HELP!!! Advice needed

[Kungfu]

So I have just returned home after a few weeks away and have found out my brother has been visiting some adult sites.

He is 18 so no real problem but ran Spybot and found a load of crap. I then proceeded to fix the problems.

OK I thought everything will be fine now. Well its not.

The problem is when I am connected to the net and open up windows task manager web pages are running without me visiting them. e.g xxx paradise. Windows task manager is unable to switch to the page. All I can do at present is End Task.

What are they doing?

They appear for no more than 30 seconds.

Sorry if I have not clearly described the problem.

Any help/advice greatly appreciated

[Ciaran]

You update spybot recently, it might be a new form of spyware.

I advise you get a firewall like Outpost or Zone Alarm(Outpost is better), with these you should be able to block that program from accessing the internet and opening a page. It will also stop alot of the spyware from getting on your PC in the first place.

Also get all the latest patches for IE and use a decent browser like opera or Mozilla.

[Edame]

I found this on another forum:

Toolbars you can't get rid of? etc.. etc.. etc...

Here's how you KILL 'EM ALL!!!

I've just done a ton of research and cleaned the hell out of my system.

All of this stuff is FREE.. so you have no excuse.

First step -

http://www.spywareinfo.com/xscan.php

Next.. if you don't have them already...get Adaware and Spybot to remove spyware from your system. Make sure to update them regularly.

Download and install Adaware

http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/

Download and install Spybot Search & Destroy

http://www.safer-networking.org/

Be careful what you get rid of with Spybot.. it can get rid of important files your computer needs. As a rule of thumb get rid of anything in RED , and anything else you know should not be there.

A comprehesive Tutorial by the Author of Spybot Search & Destroy:

http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?...p?page=tutorial

Then Spysweeper -

http://www.webroot.com/wb/products/spysweeper/index.php

The above three programs will find and clean spyware off your system. They can all work together.. some will find things the others can't.

Next get CWshredder
Just download it, unzip it and click on it. Hit the *Fix* button to run it.

http://www.merijn.org/files/cwshredder.zip

Alternate download for CWShredder:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloadget.php?...6c5901960cc6e24

This program will kill CoolWebSearch (a very annoying trojan).. which is usually a toolbar that appears in your browser without you loading it.


Scan for viruses and trojans online for free:

Panda's Active Scan

http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/co...n_principal.htm

Trend Micro (PC-cillin) - Free on-line Scan

http://housecall.antivirus.com

Now...
Download *Hijack This!*

http://www.merijn.org/files/hijackthis.zip

Hijack This by Merijn is a great tool for detecting and removing browser Hijacks. A browser hijack is when spyware takes over your internet settings, often redirecting your internet searches and stealing your default home page

Make a new folder to put this program into.. anything but directly on the desktop or in the temp folder. Run it and hit scan.
*WARNING* Be VERY careful with this program. Do not fix anything it brings up in the list unless you know EXACTLY what you are doing. You can delete very important files and programs that can permanently damage your system if you don't know what you're doing. What you will do is run the program and hit scan, then save log and copy and paste the file that comes up. You will want to post this log in a forum where knowledgable people can tell you what to get rid of. I recommend http://spywarewarrior.com/viewforum.php?f=5
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FIX IT YOURSELF UNLESS YOU KNOW *EXACTLY* what you are doing


For further preventative measures, download the following two programs

SpywareBlaster

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

SpywareGuard

http://www.wilderssecurity.net/spywareguard.html

These two programs essentially run in the background and scan files for viruses before you download them. SpywareGuard is like an extra barrier for spyware protection, as it will protect you from browser hijacks, scan your computer for viruses, and protect your downloads to make sure they are safe and clean. SpywareBlaster will protect your browser, and block sites that are known to spread spyware.


This may be overkill.. but better safe than sorry.
The combination of Adaware, Spybot, and Spysweeper will get rid of the majority of spyware on your system.


A good forum for comprehensive death of spyware - http://www.spywarewarrior.com
There are many knowledgable people there that can help you protect yourself from spyware and completely clean your system.. but the steps in this thread should be good.
Many resources and preventative measures


Good luck, and happy spywarekilling!!

As mentioned, it may seem like overkill, but I have 3 diferent spyware progs running on my PC (Spybot, Adaware, Spysweeper) and they all pick up things that the others don't.

[Dragon2k4]

Yeah, as above, Norton Firewall is good too, has ad blocker and stops progs accessing net w/o your permission.