[xerxes]

Is it just this site or all the time?

[wildrosegirl]

Nothing for me.... odd...

[emart]

it's funny when they make those ads look like an xp screen, because the ten percent of compy users who don't use windows realize immediately that it is a fraud, but too bad we can't tell you which ones those are.

[wildrosegirl]

lily wrote:

The one site said it's from porn/warez sites... so I guess it's time to have a chat with the kidlets.

Don't ya love the teen years

Been there, done that.... boys!

[TattoodGirl]

lily wrote:

xerxes wrote:

Is it just this site or all the time?

It started last night, and seemed limited to another site - a bird forum. After I posted about it there, I got a coupld more pop-ups on CraigsList, and now it's happening all the time.

I googled it, and it looks pretty nasty, so I d-loaded Spyware Doctor and I'm running a scan right now. It's really slow though...



The one site said it's from porn/warez sites... so I guess it's time to have a chat with the kidlets.

I use Eset Smart Security...no problems with anything popping up. Avoid 'free' scanners and anti-virus at all costs...it will cost more in the long run.

[Kijo]

Don't install or run programs you didn't install. Half the time just reading what is popping up will save you from installing a virus. If the close box still has your mouse pointer showing a finger and not an arrow, its a virus trying to install.

[C.M. Burns]

Speaking as a highly paid IT consultant ... this stuff NEVER happens to me (knock on wood and spit three times).

Never ever click those popups. Never EVER!

First line of defense - a properly configured firewall. If you're running XP or god forbid, Vista, get Comodo Personal Firewall Pro - it's free. Make sure you read about before installing and you how to use it first (it's easy) - don't let in/out connection requests unless you know what's doing it. Disable the Microsoft built-in firewall. If you're running Some other version Win2K etc., use Online Armor - it, too is free.

2) NEVER connect to the intertubes using the default admin account - unless you're doing a dreaded Microsoft Update. This generally happen on Tuesdays.

3) ClamWin anitvrus - Free and open source antivirus goodness! Forget about those corporate av programs permanently.

4) Firefox browser with NoScript extension. Enable JS script and other plugins only when needed. Do not accept cookies by default.

5) Create or use the guest account to run your browser. Use a regular account only when needed. Right click and select 'Run As'

6) Create a new administrator account. Disable the default admin acount.

7) Don't send or receive HTML email - use Thunderbird for your email client - from the same folks as Firefox.

Disable 'Services' which are not needed. Visit grc.com for some very helpful tips.

9) in Firefox menu for Tools | Options select the Content tab and check the 'Block Popups' Firefox will alert you when a popup tries to open and you can then decide if you want it to or not.

10) Buy a cheap external hard drive or even a large capacity thumb drive and BACK UP IMPORTANT THINGS!

11) Learn how to use System Restore.

12) Show someone how to do all this once you've figured it out.

[Kijo]

Good list, you should include using Hijackthis and Spybot Search and destroy. And my personal favorite, dont let anyone use your computer=) That will save you lots of headaches!

[herbie]

Speaking as a "not so highly paid anymore cuz the whole damn town's broke and I gotta cut deals to every damn customer so they can eat too" (gasp),
Mr Burns said it all, except for
"Try NOT using Windows"

All I need to do is let anybody else use my computer for five minutes and it's full of popups, spyware, trojans and viruses.

[mtbr]

lily wrote:

The one site said it's from porn/warez sites... so I guess it's time to have a chat with the kidlets.

buy them a stack of skin books

[emart]

herbie wrote:

Speaking as a "not so highly paid anymore cuz the whole damn town's broke and I gotta cut deals to every damn customer so they can eat too" (gasp),
Mr Burns said it all, except for
"Try NOT using Windows"

All I need to do is let anybody else use my computer for five minutes and it's full of popups, spyware, trojans and viruses.

http://www.ubuntu.com

[ziggy]

I just started getting them yesterday also.Now i get them on allmost every site and stopping pop ups isnt working along with an adaware scan and spybot scan.

[ziggy]

registry defender is one pop up and i get them with IE and firefox and i dont hit porn sites,just ikarium and a canadian govt. site for a gst number yesterday.

[canuckns]

Firstly both Registry Defender and Antivirus XP 2009 are spy/malware.

I have successfully used SpyBot, Adaware and HijackThis. SpyBot and Adaware are pretty simple apps to use, but HijackThis does require a decent knowledge of the Windows Registry. You need to be very careful in removing registry entries as you can completely frack up your comp if you remove the wrong ones.

Best bet is to boot your machine into Safe Mode and running both utilities. Spybot also has the ability to run before Windows completely loads, so if you have spy/malware that loads into memory on startup SpyBot can usually find and remove it before this happens. If the spy/malware is loaded into memory it may look like it has been removed but it actually has not.

Hope this helps.

[herbie]

One of the effects of this infection is that if you attempt to run regedit, it will pop up a window even in safe mode announcing "Regedit has been disabled by your administrator".
Changes made by most programs like SpyBot, SuperAntiSpyware, AVG (1st sign, your anti-virus won't update) are reversed on reboot. Eventually you even lose connectivity and you're hooped. There are a few products that claim the ability to remove the infection but they're not free so take your chances.
Another pain is System Restore which has become entirely a spot to hide trojans/viruses and is a next to useless function.
I've had to inform most victims that it's unfortunate but unless they are willing to pay for as much as 8 hours of pissing around, they're looking at a format, fixboot and reinstall as it's simply cheaper.
Your books are worth the labour cost, it's TFB about your music and pictures. Learn to back up shit.
What is really interesting is that I have yet to see a Vista machine come in with this infection, just XP boxes!