hi there all.... well i have some spy ware problems at the moment and ad aware and spy bot are failing to remove these f***ers permanently for me so i was just wondering what you IT gurus are using i have ditched IE 7 and am now using Firefox but the problems keep coming back to haunt me and i don't want to format just to get rid of this annoying rubbish

Ps where can i access the registry from in Xp pro i know what there called can i remove them manually ????

start -> run -> regedit

I was going to respond, then noticed the avatar and realised there was no point

Cheers free maenz it was fuking with my Ra3 skillz ( no idont have any ) tis me Reverend Dude

usual
adaware
spybot

also, i dont go to dodgy websites in the first place, nor click on any flashing banners, or install things that pop up in my browser

the problem came from a dodgy avi to dvd program that a friend at work gave me i didn't scan the sucker first i now know i should have but i too try to stay away from questionable sites.. when i run spy bot 1.4 it tells me i have had my windows firewall disabled this is the prick im trying to fix any ideas Spook????

Usual programs.

Spy bot + ad aware + AVG anti virus/spy ware

explain it to me again snc

spybot is telling you windows firewall is disabled? thats fine, it should be if you are running any other firewall

whats actually happening thats bad?

are you running the most uptodate versions of adaware and spybot and all your definitions are up to date?

if you know the name of the problem, google it and you will find lots of other peeps who have the same problem, and most likely how to fix it

I use the spyware prevention tool, firefox

yeh, firefox would've prevented the dodgy avi to dvd program that a friend at work gave him, from installing spyware

ad aware and spybot are fully updated im also running onecare as my virus protection (microsoft ) after a few while and i havent gone on the net there are several more spyware programs that are detected smithfraud and the likes i was wondering if the default registry key has been changed to let these fuks into my machine ??

yeh, firefox would've prevented the dodgy avi to dvd program that a friend at work gave him, from installing spyware

dont you have that plugin? lol

i dunno man, are these nasties getting picked up, but not cleaned?

or is nothing being picked up, but bad stuff is happening?

TELL ME MAN, I HAVE TO KNOW

i can go back and run spy bot and adaware and all the nasty little spyware s*** is back as im old and a total noob to this im getting frustrated ive checked for Trojans and the likes and Nothing im at a loss i may have to format its pissing me off just having the s*** on my machine

was this 'friend from work' a dodgy juarez website by any chance? lol

no both were trial versions they are both deleted and all files and folders associated with these proggies are gone..

format will guarantee you're clean and help you to learn a lesson

id personally be working out what nasty strain you have and tracking down how to clean it

u doing virus scans as well as spyware?

i think theres another spyware jobby that others use (ive never had to)

perhaps have a bit of a search for the last spyware thread and see what it was

thanks for your help Spook i will format and install firefox straight away over IE thanks again ..

hang on a tic, just before you do that

rubba knows whats up and he says

Try Spyware Doctor (have to pay for this one but ummm yeah maybe you can work out an alternative) or Ewido Anti-Malware.

maybe give them a burl

Firefox is no safer than IE7. Infact, the ONLY browser related security issues I have ever had have been Firefox exploits. Firefox is a great browser for what it is, but don't go thinking it's some ultimate, safe browser.

I use Spybot, Adaware, Avast! AV and HijackThis to keep my PC safe.

what spyware removal tools are you using??

Spybot atm - but as always this'll change in the coming weeks/months. If a system restore attempt failed then do your self a favour and disable system restore on your system drive. once a virus or spyware trojan tucks itself away into your System Volume Information folder you've got buckleys of getting it out of there - and most tools don't allow you to scan and clean that location. just dump it - same goes with your Temp and Temporary Internet Files folders in your user accounts (although scanning these locations on machines that have multiple user accounts can reveal just who started this s*** in the first place ;) If you run into files inside your TIF folders that cannot be deleted google them. sometimes they can be legit system files, others can be hard-to-remove viruses. I generally switch to linux-based live distros to clean these things out manually - though I've accidently deleted more than I should have when I first toyed around with this process. I have noticed one of the chaps @ work still uses the old dos virus scanners (F-Prot and McCaffee) together with updated virus defs.. though I can't really comment on how accurate they are. Scuzzy once mentioned here that full versions of anti-virus are far better than free ones (ie AVG).. that is so true

either way - cleaning out viruses and spyware is a royal pain in the arse, often combined with a huge waste of your time as you stumble thru the process of updating your knowledge or current viruses.. like that's really information worth knowing. I'm over it now.. long ago someone at a lan showed me Norton's Ghost. I take a fresh install of Windows, patch the hell out of it and dump in my most needed aps - then make a backup ghost image. If the worst happens your system can be up and working at 100% usually in less than 10mins. It's worth looking into the advanced versions of ghost to see just how much further they've taken this process now.

for the average machine though - I'd recommend a decent browser (ie an uncommon one such as K-Meleon), manually updating your HOSTS file to block out known spyware IPs instead of just trusting your spyware proggy / antivirus software to do it, and most of all: build up the courage to pay for software! Dodgy wares and cracks are without a doubt the most common way to bypass any kind of decent protection scheme you'll figure out for your system!



last edited by koopz at 23:43:27 12/Mar/07

I'm over it now.. long ago someone at a lan showed me Norton's Ghost

<blushes>

what spyware removal tools are you using??

Mac OSX.

Run as non-administrative acc for everyday use. Spybot and Firefox.

none, i don't download spyware

You could try AVG anti-spyware and Kaspersky Lab, both work pretty well :)

i use spydefense by everest labs