Help fighting spyware..:(

runestar · Sep 15, 2006

As suggested in the topic, my comp is slowly but surely being overrun by spyware. It's become notieceably slower in recent weeks, strange pop-ups are appearing ever so often, and a trial anti-spyware program I got off download.com showed the existance of over 100+ spyware hidding in my hard disk, but the cheapskate creators won't let me remove them until I pay the subscription fee... :blue:

Being the cheapskate that I am too

h43r: , can you people give me tips on how to prevent these insidious parasites from eventually taking over my comp? Like good programs that are free. If possible, try not to have it come down to reformating my comp...

Thanks in advance.

GenocideHeart · Sep 15, 2006

runestar said:

Download Grisoft's AVG and Lavasoft's Ad-Aware. They are both free and very good programs.

AVG: http://www.grisoft.com (the FREE edition)

Ad-Aware: http://www.lavasoft.de/redirect.php?target=1101?language=en

Update them fully, then run them under Safe Mode. This should nuke all the spyware.

After doing that, restart your PC in normal mode and download Mozilla Firefox at www.mozilla.org, and use it instead of that piece of SHIT called 'internet explorer'.

Fatuous One · Sep 15, 2006

...Yeah, GH pretty much got it.

If the problem still continues, I would, at the least, highly advise you to backup your system. Spyware causing complete computer crashes isn't uncommon. -_-

GenocideHeart · Sep 15, 2006

If the problem persists, you may have been hit by CoolWebSearch, which is one of the nastiest trojans around. There's a specific tool to remove CWS from your PC, but I lost the link to it.

runestar · Sep 15, 2006

Now my browser automatically closes whenever I try to open those 2 links... :angry:

Whatever...wish me luck... :help:

GenocideHeart · Sep 15, 2006

runestar said:

Try downloading Firefox and opening the links with it. It ignores most virus interference. If you can't, go to a friend's house and have him burn all the stuff on a CD.

Dark Knight Gafgar · Sep 15, 2006

I've already got Firefox, and I don't THINK I have any spyware, but just in case - are those two downloads dialup friendly?

GenocideHeart · Sep 15, 2006

Dark Knight Gafgar said:

If your dialup doesn't suck like mine, then yes. Shouldn't take more than 30 minutes.

Merkulese · Sep 15, 2006

Something else to try is to open up IE, and go to Tools->"Manage Addons" and disable all addons. This will cause IE to run as a basic browser; it will not help you get to those blocked sites if there's a virus running in the background filtering the packets your network card/modem sends, but it should prevent IE from shutting down when you try to go to AVG & Lavasoft's webpages.

You can also (from the desktop) go to Start->Run and then type in msconfig.
Select "Selective Startup" and then uncheck "Load Startup Items" Click ok and reboot. Doing so will tell windows not to run the 3rd party programs it normally runs at startup. (Note: Only some ad/spyware is actually loaded this way, but every little bit helps.)

[Edit: The system Configuration Utility (which is what you're running when you run msconfig), will keep poping up each time you reboot until you select "Normal Startup". After you reboot, it will pop up; just hit "Cancel" to terminate the program without it asking you if you wish to reboot.]

Also, check to see if your browser closes if you try to go to:

http://www.networktechs.com/category-14.html

This is Networktechs antispyware download page, it has Ad-aware & AVG on it, and it downloads from Networktechs, not the manufacturer's site, so you may be able to bypass the block that way.

Personally I also recomend using Firefox as a web browser. It doesn't allow sites to download/install addons/software without telling you, and it's much easier to turn off javascripts when going to suspect sites, also, if nothing else, setting it to open new pages in "Tabs" instead of "New Windows" makes closing your browser so much easier. (Plus, it keeps your taskbar clear.) It also does a better job of blocking popups than IE does.

runestar · Sep 15, 2006

I managed to get Adaware - 179 spyware detected and removed on the first try. I realised that it is the attempt to download AVG that causes my browser to auto-close on their own. This is true regardless of where I attempt to download it from, so I suppose Adaware will have to suffice for now.

I guess that also means that there is still some very persistent spyware in my comp... -_- Ahh...back to the neverending battle....

EagleCeres · Sep 15, 2006

runestar said:

i recomment spyware doctor from pc tools
they have pretty nifty software for the average user up to the tech savvy

Dark Knight Gafgar · Sep 16, 2006

GenocideHeart said:

Well, shit.

GaelicDragon · Sep 16, 2006

Well, if you can use Download.com then I would suggest Spybot- Search and Destroy. It's freeware that has frequent updates, so it catches most spyware on a computer. Spybot also has a function called Immunity, which has resulted in a great reduction in the number of spyware programs that getting onto my computer.

I use it in conjunction with Adaware to get rid of spyware and other programs that I don't want on my computer.

About the only problem that you might find is that even the newest version has gone through a few updates for complete coverage.

SimmyC · Sep 16, 2006

Yup. All good software. Though the one I use mostly is, X-Cleaner. Loads everytime I start the computer, and as far as I can see, solved most of my problems that is NOT Windows ME related. <_<

runestar · Sep 17, 2006

Latest update - for anyone who cares...

My comp became really unstable over the past few days so I decided to reformat it. Though I realised that it didn't really resolve the problem. I think the issue stems from the new broadband service I finally signed up for. That and the 200+ odd spyware I erased - either it didn't help or came too late.

For some reason, my internet connection is now really buggy. I have a great difficulty connecting to the net, and my whole comp freezes whenever I try to download something(surfing is still relatively bug-free). Then, there are all these annoying pop-up advertisements, which i don't think is due to spyware, but actually a "feature" of the software bundled with the installation disk. <_<

Stupid pac net... :angry:

Ah well, after my tests the next 2 days, I will have some free time to finally sit back and tackle this properly(hopefully).

Again, wish me luck.... :blue:

SimmyC · Sep 17, 2006

Yeah. Be weary with certain 'software' since they may contain spyware/adware. Heck, even some supposive software that claims to take that stuff out, actually put them on your computer instead. <_<

Always do research before installing anything. Games shouldn't be a problem. But say, certain torrent or P2P software...

PCHeintz72 · Sep 18, 2006

I myself use a combination of the following in my attempts to thwart Adware/spyware/viruses:

- Norton Systemworks 2006

- Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE Personal Edition

- Panicware Pop-Up Stopper Free Edition

- Safer Networking Spybot Search and Destroy

- Yahoo! Companion Toolbar with its pop-up blocker (but with tabs disabled)

Oh, and for local file searching, I do not use Google Toolbar or Desktop (I dislike data mining), I use instead:

- Copernic Desktop Search

For Copernic, I make sure it is not indexing anything other than select specific catagories of items.

For internet searches (not counting torrents, which I use something else), I use only the spartan interface of the Google search, not their toolbar, their desktop, or any of their searches that are connected to third party sites.

runestar · Sep 19, 2006

Well, I think I might have identified the problem - this little bug called drsmartload or something. Unfortunately, my internet is so screwed that my comp hangs the moment I attempt to download a spyware removal program, so I am currently doing the downloading at my school comp lab.

The problem persists even if I reformat my hard drive, since it infects my comp the moment I log on to the internet(I can see the file appearing on my c:, even as I realise I can't delete it), so I don't even get a tiny window of opportunity to obtain the necessary precautions...

And so the fight continues... :flameon:

PCHeintz72 · Sep 19, 2006

I looked up your little 'friend'. Here is what I found:

You are supposed to Kill the following processes:

- drsmartload.exe, drsmartload1.exe

Then delete the following registry key:

- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\drsmartload

And then delete the following files:

- drsmartload.exe, drsmartload1.exe

Now, the fact it occurs as soon as you start a browser even for the first time implies you got it from your home page (if your ISP gives you software and resets the home page) or software you installed. Since this is malware, and it occurs first time on-line, it is most likely a plug-in or program you installed that gave it to you. Probably a P2P program.

If the home page is believed to be the cause of getting it and you are using IE, go into control panel and internet settings, change the home page from there to something safe, or to blank. Then hit Apply and Ok.

For deleting the file on your C: drive, after doing all the above and a reboot, attempt to delete it. IF not, check the attributes, if system or read only uncheck them and try again, if still have issues, go to a dos box and delete it there.

runestar · Sep 20, 2006

First off, thanks to everyone chipping in...

For the moment, I have managed to achieve some semblance of stability in my comp. Armed with a slew of anti-spyware I downloaded from my school computer lab, I reformatted my hard drive and reinstalled windows for the 5th?6th? time in 4 days. They did their job(some better than others), though one unfortunately managed to slip through the cracks, but since it is apparently being prevented from doing whatever it is supposed to be doing, I guess I could just leave it festering in my hard drive for the moment(I can't delete it anyways... -_- )

As of the moment, AVG seems the most useful of the thrio, if warning messages are any indicator of their efficacy. PC tools is not bad, though what good is detecting spyware if I can't remove them. <_< I am still not sure what adaware is doing....it seems to detect only the least harmful of spyware....

What's disturbing is that all 3 detect different types of spyware, and there is very little overlap among them. I am not sure if this is a side effect of me running them simultaneously side by side, or just an inherent shortcoming in their programming. But still...

Next on, my sound woes(my speakers aren't working) and my MSoffice not installing properly...

Ah well, a silent comp is better than no comp... :blue:

GenocideHeart · Sep 20, 2006

runestar said:

First off, thanks to everyone chipping in...

For the moment, I have managed to achieve some semblance of stability in my comp. Armed with a slew of anti-spyware I downloaded from my school computer lab, I reformatted my hard drive and reinstalled windows for the 5th?6th? time in 4 days. They did their job(some better than others), though one unfortunately managed to slip through the cracks, but since it is apparently being prevented from doing whatever it is supposed to be doing, I guess I could just leave it festering in my hard drive for the moment(I can't delete it anyways... -_- )

As of the moment, AVG seems the most useful of the thrio, if warning messages are any indicator of their efficacy. PC tools is not bad, though what good is detecting spyware if I can't remove them. <_< I am still not sure what adaware is doing....it seems to detect only the least harmful of spyware....

What's disturbing is that all 3 detect different types of spyware, and there is very little overlap among them. I am not sure if this is a side effect of me running them simultaneously side by side, or just an inherent shortcoming in their programming. But still...

Next on, my sound woes(my speakers aren't working) and my MSoffice not installing properly...

Ah well, a silent comp is better than no comp... :blue:

Download OpenOffice.org. It's better than MSOffice, and FF.Net offers free downloads of it.

Regarding different spywares, it's simply because every spyware/antivirus program has its own names for the various things. So it's normal for them to have multiple names.

runestar · Sep 20, 2006

93 megs!!! :blink:

Normally, I would baulk at this notion, were it made a week ago, but now, I have the power that is broadband... :yay:

Scuttles off to open ff.net... :mmm:

Thanks again.

GenocideHeart · Sep 20, 2006

Heh.

BTW, I finally found CWShredder again.

http://www.intermute.com/spysubtract/cwshr...r_download.html

If you can, DL it and run it. It should nuke any Coolwebsearch variants in your PC.

toraneko · Sep 21, 2006

I typically use AVG for my anti-virus, overlap Adaware and Spybot S&D (with the Resident feature enabled) for my spyware killing joy, and SpywareBlaster as a preventative measure.

I also use Firefox exclusively, as I have ever since they made it more reliable than IE. My Extensions include Tab Mix Plus, Adblock Plus, and the Filterset.G updater (with the whitelist option disabled - very important!). So, I seldom ever see a popup that I didn't invite, I almost never see any unwanted advertisements, and virtually all chance of me downloading a virus is squashed.

Not invincible by any means, but I couldn't be reasonably accused of failing to take precautions. ^_^

Now if only I could replace this six-year-old shitbox of a comp with a real PC...

PCHeintz72 · Sep 21, 2006

I've never understood this, everyone tells me how much better than IE Mozilla Firefox is, and I always find it more buggy and slow than IE for my own uses. Thus I only use Mozilla as a backup browser for getting to sites that are either not IE friendly, or are buggy sites, or to test HTML code I've written.

Oh well, to each their own.

Help fighting spyware..:(

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