Hi Guys!

[Guest twsimfan]

Sorry I haven't been around much of late... I have been fighting an vast array of viruses... continue to fight them actually. :-( Normal everyday viruses aren't much trouble but these "adware" deals are really hard to get rid of. A Norton scan just tells me to beware of these guys and will not purge them. I'm getting to where I'm almost afraid to get on the net. :-eek

[Hans_Petter 1]

I gather that you've installed some apps with adware and want to get rid of them. First of all, uninstall the main programs. The adware ad-in programs may stay put and keep trying to get on the internet. If so, a firewall will tell you the name of it. After declining internet access you may browse to the location of the adware and try to delete it. Yes, you may get a message saying that the program is running and can't be deleted. If so, try to kill it in task manager before deleting. If even that fails (since it pops back to life immediately) you may try to move it. If that works rename it. Reboot. With a new name the boot-up won't launch it and it can be deleted.Check if you have "Gator" folder. Delete it.Anyway, it might help if know which adware you want to get rid of.As mentioned, a firewall or simply the task manager will tell you what is running. As long as you test your system with only a few well-known programs running it should be fairly easy to spot the rogue ones. Once you know their names you may do a file search and find where they're hiding.Hans Petter

[Guest glidernut]

Tom WunderHans Petter>I have been fighting an vast array of viruses... continue to fight them actually.Yes me too of late...I Just got threw serching for TigerMoth snaps so that I could hav a go at doingQvdG,s TigerMoth cockpit for him and ended up with so many unwanted adware and spyware viruses typ programs that keeped poping up and wound not go awy, that I had grate dificaltygeting onto the net at all.It was about this time that I notest an advert for "SpyDeleter", a program for deleteingadware and spyware at $29 its not free.I thort that the peopl seling this program probably gave me the adware problem in the first place,Just so that thay could sel ther program!So what did I do? I bort the program!Well when your stuck between a rock and a hard place what els can one do?Well anyway, Im just geting back to normality agen, so the "SpyDeleter" program dus work, wel sort of, it did fiend about 14 adware and spyware programs on my PC and deleted them.but I wont put the link to "SpyDeleter" hear just incase it givs peopl a problem thay dont hav.Hans PetterI just found 2 Gator files and deleted them.Hans Petter, always there with advise.Tar.glidernut.

[Hans_Petter 1]

I forgot to mention that I've got the free Ad-aware by Lavasoft. Version 6 can be updated with new adware definitions, just like an anti-virus program.The main thing is still to resist the temptation to install free applications with a plethora of advertising subunits. The big problem is that these are not uninstalled when you uninstall the main program. These days I'd rather buy a copy of any program I need, unless there's a truly free version of it.Hans Petter

[Guest effyouthree]

Tom,I use Adaware, like HP does. Works for me ;) I have also used it to restore crippled PCs too, with a bit of work.One trick I learned years ago, when BBS' were the 'go' - turn your modem off or remove it, startup in 'safe mode' and even delete your modem settings there.Upon reboot, the PC won't lock up whilst trying to dial 1,000 sites.I've had to do this a few times :-rollOnce you've then run Adaware (maybe more than once), type 'msconfig' at the command prompt and double-check your startup settings. If in doubt, turn settings off, reboot and try again. It WILL take a few reboots to do it properly. Only when you're certain that she's stable, plug in (or reinstall) the modem, install software and restore your internet settings.:-waveRegards,**************Jonathan Point**************"I'd rather be down here wishing I was up there than up there wishing I was down here"

[Guest twsimfan]

You guys have me all confused. I've upgraded from Norton Anti-virus to Norton Internet Security. This identifies the adware viruses but does not eliminate them. I have had some success by going after the processes trying to contact the outside world like one of you said. But I'm still in a real mess here.OK... each of you mentioned applications you have used to eliminate these buggers... P L E A S E tell me more! If you don't want to comment on the forum then please e-mail me.One of you... John I think... said something about suspecting the guys who put out the fixit program. I have had the same suspiction about Norton... and McCaffry too... both their ads seem to be prominent in the spam.Please guys... I'm desperate for info here... I'm getting to where I'm afraid to turn on my modem.

[Hans_Petter 1]

Here's a good start:http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/Install, update and run :-)Regarding your firewall -- it simply alerts you when an application is trying to connect to the outside world. Then you may grant or decline. However, the firewall cannot delete the annoying piece of software and since it's not a virus your AV won't delete it either.Hans Petter

[Guest effyouthree]

Tom,Ditto from HP - just install and run Adaware (run a few times) and see what you get. BTW, as soon as you download it, do disconnect the modem and uninstall it. In really bad situations, it's the only way because the virus suspends all operations other than its own. By unistalling your modem and internet settings, the virus thinks it's landed on a PC with no internet - and goes to sleep. This allows one to find evidence of it within INI files. Also, remove ALL 'auto update' prtograms (NAV, Windows, Corel etc.) because these are often hacked into. For example, the one worm modifies your NAV update software to ignore updates that reference THAT worm :-eek. You'd think Norton would know better than to include it's name unencoded in their virus definitions but hey! They wanna sell more copies of NAV :-erksOne problem with Norton and McAfee is that most viruses etc are written specifically to disable them! In one case, NAV kept on working apparently normally - whilst the infected PC emailed 1,000 addresses per hour...Best of luck :-waveRegards,**************Jonathan Point**************"I'd rather be down here wishing I was up there than up there wishing I was down here"

[Christopher Low 5,352]

When my new PC arrived, I also received a trial copy of Norton Internet Security 2004. I had previously used the free anti-virus software called AVG 6.0, but I decided to use the Norton software instead.One week later, I uninstalled NIS 2004 and re-installed AVG 6.0.Why ? Well, the Norton software kept annoying me with stupid messages and pointless checking of EVERY e-mail (I don't need the latter, since my ISP provides this sort of protection with SpamGuard...automatically). Anyway, the Norton software also seemed to take over control of Outlook Express, which p****d me off to say the least.In my opinion, these mega packages are far too bloated and nosy for my liking. With AVG 6.0, I simply update the database on a regular basis, and scan for viruses. It does the job efficiently, without taking over control of my PC.It's also FREE.Chris Low.

[Guest glidernut]

Tom,If you are prepaired to pay $29 then this is the little program that got me out of troubl. www.spydeleter.com glidernut.

[Guest Stearman]

Hi Tom, I completely agree with the statements re Ad-aware 6.0. I got it from www.lavasoft.de but there well might be alternate sources, I don't know. It's free (for personal use) and can be easily updated with new reference files every few days, just like an anti-virus program. It identifies any ad-ware or spy-ware items in your RAM, files or registry, and deletes them at will. If you have never used it, you'll be probably amazed by the number of active spy-ware items you'll have.Ad-aware 6.0 combined with a reliable firewall (ZoneAlarm) and an updated anti-virus software (Norton AV) make me feel reasonably safe, specially since I'm still using Windows98SE, which (interestingly enough) seems to be less vulnerable to external attacks than newer OSs. In fact I plan to stick to 98SE until there is a simulation out requiring something else :-)However, there is nothing like keeping an image of your main HD in a separate partition, which you can easily restore in a few minutes when everything else fails. I use Symantec Ghost for that.Hope that helps, best regards.

[Guest twsimfan]

I downloaded the free version of Ad-aware 6.0 and the updates for it. I ran it on the "smart settings" and it quarentined 236 items. :-boom I rebooted and ran a full system "in depth" scan and it quarentined 9 more items. It also deleted a few things but I didn't catch how many.I just got onto the net with no popups or redirects for the first time in a couple of weeks. :)This thing is also fast too. It does the smart scan in about 4 minutes... the full system "in depth" job in about 45.I'm going to look through the rest of your suggestions and consider them in depth... especially now that I'm not afraid to be on the net for more than a few minutes at a time. ;) I may even get the for pay version. I also plan to look over the rest of Lavasoft's products. Their registry products look interesting... I've always been afraid to get into the registry but their product may be something that even I can use. (??)THANKS AGAIN!Any more suggestions greatfully accepted. :)

[Guest twsimfan]

Daniel,I used to think you were "kinda" paranoid regarding your firewall. :-shyOK... I have learned... I am probably far more paranoid than you at this point.Thanks for your input! :)

[Guest effyouthree]

Tom,Glad to be of help. Even if you DO have a fairly aggressive firewall, some stuff always gets through. Most of it is harmless but some is very naughty, to put it nicely. I won't even start on viruses...As to registry editing, I've gone full circle nowadays - I use regedit.exe again :-roll I had been using Xteq's product but years of experience is safer than newfangled functions I don't understand. To be honest, the worst I've ever done with registries is delete keys to 'kill' failed installs and remove rogue programs. Beyond that, I don't get much from editing the registry. Maybe if I knew anything about software? Nah - it just works :-)Besides, FU3 doesn't impact the registry in operation ;) The entries seem to be only to keep track of the installation for deletion or upgrade purposes. You can delete them entirely :-eekRegards,**************Jonathan Point**************"I'd rather be down here wishing I was up there than up there wishing I was down here"

[Guest juvat2]

Them ads get very annoying. I use Ad-Aware and Spybots Search&Destroy(freeware) to get the adware junk of my pc. For firewall I use Sygates Personal Firewall(SPF); a pretty good firewall program and its free.JimB