Spyware strike

[kevykev56]

what a nightmare this one is. 2 hours and still cant figure out how to completely get rid of it. This is by far the worst one I have had. I am almost thinking of a fresh install, but I cant let this thing beat me even if my PC does need it.

Anyone ever had a run in with this one?

[MrRiplEy[H]]

How on earth do you folks GET all this junk? I've never had a single set of spyware on. Do you use IE with security low or what?

[Starmage21]

visiting obviously questionable websites and/or following spam links in their email.

[x0847Marine]

Originally posted by kevykev56
what a nightmare this one is. 2 hours and still cant figure out how to completely get rid of it. This is by far the worst one I have had. I am almost thinking of a fresh install, but I cant let this thing beat me even if my PC does need it.

Anyone ever had a run in with this one?

Free apps I use to keep 100% viri & spyware free

Lavasofts adaware:
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/

Avast anti virus Home version:
http://www.avast.com/

Also ckeck out the free on-line cleaner:
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_cleaner.html

Here's a hint for you young business minded folk, or if youre just broke, I used to make $60 (flat fee cash in hand) to show folks, at home, how to dl/ run / install these apps..

[SNO]

ccleaner     is a good one too

[kevykev56]

Having a 17 year old son does not help with keeping this crap off my PC.

I have used all of the above latest versions of software and nothing has worked. I thought I was rid of it today and then poof, here it is back again. Its imbeded in im sure a bunch of places on my pc and will have to find it in every nook and cranny. My next step will be to run hijack this and post my logs on one of the help boards and try and get rid of it that way.

I really wish these guys would get life in prison or better yet the death penalty for this type of stuff. Im so mad right now I would volunteer to throw the switch.

I guess I could bump my security up until the internet was unusable, or never visit any questionable sites and save myself the frustration. But what fun would there be in that? I guess its just a double edged sword, live and die by it.

[Rolex]

Turning off ActiveX and scripting is a good start after you get things cleaned out.

 Allow ActiveX and scripting for Trusted Sites only where you need them, such as *.Microsoft.com for updates or *.trendmicro.com (or any site you use) for virus scans. The asterick is a wildcard so subdomains of the main domain are included.

Or, use Firefox instead of IE. Everything renders fine and no ActiveX.

[Kev367th]

Try manual removal -

http://www.adwarereport.com/mt/archives/000248.html

One thing you can do to help prevent the hosts file getting hijacked is to make it read only.

[kevykev56]

Originally posted by Kev367th
Try manual removal -

http://www.adwarereport.com/mt/archives/000248.html

One thing you can do to help prevent the hosts file getting hijacked is to make it read only.

Thanks Kev!! your reply was the one that sent me down the right path to fix this nasty problem.

Seems that this is not looked at as a virus or a spyware by most companies. You have to accept that you want to download the program. It is done in a way that confuses you.  It makes you think your declining the install.

After that its not an easy fix to remove. Regedit is your friend with this one.

Thanks to all who helped with this, may your internet adventures be Spyware free:aok

[Eagler]

got a nasty one once at work and ended up using this to manually clean it out:

Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner 1.13.03