HELP - spyware/adware removal

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GotDart

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My two son's PC's are both just loaded with adware and spyware. I need something to clean them up. I don't mind buying a software package as long as it works, and I must be able to use it on more than one PC without buying additional lisences. Any recommendations?
 
go to download.com and check out their free programs. I use them and they work great. I use ad-aware se, It works good, Spyware doctor is awesome if you can find it.
 
I already had Ad Aware and SpyBot. They helped some, but they don't clean everything that some of the other free 'trial-copy' spyware scanners see. :roll: Problem with those other free scanners is they don't clean unless you empty your wallet to purchase the full version. Like I said, I don't mind paying for a license as long as it works and I can use it on multiple systems. So what is the best full-featured app that works, has intuitive user interface, and regular signature file updates?
 
I use Ad-aware 6.0 and it seems to clean everything out,just have to update it once in a while.
It's a free download to! :D
 
I use the free spybot and it updates regularly. Never had a problem getting my PC back to feeling snappy, and I have two teenagers on it almost 24/7
I'll probably install the new ad ware too, I used to run one of the old ones but spybot found alot more spyware than it did so I quit using it. Looks like they made it better in the newer version so I'll have to give it another try.
 
What are you looking to remove? :scratch:
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I can run Ad-Aware and SpyBot and remove all the objectionable stuff that they find. Then I reboot the system and run Symantic Anti-Virus, and it shows that there is still a lot of 'suspect' files. I have gone thru this routine at least three times, and each time I eliminate more stuff, but it never comes back totally clean.

My other problem is I have isolated this PC from the network so it no longer has access to the internet. That's good in that the remaining spyware can't re-infect the system. But it's bad because I can't easily look up the remaining offensive files online to see how to remove them. I may have to drag a second PC into the room so I can look them up.

Also, I discovered there was a 'limited' user account that had been added AND it was password protected. I don't remember the exact name, but it had a '.NET' in it. Now I KNOW I did not add this user, and I'm pretty sure my son didn't either. So I can only assume some malicious software did this. Has anyone heard of this? I deleted the account and have not noticed any ill-effects so far.

And finally, everytime I try to restart the system the is some 'unknown' application that is not responding. This may be because I have only partially deleted something. But I can't figure out what this application is by looking at the processes in Task Manager. Any ideas how I can identify what's causing this?
 

Sounds like you might be better off reformatting your PC and just clean everything out and start over.
I usually have a friend of mine reformat my PC about once a year.

My 2cents :)
 
Ok, let me add my two cents here. Here were having problems with our computer at work, running slow, pop ups and all that junk stuff coming up. So, our local service provider came out to have a look.

They use Lavasoft program to remove spywhere and pop up junk. Now I would think that if this is what they do for a living, I would think it should be good. Since we have been using it, we dont have any more problems. But you need to run the program every few weeks or so.

If you comp is really screwed up, I agree with our mopar friends and say a re-format might be best. After you clean it up, install a spywhere killer of some sort. I think the Lava soft we use is just... lavasoft.com

Its a free download and free to use so go for it...

good luck...
 
I'm going through this right now with a client's computer. And I deal with it on a regular basis with my family, freinds and neighbors.

First and foremost, make sure you have an up-to-date virus scanner.

Next, get a copy of SpyBot Search & Destroy. Make sure that's updated as well (there's an option in the program to update itself).

Finally, get HijackThis. Run it a number of times, clean up all of the stuff that looks "wrong". It's gonna find pretty much everything, even stuff that you shouldn't mess with, so leave the "backup" function on.

Run all of these tools over and over until they all come up clean. Sometimes it helps to run the machine in "safe" mode (if you're using Windows XP).

Or better yet - reformat the whole deal and install Fedora instead of Windows. ;-)
 
EvilScamp Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2004 12:15 am Post subject:

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Sounds like you might be better off reformatting your PC and just clean everything out and start over.
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I would rather not reformat the hard drive and start all over if I can avoid it. But that is a last resort if I can't clean this crap off.

mikelbeck Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2004 9:45 am Post subject:

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Finally, get HijackThis. Run it a number of times, clean up all of the stuff that looks "wrong". It's gonna find pretty much everything, even stuff that you shouldn't mess with, so leave the "backup" function on.
Click to expand...
I saw HijackThis, but the warnings about deleting needed files scared me off. But I just looked it up again and did some reading. I found this page that explains how to decode the log files, so I'll give it a try this evening and see what it tells me. If nothing else, I can post the log files to the spywareinfo forum.

Another app that seems to be recommended is CWShredder. Supposedly it removes all variants of Coolwebsearch browser hijacker, which I understand is one of the most difficult to eradicate. Has anyone used this with good results?

It's great there are folks out there developing free spyware removal tools. I wish someone would take it a step farther and develop a counter-spyware app that would feed bogus crap back to the companies that distribute this rubish.
 
GotDart said:
I saw HijackThis, but the warnings about deleting needed files scared me off. But I just looked it up again and did some reading.
Click to expand...

Don't even bother with HijackThis until after running everything else, if there's still some stuff on your box it'll just replace what you remove with that.
 
Well I succeded in cleaning off the spyware and crap. After running Symantic Anti-Virus, Ad Aware SE and Spybot, there were still traces from two different worms, a browser hijacker and a trojan. But thanks to HijackThis and some help from http://www.techsupportforums.com/ I got it all cleaned off. My advice to the rest of you that share a PC with kids, clean that sucker off and save a restore point! And don't be fooled into thinking Ad-Aware and SpyBot are enough. They just catch the obvious stuff that's easy to spot.
 
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