How do I start over?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date
G

Guest

Dear Sir,
Thanks for volunteering for this inglorious task. I read some of the emais
and hope you don't get discouraged by the pseudo-intellectuals who criticize
you for trying. My guess is they author spyware.
I am a computer teacher - 20 years+; I wrote about 600 dbase programs while
in the National Guard. I learned about computers early-on from buiding one
from the ground up at the Community College in Madison, Wisconsin 40 some
years ago. I started out with a Sol System III with it's "Blue Pig" floppy
drive for it's 8" disks -- days long gone.
Anyway, as a nobody, I had little worry about being bothered with viruses or
spyware. After all, who cares about a hermit teacher who lives in a cabin
high on a mountain.
I was wrong. Spyware has filled my computer to the point that I can hardly
go on the web or express any interest in ebay products, without sudden and
persistent pop-ups and almost constant dropping of my internet connection. Is
my best option to reformat my c drive and start over? And will this get rid
of all the spy files currently infesting my computer? Please advise.
Sincerely, Michael Wonn (e-mail address removed) PS: I agree with you and don't
understand why MS doesn't enter the fray "with both feet." MW
 
Hi,

1) Install and run Adaware from www.lavasoft.de

2) Install and run Spybot from www.safer-networking.org

3) Install and run Spyware Blaster from
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

4) Turn on the native firewall or install a third-party one (a third party
firewall will notify you of outgoing traffic as spyware programs "phone
home", the native one won't).

http://www.kerio.com/kpf_home.html
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/home.jsp
http://www.tinysoftware.com/home/tiny2?la=EN

5) Also check these links for helpful advice on removing garbage:
http://aumha.org/a/noads.htm
http://aumha.org/win5/a/parasite.htm
http://www.mvps.org/inetexplorer/Darnit.htm

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
 
The other posts give you some excellent information for getting
spyware\adware removal tools. There is one more I suggest that is for more
advanced users like yourself. HijackThis. You should also know that SP2 has
some excellent additions to security for XP that include download blocking,
pop-up blocker and improved firewall capabilities and much much more. So you
may notice some improvements when you install it. {]:~)
 
In
Spyware has filled my computer to the point that I can
hardly go on the web or express any interest in ebay products,
without sudden and persistent pop-ups and almost constant
dropping of
my internet connection. Is my best option to reformat my c
drive and
start over?
Click to expand...


No, that should be a last resort, used only if all other normal
methods of fixing the problem don't work. Reformatting and
reinstalling, despite the number of people who recommend it, is
the wrong answer to almost any problem.

Downloard and run Adaware, Spyware Blaster, CWSredder, and Hijack
This.
 
Reinstalling is not a wrong answer or a bad one. It's best if you already
have an image created though so you can just blow away the old partition and
write the new one. Reinstalling can fix a lot of issues, and yes it would
remove any remains of spyware/pop-ups as long as you formatted the drive.
This can be a lengthy procedure though, and you may not have an easy way to
export your data and import it back in. I'd say try removing the spyware
first, see if it helps. If it doesn't found out what you need to do to save
your data. Keeping your old data is the most important thing in
reinstalling. You don't want to reinstall and then find out that you can't
get your data back how it was.
 
In
Ryan said:
Reinstalling is not a wrong answer or a bad one.
Click to expand...


Not always, just usually.

With a modicum of care, it should never be necessary to reinstall
Windows (XP or any other version). I've run Windows 3.0, 3.1,
WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, and Windows XP,
each for the period of time before the next version came out, and
each on two machines here. I never reinstalled any of them, and I
have never had anything more than an occasional minor problem.
It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical
support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to
almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is
"reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them.
It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it
doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that
most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree).

But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. You
have to restore all your data backups, you have to reinstall all
your programs, you have to reinstall all the Windows and
application updates,you have to locate and install all the needed
drivers for your system, you have to recustomize Windows and all
your apps to work the way you're comfortable with.

Besides all those things being time-consuming and troublesome,
you may have trouble with some of them: can you find all your
application CDs? Can you find all the needed installation codes?
Do you have data backups to restore? Do you even remember all the
customizations and tweaks you may have installed to make
everything work the way you like?

Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve
that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and
far between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for
troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only
after all other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person
have failed.
 
Greetings --

There are at least three varieties of pop-ups, and the solutions
vary accordingly. Which specific type(s) is troubling you?

1) Does the title bar of these pop-ups read "Messenger Service?"

This type of spam has become quite common over the past several
months, and unintentionally serves as a valid security "alert." It
demonstrates that you haven't been taking sufficient precautions while
connected to the Internet. Your data probably hasn't been compromised
by these specific advertisements, but if you're open to this exploit,
you may well be open to other threats, such as the Blaster Worm that
recently swept cross the Internet. Install and use a decent,
properly configured firewall. (Merely disabling the messenger
service, as some people recommend, only hides the symptom, and does
little or nothing to truly secure your machine.) And ignoring or just
"putting up with" the security gap represented by these messages is
particularly foolish.

Messenger Service of Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;168893

Messenger Service Window That Contains an Internet Advertisement
Appears
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=330904

Stopping Advertisements with Messenger Service Titles
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/communicate/stopspam.asp

Blocking Ads, Parasites, and Hijackers with a Hosts File
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

Oh, and be especially wary of people who advise you to do nothing
more than disable the messenger service. Disabling the messenger
service, by itself, is a "head in the sand" approach to computer
security. The real problem is _not_ the messenger service pop-ups;
they're actually providing a useful, if annoying, service by acting as
a security alert. The true problem is the unsecured computer, and
you've been advised to merely turn off the warnings. How is this
helpful?

2) For regular Internet pop-ups, you might try the free 12Ghosts
Popup-killer from http://12ghosts.com/ghosts/popup.htm, Pop-Up Stopper
from http://www.panicware.com/, or the Google Toolbar from
http://toolbar.google.com/, which is what I use.

3) To deal with pop-ups caused by any sort of "adware" and/or
"spyware,"such as Gator, Comet Cursors, Xupiter, Bonzai Buddy, or
KaZaA, and their remnants, that you've deliberately (but without
understanding the consequences) installed, two products that are
quite effective (at finding and removing this type of scumware) are
Ad-Aware from www.lavasoft.de and SpyBot Search & Destroy from
www.safer-networking.org/. Both have free versions. It's even
possible to use SpyBot Search & Destroy to "immunize" your system
against most future intrusions. I use both and generally perform
manual scans every week or so to clean out cookies, etc.

More information and assistance is available at these sites:

Blocking Ads, Parasites, and Hijackers with a Hosts File
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

The Parasite Fight
http://www.aumha.org/a/parasite.htm

Additionally, you should learn to practice "safe hex," to prevent
future occurrences. To learn more about practicing "safe hex," start
with these links:

Protect Your PC
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/default.asp

Home Computer Security
http://www.cert.org/homeusers/HomeComputerSecurity/

List of Antivirus Software Vendors
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;49500

Home PC Firewall Guide
http://www.firewallguide.com/

Scumware.com
http://www.scumware.com/


Bruce Chambers
--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. - RAH


"(e-mail address removed)" <[email protected]@discussions.microsoft.com>
wrote in message
 
Greetings --

Formatting the hard drive to solve a spyware problem is rather
like using an axe to trim one's fingernails. Sure, it'll probably get
the job done, but it's rather messy...., and almost always
unnecessary.


Bruce Chambers
--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. - RAH
 
Dear Zagan: Thanks for your quick reply. I have been running Ad Ware and
Spybot for several weeks. I agree that these help and in fact these clearly
show how aggressive spyware has become. I'm amazed at the number of
intrusions that these programs document. I hope I will live to see the
revolution Jefferson encouraged that puts these intruders where they belong.
Our forefathers were angry at the British human rights violations,
particularly the invasion of our homes without warrants and the quartering of
soldiers there without our consent -- thus the Bill of Rights strictly
forbade that it would ever happen again. Yet spyware programmers and
telephone solicitors come into our homes uninvited. Laws are needed now to
protect our constitutional rights against these people. Again, my thanks. MW
 
Back
Top