It's most likely either an Internet Explorer or Spyware/Adware type
problem.
First try to repair Internet Explorer. If the repair doesn't fix the
problem search for spyware.
1. Click on the "Start" button and on "Control Panel"
2. Click on "Add and Remove Programs"
3. Click on "Add and Remove Windows Components" on the left.
4. Uncheck the box in front of Internet Explorer and press the "Next"
button then on "Finish" when it's done.
5. Restart the computer (should not be necessary but it seems have a
higher success rate if restarted).
6. Go back to the same spot and recheck the box in front of Internet
Explorer and press the "Next" button then on "Finish" when it's done.
7. Restart the computer. (note, you may need to replace the shortcut
on the desktop...just drag it off the start menu under "All Programs".
See if that takes care of it.
If not check it for spyware.
WinPatrol can be downloaded at
http://www.download.com/WinPatrol/3000-8022-10289770.html it can help
you find and get rid of worms, adware, spyware, cookies, Trojan
horses, and other nasty programs that may attack your computer. You
will need a little technical experience to use it. If you are unsure
if a program or active task is a virus or spyware just look them up on
Google. It can take some time but you can use it to clean out stuff
the "automatic" systems don't.
You will also want to do a search on your PC for "hosts" and delete
all the extranious entries in the hosts file (entries than the
localhost entry). You can use notepad for this.
Where do they come from? Sometimes freely downloadable software comes
with spyware which it installs without your knowledge. The majority
of spyware is acquired just by using Internet Explorer. IE is very
open to gathering spyware and viruses. By way of example, I'm an
Internet Tech with a major National ISP here in the US. A customer
was having problems with Internet Explorer crashing at a certain web
site. I went to the site to see what may have been causing the
problem. Netscape opened it with no problems so I tried it with
Internet Explorer because it's what the customer was using. Internet
Explorer hit the site, Norton Antivirus told me that it caught two
viruses and I got spyware pop-ups all over the screen. I just
unplugged the PC and then turned it back on. I had 5 viruses (3 that
Norton did not even catch) and 8 pieces of spyware. Spybot, Ad-aware,
and Pest Patrol all failed to remove them. I was able to use
WinPatrol to find them and get the viruses and spyware cleared out,
which took a few hours.
Now when someone asks me how to keep from getting viruses and spyware
I tell them if they use Microsoft Windows don't use Internet Explorer!
Useful Links:
- Spyware info from Microsoft:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/articles/spyware.asp
- Microsoft info on Computer viruses: description, prevention, and
recovery:
http://support.microsoft.com/security/articles/viruses.asp
- Netscape 7.1 on CD: (Windows 98-XP)
http://on-disk.com/product_info.php/cPath/13/products_id/14
- IE6sp1 With Updates & Tools: (Windows 98-XP)
http://on-disk.com/product_info.php/products_id/46
- Internet Explorer 5.5 service pack 2 (SP2): (Windows 95-2000)
http://on-disk.com/ie55sp2.html
Windows 95 Links:
- Bring the older Windows 95 computer up to speed:
http://on-disk.com/product_info.php/products_id/33
- Windows Updates, IE5.5sp2, Firewall, Antivirus,
Spyware removal and monitoring:
http://on-disk.com/product_info.php/products_id/45
- Webpath.US, ISP with ongoing support for Windows 95
http://www.webpath.us