help with spy ware

[Jeff Spicoli]

does anyone on here know a program/site that is free and can remove the spyware/adware my computer has? I tried 3 and they scan my computer and then I have to pay for them to be removed. can someone please point me in the right direction? my computer is so god damned slow

[Az.]

I use 3 different programes....all are free...or if not you can get serial numbers and shit if you want the full versions...

I use
(Lavasoft) Ad-Aware 6
Spybot - Search & Destroy and
Microsoft Antispyware (for all the nitty gritty registry shit)

I find these 3 programmes all work exceptionally well and are very effective

[Elfmannbca]

Az gave you the three best choices. They are all free and ad aware is one of the best. One thing you might consider though is once done that should also delete you temp files.

To do so with internet explorer open.
-Click tools/ at top of screen
-then Internet options.
-Press button deleat cookies,
-after that done press button deleat temp files. At this time will get a pop up and put check mark in to deleate all off line content. Depending how long it has been can take a whle but you will know working if you see the hard drive light flashing on case.
-Then press ok.
-After that then press settings and were it says amount of disk space to use ( lower to 10MB) then press ok.

If you are still having slow computer then should do a msconfig. If need info add to this topic and will give the info.

[3 Sheets To The Wind]

Az gave you the three best choices. They are all free and ad aware is one of the best. One thing you might consider though is once done that should also delete you temp files.

To do so with internet explorer open.
-Click tools/ at top of screen
-then Internet options.
-Press button deleat cookies,
-after that done press button deleat temp files. At this time will get a pop up and put check mark in to deleate all off line content. Depending how long it has been can take a whle but you will know working if you see the hard drive light flashing on case.
-Then press ok.
-After that then press settings and were it says amount of disk space to use ( lower to 10MB) then press ok.

If you are still having slow computer then should do a msconfig. If need info add to this topic and will give the info.
If only you were around a few months ago, my old computer completely fucked up, and I could have used your help and advice.. oh well, got a new one instead ;)

[plumber]

the free programs dont get rid of every bit of spyware i have spydocter it cost £20 but it does a fuckin great job.buy it.

[Az.]

the free programs dont get rid of every bit of spyware i have spydocter it cost £20 but it does a fuckin great job.buy it.

no the ones stated above do (or atleast im pretty sure they do) because I have the full versions of these programmes and they find and fix/ask if i want to change/fix even the smallest changes to my registry...

...also you dont need to pay for anything on the internet.....software wise...there are always ways round it.

[Elfmannbca]

also we all love them peer to peer programs. well the problem with them are that they are loaded with spyware. Have to pay for the stuff somehow. lol nothing is free. Kazaa is the worst of them. What I do is anything down load I put in a temp Folder on the hard drive. I never run the program from the peer to peer program. once I have finished downloading and am thinking of using the file. I will first run a virus scan and test it. Then move the file to another folder then run it. That way try to protect myself. Do the same with music files and any thing I get through the peer to peer programs

[Az.]

yeah sorry i should have been more specific....

...you can get free demos of antispyware/adware etc etc....so to get the full version all you need is a registry key/serial number....and it unlocks the whole programme as if you have paid for it...

its as simple as using google....

of course this doesnt work with all programmes but the ones you get free demos for....you can normally find a registry key around somwhere.

[RastaKaze]

you're just asking for more trouble putting different ad/spyware removers on your computer. The only way to really know you've gotten everything is a destructive system recovery; your computerr's HD will be erased and the computer returned to it's factory shipped condition :thumbsup:

[hempy]

www.trendmicro.com free best i've found

~peace~

[arcticspyder]

I do relate strongly with the situation, I picked up a very NASTY spyware program off this website, the program was called SPYAXE. NASTY NASTY little program. Ended up doing full system recovery to get rid of it, there was no way I was paying them $20.00 to remove a program that it it put on my machine. Becareful of the links you click around here.

[t3chyo]

use Microsoft Antispyware, boot your computer in safe mode and use it though. thats the key

[Jeff Spicoli]

arctic, I had SPYAXE too. I just searched it up on google and found a way to get rid of it

[Elfmannbca]

Starting computer and doing the scan in safe mode very good idea. It is also a good idea to scan the antivirus in safe mode also once in a while. You will have to manualy start the virus or spyware program and once done just restart computer and will start up normaly. Ther are certain viruses and spyware that hide in the windows program when you start up.

[Omun]

I would suggest those free programs also clearing out your temporary files update anti virus definitions, use firefox etc. But really your system is going to be extreamly vunrable until next tusday the 10th because of the WMF vunrability. read more http://www.f-secure.com/zero-day. I installed the unofficial patch that you can get at http://www.grc.com/default.htm.

But here is a good thread on general computer managment http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=289948&st=0

also in some cases when the computer is completly hosed I would suggest a reformat and reinstall of the Operating System, mostly for your own sanity and also some really nasty things can get installed onto your computer (rootkits, keyloggers etc.). In the case of rootkits a reinstall is the only way your going to be able to be sure that it was is removed. I would suggest using a program called RootkitRevealer from http://sysinternals.com. And I personally don't run windows xp with admin privledges, none of the software I use on a daily basis requires admin privledges and for the things that do the RunAs command works pretty good.