Recently my notebook is having a mind of itself.
Every time I launch the Internet Explorer, advertisements (separate windows)
automatically launch by themselves, almost any webpage I visit. My default
homepage was even altered insidiously! No matter how many times I reset my
default homepage, having reset the IE's settings or even deleting all the
cookies, the problem persists.
Please advise.
JS
The pop-up advertisements are because you need a pop-up window
blocker. Some Internet Service Providers, like mine (Earthlink), has
one that ads it's special touches to Internet Explorer (and a few
other added features). as part of their software package. Also
Earthlink has a spyware program that will remove spyware from your
system and then is supposed to tell you if a new engages. (I get like
10 spyware cookies in a day or two).
As far as the home page thingy - even Microsoft, yes Microsoft, used
to hijack my home page setting whenever I visited them.
If your ISP doesn't have these mentioned added features, follow the
advice others have mentioned in this thread. I too have heard "Ad
Aware" works well, and is free. I am not sure if it does both
spyware blocking and the Advertisement blocking though.
And just to make sure, though you probably already have done so - make
sure you are running a firewall. Windows XP has a built-in firewall,
but it needs to be turned on (default is "off" after a windows
install).
By the way - I just saw a commercial on TV for Earthlink. Half price
for 6 months (that would be $11 I believe). If you have a regular
dial up account, and are a newbie, I recommend them. Free voice
support 24 hours. (You also get these here usenet newsgroups too as
part of the price).
