Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with adware

How to get rid of GameVance?

Dolley — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 05:26:52 -0800

Unfortunately, I inadvertently allowed an adware app called GameVance to be installed on my computer. It's driving me crazy and it won't allow mw to delete it. Can anyone help me remove this advertising menace?

stopzilla is teh devil

quseio — Mon, 18 May 2009 14:50:37 -0800

i want to remove stopzilla from my pc it just will not let its self be removed from add remove programs... i got the annoying spalsh to go away but i think its still there preety much all i had to say was said

Help me fix a friend's computer

weapons-grade pandemonium — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 10:32:49 -0800

Can you help me clean up my friend's computer? Just talked on the phone with her so far, but it seems her computer is so filled with adware and/or viruses that FireFox won't connect, and system restore will open but not operate--even from safe mode. Do I take her a CD with NOD32, Ad-Aware, and Hijack This, then run them from the CD drive? What's the best way to proceed? She's running XP.

Make the adware stop.

flibbertigibbet — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 17:46:27 -0800

My google search results are redirecting me to certain sites (see 'more inside') due to adware/spyware that AdAware and Norton can't find. It's intermittent, and happening to both Firefox, IE, AND Chrome, although Chrome is choosing to simply not load the pages and gives me error messages. I can't google a solution because of the redirecting problem. Can you help? For example, if I google anything with the term 'marriage' in it, I get redirect to http://209.85.171.199/url?q=http://www.top100weddingsites.com/ or http://209.85.171.199/url?q=http://www.findstuff.com/, which then, in turn, redirect me to other websites (mandatory disclaimer: it might be a bad decision to copy those into your address bar).

It happens most often when I click the (legitimate, Google-provided link) for 'News results about...'

Any help?

Help my posessed computer!

spacefire — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 08:20:07 -0800

Firefox and sometimes IE opens random websites on its own , in new windows. I ran AVG scan and Anti Spyware as well as the Rootkit module. But even when it says my system is clean, the new windows come up in Firefox, about every two minutes. I noticed that Firefox doesn't even need to be running at first for this to occur. AVG resident shield does find sometimes a Trojan virus in some random dll (just popped up again, it's called Trojan Vundo) and I press heal or move to vault, but that didn't fix the problem. I also ran hikackthis and tried to delete whatever I deemed unnecessary or suspect from the registry, also deleting the associated files on the hard drive. But to no avail. My system is windows XP. Any other good free programs I can try to clean up my system? What about good cheap payware? AVG has been good until now but obviously it cannot cope with this new threat even in its most up-to-date form.

I hate you computer. No. Really.

santojulieta — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 12:56:15 -0800

Now I'm just mad. Before I drag my stupid, crap laptop over to the Geek Squad, help me figure out some solutions for what's like a malware/adware problem. Alright. Apparently, in the last two days, I've managed to contract some malware/adware baloney. (Five years with no viruses or adwares.... sigh...)

When I run internet explorer, my system resources are 100% used and the whole thing gets bogged down. Task Manager says there's a second instance of explorer running in the background. If I end the second instance, it just pops back up.

I've run Spybot S&D & Avast with no fix.

What else can I run to figure out what the hell is running on my computer. I'm hoping for free resources.

Adware everywhere

Venadium — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 13:53:51 -0800

Please help me get rid of this spyware infection before I just give up and re-install Windows. My PC is infected with what seems like at least 2 or 3 different varieties of spyware/adware/malware. This started happening a day or two ago after someone else in the house fell for a MySpace bulletin posted under someone else's phished/hacked account. I hardly ever actually use my PC so I didn't notice until this morning.

I've got a small blinking icon in my taskbar that alternates between an X in a circle and then a question mark. It pops up little messages about "Critical System Errors!". From what I understand, this is a malware program named VirusBurst.

The most noticeable problem though is whatever that's installed on here and is opening Firefox windows to various ads and webpages. It happens in bursts, up to 4 or 5 popups at a time, and seems to happen randomly. While typing this, it's only happened once, but in the time it took to get over to AskMefi it happened 2 or 3 times.

The worst part of all of this is that there seems to be yet another malware program that closes Lavasofts Ad-Aware or SpyBoy S&D before they even start. It will also close any browser window that I use to try to search for Ad-Aware or any other spyware removal tools. This is supposed to be something called CoolWebSearch, but every tool I try which is supposed to remove CoolWebSearch claims that it can't find it on my system.

So what can I do, other than giving up and reinstalling Windows (along with all the software and games that are currently installed)? I can post a HijackThis log if anyone asks for it.

Invincible bandwidth monitor?

cda — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 15:00:29 -0800

Could there be a virus downloading from my computer that cannot be detected by a bandwidth monitor? I have satellite internet. My Bitmeter by Codebox says that I download about 100 MB a day. According to my satellite company I am downloading 1000 MB a day.

I think they are wrong. The Bitmeter monitors ALL downloads from my computer. Or could there be some super-virus that my spyware, adware, and bandwidth monitor can't detect?

How do I stop my Windows Explorer from crashing or keeping me out of my own computer?

kensanway — Wed, 17 May 2006 08:08:03 -0800

Windows XP problem possibly involving Windows Defender or spyware. A few days ago, I started getting errors on my laptop. Windows XP would give me an error prompt stating that Windows Explorer had unexpectedly encountered a problem and had to quit. I didn't seem to lose any data, but it would happen repeatedly, continually re-starting Windows, even though I could run other programs, (and sometimes correlated with a specific action, like if I tried to open Control Panels.) I re-booted and the problem went away. Then last night, the problem came back again.

Each time it restarts, I lose some windows information--like the formatting of my menubar, whether my quick launch items are displayed and their order, and the recent applications in my Start Menu.

I guessed it had to do with Windows Defender, as these problems came up when I switched to that. (The program itself also seemed to be wonky and couldn't get any updates.) After a few hours of wrangling around and waiting for Norton's Antivirus to do its thing, I uninstalled Windows Defender. I re-installed AdAware (it hasn't been able to get updates for the last week or two) and installed Spyware Blaster and Edwido Anti-Trojan. I ran all three, with up-to-date definitions. Edwido claimed to have found 248 bad files and AdAware found about three. But then they said everything was cleaned up. My computer seemed to be working fine. I wrote some emails, etc. I also downloaded Spybot Search and Destroy, which required me to restart.

When I restarted, my computer brought me to the log-in prompt and said that the information I'd entered was incorrect. But the problem is that I don't have information--it might have my name, but then I hit return. There's no password. So what should I do now?

I'm running Windows XP. I think I'm up-to-date with all the updates, except for uninstalling windows defender. I also run norton's antivirus pretty regularly and use ZoneAlarm. So, although this obviously sounds like a spyware problem, I think I'm usually pretty conscientious about checking for that. It could be that I hadn't run AdAware for the last two weeks because of that update problem. I do download files or use bittorent/limewire, but not that frequently: I usually just use my computer for word processing, Internet, and email. Also, I had a spyware/virus problem about a year ago, but completely formatted my hard drive then.

My second question is: assuming that I can't fix this, should I go to Tekserve or wherever and see if they can get my data and then get a new laptop?

I'm helpless!

borkingchikapa — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 17:49:38 -0800

I've got a bunch of spyware/adware. It got on to my computer all in one go, though I'm not sure how, and now I can't completely get rid of it. Worse, I don't even know exactly what it is. When it first happened, I also had a virus that attempted to send a bunch of email in my name, except I use gmail and Norton caught it. I got rid of that using Norton, then ran Adaware, Spybot and Microsoft's anti-spyware thing. Now I still get IE popups and occasionally it'll redirect pages in firefox to ads when I try to load them. I run spybot every once in a while and it always gives me the same ten or so problems - advertising.com, avenue a inc, bfast, coremetrics, doubleclick, fastclick among many others - all of which it fixes with no problem. The popups keep coming, though.

The weirdest thing is that sometimes I won't have any IE popup windows open, yet when I ctrl+alt+del and check the processes there's at least five instances of iexplore.exe (and nothing I don't recognize, i.e. spyware). On the other hand sometimes I'll have five popups and one instance of it running.

What the hell is going on? What else can I do to get rid of this aggrivating crap? I've checked my add/remove programs, and there's nothing suspicious there.

Solution to adware/spyware/viruses

patrickje — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 14:36:42 -0800

Spyware, adware, and viruses. I'm sick of feeling like a moron. I've went to college for electrical engineering, and have worked as a software developer for the last 8 years, so all my friends and family want me to fix their computers. Invariably, it's the same thing, removing spyware,adware and viruses. The problem? It takes me 3-8 hours each time to fix someone's computer. Is there an easier way?

I have a CD with the following software that I bring (including updated signature files):
Service Packs (W2K SP4, XP SP2)
Spyware Detectors (Ad-Aware,Spybot Search and Destroy, eWido Security Suite)
Startup/Browser Tools (BHO Demon, Hijack This, Toolbar Cop)
Winsock Fixes (Windows XP Winsock Fix, Generic Winsock Fix)
Special Cases (CWS Shredder)

My general methodology is to:
1.Reboot the computer in Safe Mode
2.Run HijackThis, and remove almost everything I know to be a virus/adware/spyware.
3.Run eWido (still in safe mode), and clean all infected files.
4.Reboot computer normally, and run Toolbar Cop, Spybot, and Ad-aware.
5.Install the latest service pack

And still I'm somtimes there, for hours, trying to clean out one last popup, or remove a local proxy, or something, it's frustrating! Is there an easier way to do this? Most of the time, reformatting isn't a real option, since most of the time, they only have one drive, and they don't want to lose their files.

Firefox Ads & Pop-Ups

trinarian — Wed, 22 Jun 2005 15:59:17 -0800

I love Firefox like the next guy, but I think it's popularity has killed off its best feature: ad/pop-up blocking. How do I make all the pop-ups stop? I've installed AdBlocker, added the correct lines of code from this post, run AdAware.... still, I get pop-ups. Same thing on my brand new laptop; within two days of having Firefox I was getting pop-ups.

Non-bloatware virus detection?

shannymara — Sun, 12 Jun 2005 18:37:12 -0800

Hasn't anyone written a tiny-footprint antivirus program that monitors changes being made to certain registry and Windows system directories? I sure need one. I'm really loathe to put a resource hog antivirus package on my system (not to mention paying out the nose to some faceless megacorp).

What I really need is a tiny app that can simply monitor unauthorized files going into red-flag locations, such as //system32 and registry /Microsoft/Windows/Run, as well as new folders being written, and maybe halt the process until I'm asked for input. Kind of like a firewall for my OS and hard drive. And like a minimal anti-virus suite.

Certainly this will trigger when I install some legitimate software packages, but that's no big deal... it doesn't negate my need to monitor what's getting loaded onto the computer.

Please no AdAware recommendations -- it's a good program and I do use it, but it's not what I'm asking for. It's more of an after-the-fact program and doesn't always find newer malware, even when I see the obvious damage in /winnt/system32 or suspicious new junk installed in /Program Files.

Adware problems

Secret Life of Gravy — Tue, 07 Jun 2005 04:24:43 -0800

I am experiencing a problem with adware. Several files are showing up on a regular basis with the designation "Booked Space." I can delete them using Ad-Aware, but they just turn up again (about fifteen files at a time) a few hours later, wreaking all kinds of havoc. Any idea where they come from or what to do about them?

Getting Outlook files off a corrupted hard drive:

XQUZYPHYR — Mon, 02 May 2005 07:35:20 -0800

An extremely malicious malware/adware program has rendered my C: drive inoperable. I have a second hard drive in the closet, which I can connect as the C: drive, install XP onto, and then connect the old C drive as the D drive and copy some vital files over. Can I get most of my data safely this way? The happened at the worst possible time: about an hour before a monthly backup on the first of the month. So the major things I need to get that aren't already saved are some photoshop files and a month's worth of Outlook e-mail. The PS files I'm not worried about, but I've never transferred Outlook data without making a *.pst file- which I clearly don't have this time around.

As for the spyware, I'm not worried about it as long as it's not the startup drive- it bascially just took over the startup files and was designed to re-install if any files are deleted. So once I get my data I can nuke the drive from orbit.

The entire event caught me off guard, leaving me with no backups or backup utility disks. (and the program was smart enough to escape Ad-Aware, NAV, and XP firewall.) I just want to figure out if this is a safer method than trying to do an XP repair install, which is my only other option- but I'm worried could overwrite some of the data files I want to save.

Ethics: Spyware and Adware

lemonfridge — Sat, 26 Mar 2005 18:31:03 -0800

What are your opinions of the ethics of spyware and adware? ..and do you think they play an important role in e-commerce? Im considering writing a short essay about the ethics of spyware and adware in e-commerce, but im having trouble finding a balanced arguement with all the negativity surrounding the subject. Is it all bad? or are there some positives that are often over looked?

Is it right/wrong (for example), that companies are able to get free market research from online ads, that they would normally have to pay for? is it right/wrong that users are tricked into consenting to install spyware?

What software should I bring to attack unknown malware?

monju_bosatsu — Fri, 20 Aug 2004 06:25:40 -0800

I'm going to be visiting my in-laws this weekend, in part to treat their ailing computer, which sounds to be suffering from a myriad of malware. I want to make sure I have the complete set of tools I need. More details inside. Aside from the normal host of problems associated with IE on XP, including popups and toolbars, their dial-up connection fails within a minute or so of connecting, everytime. As a result, I won't be able to download any software once I get there. Instead, I'm burning a disk to bring with me. So far I've got Adaware, Spybot S&D, AVG, and Firefox, along with all the relevant definition updates. Any other ideas? And any ideas what could be causing the dial-up connection to futz out? I know it's not a hardware problem.

Searching "Help"

agregoli — Thu, 19 Aug 2004 07:17:15 -0800

Help! I have run Adware and cleaned up my computer, but there is one thing stuck in my browser - one of those "we'll help you search!" things. How to get rid of something like this? I can't find it in the add/remove programs list, and Adware didn't come up with it. How to find it for removal? (Sorry, I am somewhat knowledgeable with computers, but not a whiz). This is Windows XP.

Help me identify this software- is it spyware?

johnnydark — Thu, 05 Aug 2004 10:32:21 -0800

I have something on my MS Word window I can't get rid of, and I think it's spyware. Pic of offending thing inside.

Shareaza

Mayor Curley — Sat, 19 Jun 2004 20:19:52 -0800

Shareaza-- What's wrong with it? There must be a catch. I read about it a week ago, finally got around to researching it tonight, and couldn't find anything insidious about it. So I installed it. I just downloaded a file at over 600 k/s. Did I sign my soul over to the devil in the fine print of the EULA?

I'm not sharing anything likely to get me noticed, I ran spybot and ad-aware and they both came back negative and I'm finding lots of stuff I want at great speeds. Again, what's the catch? I'm too cynical to think that anything works that well right out the gate.

PCVirusFilter: Spyware and "Bridge.dll"

Orange Goblin — Tue, 15 Jun 2004 15:19:34 -0800

Something is royally screwed with my PC (Windows XP). I had some kind of spyware involving the file "bridge.dll", I found instructions online to get rid of it, but I still have problems. When I reboot, my Quick Launch toolbar is no longer there, and when I use the "Email", "WWW" and other buttons on my Logitech keyboard, it opens up 3 instances of the programs. Adaware and Norton Antivirus turn up nothing. Anything I can do?

What are the best spyware killers? Will antivirus programs start checking for spyware? Where in the registry do spyware processes launch?

theora55 — Thu, 03 Jun 2004 06:26:41 -0800

Multipart question: Scumware, spyware, adware, it's all malware, I say. Currently using both Spybot and Adaware to catch and kill most of this crap.
1. Looking for feedback on the best spyware killers for home and work.
2. Are Norton and Macafee working on adding spware killers to their anti-virus packages?
3. Some of this stuff launches using svchost.exe. Where in the registry, besides
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run and its relatives, do services launch?
[Inside, there is more] FYI, HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run and
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run are obvious places to find some of the junkware that loads at boot. Quicktime is dandy, but I don’t need it in the System Tray.

I’ve had this crap install itself just from browsing the web (memo to self: don’t let teenage males use my pc), alter my hosts file, take over my start page, and annoy me half to death. It’s a growing problem at work, too. I want my processing power back. Thanks.

Possible malware question (Zestyfind)

feelinglistless — Tue, 25 May 2004 11:37:09 -0800

I've got a file on my pc which won't go away. I was infested with the Zestyfind adware a couple of months ago. Ad-aware managed to get rid everything but a .dll file (the name for which I'm posting inside the thread). Each time I run adaware it deletes the file or tells me it will next time I reboot, but even after that there it is still. Until now it would load up a window with some advert on. Now it's started crashing explorer instead because of an error accessing said .dll (I've tried using other browsers and it still happens -- it must be just because I'm online). Anyone got any ideas because this is driving me up the wall. The filename is...

msg{E7B784C0-3E1C-11D8-95E4-444553540000}0115.dll

Kazaa and Ad/spyware

graventy — Sun, 04 Apr 2004 12:17:29 -0800

Ad/Spyware problem. My fiancee was looking for some freeware and when she installed Kazaa (not lite) a bunch of programs were installed. We've tried everything we can think of and can't get rid of something called media-search.net. (more inside) The computer is WinXP and we first ran SpyBot and AdAware to get rid of them, then did
add/remove programs to get rid of the above items. Then we restarted the computer and they
came back, internet bookmarks and all. We also attempted to find the programs on the computer
by looking in C:/Program Files but haven't had any luck.

Any other pointers or suggestions on getting rid of these programs that we haven't tried yet? Or if anyone has stumbled across media-search.net before.

-----------------------

The bookmarts it adds are all for search.media-search.net.

They are in folders called -Autos-, -Business Directory-, -Communications-,
-Computers and Internet-, -Entertainment-, -Games-, -Health and Fitness-,
-Music-, -Shopping-, -Sports-, -Travel-

The weird programs that keep being addes are (B) MS-C wordfinder,
MS IE assistant, MS B help, MS.C help and Your MS.C Assistant

Recommendations for trustworthy Adware cleaners

limitedpie — Fri, 05 Mar 2004 07:53:25 -0800

As embarrassing as it is to confess, I am not very sophisticated with computers and technology. Recently my computer has become the eager droid of "purityscan," which (to my never ending frustration and dismay) opens a few hundred pop-ups per hour. I Googled for the best spy/pop up removal software, but I am unable to tell the good guys from the bad guys. I downloaded and ran "adaware" but now that they have identified "368 spyware components" on my computer they want $30.00 to remove them. I have no problem paying to end this problem, but I do not want to pay for dreck or pay evil extortionists who create the problem and then sell the solution. So: Which software is best, from an honest company, to fix this loathsome problem?