something is wrong with my pc - please help

[mdmc]

everytime I open a link a couple pop up ads also open. My home page gets set to some dumb search engine. My tool bar has some 'orbitz' ad on it.

Can anyone help me get rid of this scene?

[Jon8503]

1. Dowload Spybot and run it

[bamademo]

2. Get the Google toolbar

It has a popup stopper on it. Go to www.google.com main page and click on about google. Then click services and tools and download the toolbar. For the spyware, google ad-aware and download it. It should fixed the hijacked browser.

[zoeb]

3. spy crap....

download ad-aware and it will help but you may need to reset your home page.

[zoeb]

4. its also known as a browser hijacker..nt

[dbt]

5. Ad-aware and Spyware Blaster will also help.

Some of those browser hijackers can be beatches to fix!

dbt

[YellowRubberDuckie]

6. I've tried everything else and Ad Aware is the only thing that works.

Everything else wimps out with certain programs.
Duckie

[miss_kitty]

7. also, go into 'internet options' and reset your homepage

to the default setting, clean out your internet files and cookies. you may want to tighten your privacy settings. clean out your history. also, if you are using IE, consider downloading a different browser (like mozilla, or probably better for you mozilla's 'Firefox'. http://www.mozilla.org/)

but do get ad aware and spybot...they should help clean out the hijackers.

[Bossy Monkey]

8. Hijackthis is also good, if a little complicated

You download it and run it. The simplest thing to do then is google "hijackthis log" and compare your results to the hits you get back from the many help desks found online. Use Hijackthis to remove the bad ones.

[Zero Division]

16. I second the Hijackthis suggestion

Then try going onto www.computercops.biz and look in the section of their forum where people post their Hijackthis logs. You may find logs from people with similar problems there, or you could try posting your own log (be warned though, it can take a very long time--like weeks--for a response) in hopes of help from a site responder.

[xcmt]

9. More detailed info.

Ad Aware is a popular program used to remove "spyware" and "malware" from your computer, which are essentially non-propagative viruses. They install themselves on your computer and often resist removal. Most spyware reports your internet habits to somewhere else for, well, who knows. Some spyware can sniff your computer for credit card and personal information, as well as monitor passwords.

Ad Aware can be downloaded at http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/

This program can remove most (but currently not all) forms of spyware found on your computer. Follow its operation instructions. Some things cannot be removed until your computer is rebooted and Ad-Aware is run again on startup. Even then, sometimes programs still cannot be removed. In this instance, do internet searches for the filenames, and look for instructions for removal. Remember to update Ad Aware frequently.

Spybot Search & Destroy is a similar program that does precisely what the name implies it does. Sometimes it catches things Ad Aware doesn't. However, some users report that Spybot S&D identifies important parts of your computer as spyware, and deleting them can cause havoc to your operating system. Some users deny this. Use it at your own risk.

Spybot Search & Destroy can be downloaded at http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/

Spyware gets on your computer through surreptitious downloads caused by visiting what otherwise seem to be normal websites. It exploits features in Internet Explorer that run certain ActiveX controls without asking for permission. The best way to prevent getting spyware in the future is to use a web browser that isn't Internet Explorer or uses the IE libraries (like the internal AOL browser). Browsers like Mozilla, Firefox, Netscape, and Opera don't suffer from the same ActiveX faults as Internet Explorer.

If you still want to use Internet Explorer, I recommend opening the "Internet Options" menu item in your browser, and changing some of the security settings. There will be a window detailing permissions for ActiveX controls. You should set most of these to "prompt", so whenever a website wants to run an ActiveX script, you have control.

Mozilla and Mozilla Firefox can be located at http://www.mozilla.org/

Netscape, a product based on Mozilla, can be located at http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/default.jsp

Opera, a non-free product, can be located at http://www.opera.com/

The Google Toolbar for popup-blocking in IE can be located at http://toolbar.google.com/

[mdmc]

10. still trying to

:kick: this problem.

[dweller]

11. give some details

operating system
browser you are using

etc.
dp

[mdmc]

12. its all good now

thanks for all the help

[flvegan]

13. AdAware and Spybot Search and Destroy

It's what I use, currently, until enlightened to something better. Get 'em at download.com...

[mdmc]

14. welcome to du

is anything free that will fix this shit?

[CrownPrinceBandar]

15. See post #13.......................................

SpyBot and AdAware are great tools.