KrazyT Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 Ok, so Matthews computer has a pretty bad case of spyware. Anyone care to help? Any tips are appreciated. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 You can get AdAware for free. That's considered a good program to get rid of it. It's free---Google it. And once you get the program, be sure to check for and download the latest virus definition files and run the program weekly. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCFreak Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Get AdAware and Spybot S&D. and stop surfing the porn! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 ^ Spybot S&D is OK, but not as good as it used to be. Mine hardly ever catches anything. And, yes, porn brings home some not-so-nice things to your computer. I don't look at it, but know people who do---and they've paid. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfotkid Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Yeah! What the hell is Matthew for anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterdude5 Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Windows Defender worked for me. http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillMontu Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Also, if you haven't already, dump Internet Explorer and get Firefox, and install AdBlock Plus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 When all else fails... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 A bit off-topic...what is Apple Safari? Is that some sort of operating system or an anti-spyware thing. Somehow I got that loaded earlier and want to know if I should keep it. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCFreak Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 ^Apple's internet browser. Stick with Firefox (or my personal favorite Opera) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 A bit off-topic...what is Apple Safari? Is that some sort of operating system or an anti-spyware thing. Somehow I got that loaded earlier and want to know if I should keep it. Eric Like Hector said, it's Apple's browser, like IE and Firefox. No need to keep it. It's not that great on the Windows side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnage Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 A bit off-topic...what is Apple Safari? Is that some sort of operating system or an anti-spyware thing. Somehow I got that loaded earlier and want to know if I should keep it. Eric Do you have an iPod? Sounds like you got duped by the Apple updater "feature" that practically tricks you into installing Safari. And people claim only Microsoft try to force their applications on you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 ^ The girls own iPods. An iPod I have not. But, since I'm the admin here at home, I can delete it if I want. Would it hurt to leave it on? Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillrideseeker Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Get AdAware and Spybot S&D. and stop surfing the porn! Sadly there is more porn on my computer than you can imagine, but its not from Tony and I. Its from the freaking people we are staying with who also get on my computer UGH... Stupid people. Anyways... I have downloaded all of the programs you guys have talked about and nothing has helped. Any other ideas? ~Matthew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfotkid Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 For drastic mesures, pull out the cd's that came with your computer, and one of them should be able to reset the whole computer. Hope this Helps - David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the sound Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 and stop surfing the porn! Dam, i was gonna post that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pagemaster_b Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Sadly there is more porn on my computer than you can imagine, but its not from Tony and I. Its from the freaking people we are staying with who also get on my computer UGH... Stupid people. Yeah, I had that problem with my last laptop and a former roommate. He got so much crap on my computer that I couldn't even connect to update my spyware and anti-virus programs to clean it up. I was forced to reformat my hard drive. I use Webroot Spy Sweeper along with Avira AntiVir. Both work well together for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the sound Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 If you can work out what date the spyware got on your computer, you could try doing a system restore, but i'm not sure if it works on spyware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrancew_hod Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 When all else fails... Amen! My friends used to bug the heck out of me, constantly calling me to fix their spyware/virus-ridden PCs after surfing for "free" porn. I finally told them that I wasn't going to fix their machines and if they insist on looking for that crap on the "free" sites (yeah, right), they need to get macs. They finally got macs, and I haven't heard them complain since. I doubt they changed their "surfing" habits either. And if you don't want to get a mac... for heaven sakes, get a good antispyware/antivirus/firewall combination (and keep it updated) or just stay away from that stuff! Even buying a copy of VMWare and doing all your "questionable" surfing there, creating a snapshot that you can recover from, is a better solution. Those "free" sites have a price. Terry EDIT: When guests arrive, either lock down your computer (I used to take the power cord from the machine when I went to bed) or put together a crappy machine that you don't mind losing information that guests can use. My personal machine was in my bedroom and I had another pc in the living room people could use. I would still yell at them if I caught them surfing for porn and turn off the machine, but I didn't have to worry about them losing my personal files and pictures because they don't know how to act at my house. It was even better when installed an old mac downstairs; some "free" sites wouldn't even allow the browser to be used and they were out of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginzo Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 Ugh. I deal with malware problems at work all the time. It's amazing the number of customers have infected machines that wind up flooding out their network connections. They then call the provider (aka me) and complain that their connection is slow. We just had a case last week where we had to bill a customer to help him find the PC that was messing everything up. Macs can be a solution on an individual basis, but they are NOT a solution to the overall problem. If Mac became the predominant platform, then the sociopathic idiots who code all this crap would just start writing more malware that infects Macs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrancew_hod Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 ^Very true. But until that day, it's a good enough solution. It's good to buy the same type of security software for the mac and there are freeware virus programs available. Luckily there aren't any viruses/spyware in the wild that are similar to what you can get in Windows. At least currently the mac os won't allow you to cause all the havoc you can do from internet explorer/windows xp. It will prompt for your password before you can get at any system files. Vista can do it too, but that OS is just annoying to the point that people may accidentally accept the spyware/virus clicking all those dialog boxes to get rid of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 Macs can be a solution on an individual basis, but they are NOT a solution to the overall problem. If Mac became the predominant platform, then the sociopathic idiots who code all this crap would just start writing more malware that infects Macs. People always say this, but look at how much Apple prides itself on being secure. Don't you think a hacker would want to bask in the limelight of creating the first major OSX virus? It's such an obvious target for the virus creators, and yet nothing ever emerges. That has to say something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haux Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 An easy solution, other than installing Ad-Aware and Spybot, is to be careful when you surf. Make sure you're using Firefox and have Adblock installed. If a window pops up saying you need to install something, don't do it. Don't run executables. Just be a smart Web surfer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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