it in future.

Cheers!

[Jacob Hilderbrand]

I run AdAware and SpyBot, both are available for free. Those are probably listed in the links Ken provided, but just in case they are not.

[clhare]

Thanks, I was wondering if it was okay to use both or if I had to choose one or the other.

Cheryl

[Ken Puls]

I'm running all the Spyware stuff John mentions in the 2nd article I think. Spybot, AdAware and SpywareBlaster. I also run Firefox for my web browser (as does Jake, I know) to avoid internet popups and trojans (IE doesn't do a good job on those), and run Symantec's Antivirus.

Sadly, it seems like there's way too many levels of protection required for safe surfing these days.

[Killian]

Hi Cheryl,
another opinion (albeit pretty much the same as the previous ones)...
Using one of the free adware cleaners will get your system back to normal. I use AdAware by Lavasoft with is excellent and free.
Using a different browser will isolate you from MS IE targetted security issues. FireFox is free and IMHO a significantly better browser.
Most important, to stop the offending files getting onto your computer in the first place, you need to invest in a personal firewall (essential software thses days). They are inexpensive and many are available with a free trial period (e.g. ZoneAlarm) so you can see how uasble they are before you pay anything.
There are other considerations, as mentioned, such as keeping on top of security updates, anti-virus software, etc but these are the three key areas I recommend addressing asap.

[MOS MASTER]

Hi Cheryl,

My set-up to stay virus/Spy-ware free:

• Adaware Pro (Update/Scan Weekly) Normal version Freeware
• Spybot (Update/Scan Weekly) Freeware
• SpyWareBlaster (Update/Enforce protection Weekly) Freeware
• Sygate Firewall (Works great onces you've set it up) Freeware
• Norton AntiVirus (Automatic Update/Scan Weekly) Buy
• Use Internet Explorer for sites I know are Save (As they can be)
• Use FireFox for browsing. (Main Advantage FF doesn't allow ActiveX controls and other Scripts if you don't allow them) Freeware
• Windows Update (Automatic Update)
• Office Update (Weekly)

All of this cost me 2 hours a week to keep my PC in shape and I haven't had a problem ones. PC Security is like maintenance on a car. If you forget it then your car will stop in due time...So will your PC.

Good luck!

[MOS MASTER]

Thanks, I was wondering if it was okay to use both or if I had to choose one or the other.

Cheryl

No problem at all. It's adviced to run the both together because they compliment oneanother!

[avkb03]

Another thing too. Go to Goole.com or Yahoo.com, whichever search engine you prefer, and select "Preferences", change it to "English" and to use "Strict Filtering." Not a solution for adware, but definitly can help.

[clhare]

avkb03,

Where would I find "Preferences" and the filtering option? I went to Yahoo and couldn't figure it out.

Cheryl