Okay, so I turn my computer on today and I'm having a few problems. I've ONLY had it a month and it's already giving me problems. God damn.

Okay, it's going extremely slow for some reason. And sometimes it goes so slow it'll say "Not Responding," so I have to ctrl+alt+dlt it because there's no other way around it. It's not supposed to be slow....not this thing.

Then I get this thing on webpages. So..

1) What the hell is it?

2) How do I get rid of it?

I defragged and did the Notron Virus scan, and it didn't detect anything at all.

Any help will be much appreciated.

Originally posted by Czas na Zywiec
Okay, so I turn my computer on today and I'm having a few problems. I've ONLY had it a month and it's already giving me problems. God damn.

Okay, it's going extremely slow for some reason. And sometimes it goes so slow it'll say "Not Responding," so I have to ctrl+alt+dlt it because there's no other way around it. It's not supposed to be slow....not this thing.

Then I get this thing on webpages. So..

1) What the hell is it?

2) How do I get rid of it?

I defragged and did the Notron Virus scan, and it didn't detect anything at all.

Any help will be much appreciated. MINE JUST STARTED DOING THAT TOO!!!!!!

I don't understand the question.

The picture you attached looks like a message board. Weren't you trying to get to that page? Is that the problem?

Some words are underlined with that bold, yellow line and now they're links.

I don't get it. I just got it today and I did NOTHING to my computer from last night to this afternoon. Not a thing.

If it's a site that you normally go to, you might ask them if they have done something to cause that.

Anyway, you might want to check to see if somehow a parasite was downloaded onto your computer. These can show up without warning, and are a kind of spyware.

Here is one site that might help, if that is the problem:

http://www.doxdesk.com/parasite/

I have bookmarked the site and periodically just click on my bookmark to see if anything turns up. The first time I went to the site it found lots of unsolicited gunk, particularly Hotbar.

Originally posted by Czas na Zywiec
Some words are underlined with that bold, yellow line and now they're links.



OMG I didn't notice that until you said that. My stupid NEW computer did that too...and mine gets slow way too often. Maybe we should start a club.

The same thing was happening to Chris (GOMM). He never did say if he got the problem taken care of...but I'm hoping he sees this thread...

I get it here too...the word "virus scan" in my first post is underlined....

But THANK YOU SO MUCH for that link. Turns out I have these "parasites" you were talking about. My browser (or whatever I'm working at) freezes for a few seconds while a popup called "Offers from TTIL" pop up. It ALWAYS says that on the top of the pop up.

Warning!
Your browser appears to have the "BrowserAid/StlbDist" parasite installed. This software can compromise your computer's security. It might have been installed without your knowledge. Information and removal instructions.

Your browser appears to have the "NavExcel" parasite installed. This software can compromise your computer's security. It might have been installed without your knowledge. Information and removal instructions.

Your browser appears to have the "TopText" parasite installed. This software can present you with unwanted advertising, and may invade your on-line privacy. It might have been installed without your knowledge. Information and removal instructions.

I'm going to go ahead and try to remove them. Wish me luck.

I have that, too. I was just asking my dad how to get rid of it, a whole bunch of spyware stuff installed on my computer just two days ago.

Hmmmm, I'm starting to think this board is what gave us that.

Originally posted by Kristina
I have that, too. I was just asking my dad how to get rid of it, a whole bunch of spyware stuff installed on my computer just two days ago.

Hmmmm, I'm starting to think this board is what gave us that.

Nonsense. I've been coming here everyday and I don't have this problem. I went to the link Mysty Eyes gave me, and I didn't have any parasites. :)

To remove the first one on my system, Browser Aid, is SO complicated. I mean, they use all these computer terms and I don't know if I can even fully get rid of it. I can't even find it in my Control Panel. Same for the third one. The second one I git rid of easily.

:mad:

I have 6 different parasites, and they're complicated to get rid of, too. I downloaded Ad-Aware, and it's scanning now. What are registry keys, and values?

Is there anyone out there who can help me? I got rid of one of the parasites, but I'm stupid and don't understand complicated computer terms, so have no idea how to get rid of the other two. Pages on SO are getting slower and slower to load as well.

Okay, so for this first parasite.

Removal
Open the Control Panel's 'Add/Remove Programs' function. There should be an entry for 'BrowserAid' or 'CashToolbar' (CashToolbar variant), 'Web Toolbar' (ABCSearch variant) or 'BrowserPal' (BrowserPal variant).

However, the BrowserPal variant leaves an updater task behind which can reinstall itself and other programs - see Manual Removal, BrowserPal installer.

There may not be a removal option for the LetsSearch, QuickLaunch, Rundll16, FeaturedResults or StlbDist/StlbAd variants.

Ad-Aware and Spybot S&D can remove BrowserAid variants.

I DID that, but I can't find any of those in my add/remove programs list. It says it's supposed to be in there, but it's nowhere to be found.

Manual removal
CashToolbar
The software installs into the Downloaded Program Files folder and puts its settings into a 'CashToolbar' folder in 'Program Files'. Before you can delete the files you must deregister the toolbar. Open a DOS command prompt window (Start->Programs->Accessories) and enter:

cd "%WinDir%\System"
regsvr32 /u "..\Downloaded Program Files\CashToolbarIE.dll"
Then open the registry and find the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. Delete the entry pointing to CashToolbar.exe. Restart the machine and you should be able to delete both 'Program Files\CashToolbar' and the Downloaded Program Files:

cd "%WinDir%\Downloaded Program Files"
del CashToolbarIE.dll
del CashToolbarConfig.inf
del CashToolbar.exe
del BrowserAidBarWnd.dll
LetsSearch
The software installs into the Downloaded Program Files folder and puts its settings into a 'LetsSearch' folder in 'Program Files'. Before you can delete the files you must deregister the toolbar. Open a DOS command prompt window (Start->Programs->Accessories) and enter:

cd "%WinDir%\System"
regsvr32 /u "..\Downloaded Program Files\LetsSearchIE.dll"
Then open the registry and find the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. Delete the 'LetsSearch' and 'RunWindowsUpdate' entries.

Restart the machine and you should be able to delete the LetsSearch folder inside Program Files. You can also delete the uptodate.exe file inside the Windows folder, and, using a DOS command prompt window, the files rom Downloaded Program Files:

cd "%WinDir%\Downloaded Program Files"
del LetsSearchIE.dll
del LSToolbarConfig.inf
del LetsSearch.exe
del BABarWnd.dll
Finally you can remove the LetsSearch folder from Application Data. (Application Data is to be found inside the Windows folder on Windows 95, 98 and Me, in your user 'Profiles' folder in 'Windows' on NT, or in your user 'Documents and Settings' folder on XP.)

QuickLaunch
The software installs into the Downloaded Program Files folder and puts its settings into a 'QuickLaunch' folder in 'Program Files'. Before you can delete the files you must deregister the toolbar. Open a DOS command prompt window (Start->Programs->Accessories) and enter:

cd "%WinDir%\System"
regsvr32 /u "..\Downloaded Program Files\QuickLaunchIE.dll"
Then open the registry and find the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. Delete the 'LetsSearch' (yes, they forgot to rename it) and 'RunWindowsUpdate' entries.

Restart the machine and you should be able to delete the QuickLaunch folder inside Program Files. You can also delete the uptodate.exe file inside the Windows folder, and, using a DOS command prompt window, the files rom Downloaded Program Files:

cd "%WinDir%\Downloaded Program Files"
del QuickLaunchIE.dll
del QLToolbarConfig.inf
del QuickLaunch.exe
del BABarWnd.dll
Finally you can remove the LetsSearch folder from Application Data. (Application Data is to be found inside the Windows folder on Windows 95, 98 and Me, in your user 'Profiles' folder in 'Windows' on NT, or in your user 'Documents and Settings' folder on XP.)

ABCSearch
The software installs into the Downloaded Program Files folder. Before you can delete it you must deregister it. Open a DOS command prompt window (Start->Programs->Accessories) and enter:

cd "%WinDir%\System"
regsvr32 /u "..\Downloaded Program Files\BrowserAidToolbar.dll"
regsvr32 /u "..\Downloaded Program Files\HighlightHelper.dll"
Then open the registry and find the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. Delete the entry pointing to BrowserAid.exe. Restart the machine and you should be able to delete the Downloaded Program Files:

cd "%WinDir%\Downloaded Program Files"
del BrowserAidToolbar.dll
del BrowserAid.inf
del BrowserAid.exe
del BrowserAidBarWnd.dll
del HighlightHelper.dll
BrowserPal
Open a DOS command prompt windows (from Start->Programs->Accessories) and enter the following commands:

cd "%WinDir%\System"
regsvr32 /u "\Program Files\BrowserPal\blckbho.dll"
regsvr32 /u "\Program Files\BrowserPal\bptlb.dll"
(You may need to change the name 'Program Files' on non-English versions of Windows where this folder is called something else.)

Open the registry (from the Start menu, choose Run and type regedit), find the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run, and delete the 'Browser Pal' entry inside this key.

Restart and delete the 'Browser Pal' folder inside Program Files. Then follow the instructions for the installer.

You can also re-enable JavaScript errors if you want to see them (BrowserPal hides them so you don't see when a page's script fails due to its pop-up blocking) by opening the Advanced tab and unticking 'Disable script debugging'.

BrowserPal installer
Open the registry (from the Start menu, choose Run and type regedit), find the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run, and delete the 'RunWindowsUpdate' entry (or 'ContinueInstall' in partially-completed BrowserPal installs) inside this key. You can also delete the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunWindowsUpdate to clean up if you like.

Restart the computer and you should be able to delete the 'bpsinstall.exe' and 'uptodate.exe' from the Windows folder, and 'ctb_s.exe' from the System folder (which is itself inside the Windows folder, called 'System32' on Windows NT/2000/XP or just 'System' under Windows 95/98/Me).

Rundll16
Open the registry (click 'Start', choose 'Run' and enter 'regedit'), and find the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. Delete the 'Rundll16' and 'RunWindowsUpdate' entries.

Open a DOS command prompt window (from Start->Programs->Accessories) and enter:

cd "%WinDir%\System"
regsvr32 /u ..\Rundll16.dll
Restart the machine and you should be able to delete rundll16.dll, rundll16.exe and uptodate.exe in the Windows folder.

FeaturedResults
Open the registry (click 'Start', choose 'Run' and enter 'regedit'), and find the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. Delete the 'Rundll32_7' entry.

Open a DOS command prompt window (from Start->Programs->Accessories) and enter:

cd "%WinDir%\System"
regsvr32 /u msiefr40.dll
Restart the machine and you should be able to delete the file msiefr40.dll in the System folder (which is inside the Windows folder, and called 'System32' under Windows NT, 2000 and XP).

StlbDist
Open the registry (click 'Start', choose 'Run' and enter 'regedit'), and find the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. Delete the '{2CF0B992-5EEB-4143-99C0-5297EF71F444}' entry.

Open a DOS command prompt window (from Start->Programs->Accessories) and enter:

cd "%WinDir%\System"
regsvr32 /u stlbdist.dll
Restart the machine and you should be able to delete the files stlbdist.dll and stlbdist.xml in the System folder (which is inside the Windows folder, and called 'System32' under Windows NT, 2000 and XP).

StlbAd
Open the registry (click 'Start', choose 'Run' and enter 'regedit'), and find the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. Delete the '2CF0B992-5EEB-4143-99C0-5297EF71F44B}' entry.

Open a DOS command prompt window (from Start->Programs->Accessories) and enter:

cd "%WinDir%\System"
regsvr32 /u stlbdad123.dll
Restart the machine and you should be able to delete the files stlbad123.dll and stlbad123.xml in the System folder (which is inside the Windows folder, and called 'System32' under Windows NT, 2000 and XP).

WebDownloader
Open the Downloaded Program Files folder (which is inside the Windows folder), right-click the 'CWebDownloader Object' entry and choose 'Remove'.

All variants
If BrowserAid has hijacked your homepage, you can set it back from Internet Options -> General -> Start Page.

As for that, I typed in the first code into the command prompt, yet it said it couldn't do anything.

I'm going to go try that parasite thing too.

I restarted my computer earlier and I had this search toolbar on my desktop...When I went to the Control Panel to uninstall it, I had like 5 other useless prgrams on there that weren't there earlier. I've been scanning with Ad-aware all day and this crap is still going on.

Look at this...Even the thing above Alison's avatar is underlined.

Originally posted by TradingMooses
I'm going to go try that parasite thing too.

I restarted my computer earlier and I had this search toolbar on my desktop...When I went to the Control Panel to uninstall it, I had like 5 other useless prgrams on there that weren't there earlier. I've been scanning with Ad-aware all day and this crap is still going on.

Look at this...Even the thing above Alison's avatar is underlined. WHAT?!?!?!?!

Your browser has been checked for parasites. None were found.

God, I'm trying everything and I'm failing miserably.

Why the hell do people make these damn parasites?! :mad: I hope they burn in hell.

I recommend using the Mozilla FireFox web browser. Top notch, no problems with pop-ups or 3rd party virus crap.

http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/

I had TopText before that is what is underlining words. I found these removal steps.

Start Removing TopText

1. From your Taskbar select:
Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs

2. In the Add/Remove Programs Properties pop-up window:
Locate one of the following program names:

TopText HotText ContextPro

Select the program name you find by clicking on the name in the white window.

Click OK to begin the Uninstall process.

These are all different names for the same ScumWare program.

If you locate more than one of these program names, repeat this step for each of the program names.

3. Restart your computer
This is a critical step.

Do not skip it.

Originally posted by Blair_Warner02
I had TopText before that is what is underlining words. I found these removal steps.

Start Removing TopText

1. From your Taskbar select:
Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs

2. In the Add/Remove Programs Properties pop-up window:
Locate one of the following program names:

TopText HotText ContextPro

Select the program name you find by clicking on the name in the white window.

Click OK to begin the Uninstall process.

These are all different names for the same ScumWare program.

If you locate more than one of these program names, repeat this step for each of the program names.

3. Restart your computer
This is a critical step.

Do not skip it. I don't have any of those 3 things but I still have the underlined stuff! AHHHH. I'm seriously about to have a nervous breakdown.

Here's directions for BrowserAid hopefully they are easier.

Uninstall procedure
Uninstall BrowserAid from "Add/Remove Programs" in the Windows® Control Panel. Look for the name of the variants, such as ABCSearch, CashToolbar, LetsSearch, QuickLaunch, BrowserPal, SearchAndClick, Rundll16 and FeaturedResults.

Manual removal
Please follow the instructions below if you would like to remove BrowserAid manually. Please notice that you must follow the instructions very carefully and delete everything that is mentioned. In most cases the removal will fail if one single item is not deleted. If BrowserAid remains on your system after stepping through the removal instructions, please double-check by stepping through them again.
Start the registry editor. This is done by clicking Start then Run. (The Run dialog will appear.) Type regedit and click OK. (The registry editor will open.)
Browse to the key:
'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Run'
In the right pane, delete the values called 'CashToolbar', 'Rundll32_7' and '{2CF0B992-5EEB-4143-99C0-5297EF71F444}', if they exists.
Use the search function in regedit to delete all occurences of the following strings:
{0DDBB570-0396-44C9-986A-8F6F61A51C2F}
{2CF0B992-5EEB-4143-99C0-5297EF71F443}
{2CF0B992-5EEB-4143-99C0-5297EF71F44A}
{2CF0B992-5EEB-4143-99C0-5297EF71F44B}
{2CF0B992-5EEB-4143-99C2-5297EF71F44A}
{2CF0B992-5EEB-4143-99C2-5297EF71F44B}
{337D0C1D-4053-4FAB-AF2B-45C2F7B0FAA6}
{337D0C1D-4053-4FAB-AF2B-45C2F7B0FAA7}
{5F5564AC-DE7A-4DCD-9296-32E71A35DCB6}
{72CEAE02-DF9C-49F3-9689-10D1B82DC343}
{80672997-D58C-4190-9843- C6C61AF8FE97}
{D34F641F-5210-4EB0-8ED5-9179F47E15B7}
{D7258ABE-571F-4DC2-ABD1-8393B13B1269}
Delete 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CashToolbar\ido', if it exists.
Delete 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CSHTLBAR\braid_did', if it exists.
Exit the registry editor.
Restart your computer.
Start Windows Explorer and delete:
msiefr40.dll
stlbdist.dll
stlbupdt.dll

Could you post a pic of your add/remove programs list? Maybe someone can figure out which one it is.

This is getting so DAMN frustrating. Not at all you, but at this damn parasite.

Originally posted by Blair_Warner02
Here's directions for BrowserAid hopefully they are easier.

Uninstall procedure
Uninstall BrowserAid from "Add/Remove Programs" in the Windows® Control Panel. Look for the name of the variants, such as ABCSearch, CashToolbar, LetsSearch, QuickLaunch, BrowserPal, SearchAndClick, Rundll16 and FeaturedResults.

I don't have ANY of those in my Add/Remove Programs. Not even one.

Manual removal
Please follow the instructions below if you would like to remove BrowserAid manually. Please notice that you must follow the instructions very carefully and delete everything that is mentioned. In most cases the removal will fail if one single item is not deleted. If BrowserAid remains on your system after stepping through the removal instructions, please double-check by stepping through them again.
Start the registry editor. This is done by clicking Start then Run. (The Run dialog will appear.) Type regedit and click OK. (The registry editor will open.)
Browse to the key:
'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Run'
In the right pane, delete the values called 'CashToolbar', 'Rundll32_7' and '{2CF0B992-5EEB-4143-99C0-5297EF71F444}', if they exists. The only one I had was the last one...and I deleted it.
Use the search function in regedit to delete all occurences of the following strings:
{0DDBB570-0396-44C9-986A-8F6F61A51C2F}
{2CF0B992-5EEB-4143-99C0-5297EF71F443} This was the only one I had. Again, I deleted it.
{2CF0B992-5EEB-4143-99C0-5297EF71F44A}
{2CF0B992-5EEB-4143-99C0-5297EF71F44B}
{2CF0B992-5EEB-4143-99C2-5297EF71F44A}
{2CF0B992-5EEB-4143-99C2-5297EF71F44B}
{337D0C1D-4053-4FAB-AF2B-45C2F7B0FAA6}
{337D0C1D-4053-4FAB-AF2B-45C2F7B0FAA7}
{5F5564AC-DE7A-4DCD-9296-32E71A35DCB6}
{72CEAE02-DF9C-49F3-9689-10D1B82DC343}
{80672997-D58C-4190-9843- C6C61AF8FE97}
{D34F641F-5210-4EB0-8ED5-9179F47E15B7}
{D7258ABE-571F-4DC2-ABD1-8393B13B1269}
Delete 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CashToolbar\ido', if it exists.
Delete 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CSHTLBAR\braid_did', if it exists.
Exit the registry editor.
Restart your computer. I'm about to do this...but
Start Windows Explorer and delete: How do I start this?
msiefr40.dll
stlbdist.dll
stlbupdt.dll

Again, thanks so much for all the help.

Hopefully this is right I've never had to do this

How to Open Windows Explorer

There are two ways to open Explorer in Windows.

The first way is to right-click the Start Button at the bottom-left corner of the screen. You should see an option which says "Explore." Click on this to bring up Windows Explorer.

The second way also involves the Start Button. This time, left-click on the Start Button to bring up the Start Menu. In the Start Menu, hover your cursor over the Programs option. You should see an option for Windows Explorer.

I found it! It was called "Quicklink III." I uninstalled it and it's gone now. Yayyy.

I'm restarting my computer now. Watch all this crap come back...

Those underlined texts aren't spyware related, it's contexual links. It's served by livejournal most likely. It loads the page twice and then gives you those underlined results which are advertising - livejournal is free for a reason I suppose. There's no way to remove them and it has nothing to do with your computer. I believe it's called something like IntelliText. TV Tome runs it on their message boards also I've noticed.

And for the record to Kristina and anybody else, I'm not running any of those ads and you got nothing from these message boards.

Yeah, I hear that these things disguise themselves with other names and I think mine was actually called N-Case.

it's also a good idea to turn off system restore so that it deletes the restore points that may have the parasite on them.

Start---My Computer---View System Info---System Restore tab---check the box that says turn off

it will delete them press ok then go back in there and turn system restore back on by unchecking the box

Originally posted by TradingMooses
I'm going to go try that parasite thing too.

I restarted my computer earlier and I had this search toolbar on my desktop...When I went to the Control Panel to uninstall it, I had like 5 other useless prgrams on there that weren't there earlier. I've been scanning with Ad-aware all day and this crap is still going on.

Look at this...Even the thing above Alison's avatar is underlined.

OK, now this is weird...Makes me wonder how it happens...That is, getting it...

Originally posted by TJ
Those underlined texts aren't spyware related, it's contexual links. It's served by livejournal most likely. It loads the page twice and then gives you those underlined results which are advertising - livejournal is free for a reason I suppose. There's no way to remove them and it has nothing to do with your computer. I believe it's called something like IntelliText. TV Tome runs it on their message boards also I've noticed.

And for the record to Kristina and anybody else, I'm not running any of those ads and you got nothing from these message boards.

This is even more odd- I've been using LiveJournal for all of six months now.

I run Adaware and Spybot on a regular basis - that helps.

Here's a great anti-spyware board (http://www.spywareinfo.com/forums/index.php?showforum=11) that I browse at when I have problems with my computer. The tech guys there are EXCELLENT.

You need to register, tho...and bookmark it for further reference if you run into any problems...You need to have a program called HijackThis on hand, too...it's only a 150kb download and is free. :)

Mostly you get it from stuff like kazaa and internet explorer toolbar add-ons.

I always click no when those boxes pop up.

I take that back - I don't think it's just contexual advertising. It is surely adware related. When I just went to this page, there were no underlined links - www.livejournal.com/community/polska/141128.html

You can pick up spyware by installing a lot of different programs, did you install anything within the last few days?

CRAP. THEY'RE BACK.

The sites I found on Quicklink III say that it is fax software people seem to like it and want it on there comp. Maybe that is not the right one.

Ugh, this is ruining my life. Lol. Mmmkay, so here's the story. All this spyware installed on my computer about a day and a half ago. The search thing was in my internet but I didn't notice the link things because I had to go to my dads apartment. Now I'm back home and I clicked the link TJ posted above and there are those link things, also above Miss Vicki's icon. Am I doomed for life with this, or is there a cure? My internet windows don't stay opened for long either, all these pop-ups come up and then I get an error message and have to close everything. Haha and something just popped up after I typed that.

My dad gave me some advice, so I'm going to try out some programs soon. Please, if anybody figures out how to make everything go away, let us know. Also, a couple days ago I did find stuff in the control panel and tried uninstalling it, but obviously no success. Now there is nothing odd in there to uninstall yet there is still something wrong, like the links and search bar... and an abnormal amount of pop-ups. My mouse cursor is constantly busy.

Originally posted by Blair_Warner02
The sites I found on Quicklink III say that it is fax software people seem to like it and want it on there comp. Maybe that is not the right one. Well...it was a good guess. :(

At the link that was posted, it detected this:

Warning!
Your browser appears to have the "BrowserAid/StlbDist" parasite installed. This software can compromise your computer's security. It might have been installed without your knowledge. Information and removal instructions.

Originally posted by Kristina
Ugh, this is ruining my life. Lol. Mmmkay, so here's the story. All this spyware installed on my computer about a day and a half ago. The search thing was in my internet but I didn't notice the link things because I had to go to my dads apartment. Now I'm back home and I clicked the link TJ posted above and there are those link things, also above Miss Vicki's icon. Am I doomed for life with this, or is there a cure? My internet windows don't stay opened for long either, all these pop-ups come up and then I get an error message and have to close everything. Haha and something just popped up after I typed that.

My dad gave me some advice, so I'm going to try out some programs soon. Please, if anybody figures out how to make everything go away, let us know. Also, a couple days ago I did find stuff in the control panel and tried uninstalling it, but obviously no success. Now there is nothing odd in there to uninstall yet there is still something wrong, like the links and search bar... and an abnormal amount of pop-ups. My mouse cursor is constantly busy.


That's exactly what happens to me! Google is my homepage, but lately when I go to open IE, I get like 91390 popups and then it says there's an error and IE closes. And my cursor is busy all the time too...Everytime I click something, it freezes for a few seconds.

Run Ad-Aware if you got it make sure it's updated first.

Then let Spybot get what ever Ad-Aware didn't get.

Run your virus scanner.

Run these three above until they find nothing. Make sure they are updated before you run them.

Do a scan disk
Do a defrag

It's probably ok if you can't find the parasites in add/remove programs they are either already gone or you'll have to remove them manually.

Here's a nice page I found...

http://www.io.com/~cwagner/spyware.html

maybe it will help.

I only have 10 minutes before I have to leave. So maybe someone like robyrob can help.

Originally posted by Kristina
At the link that was posted, it detected this:

Warning!
Your browser appears to have the "BrowserAid/StlbDist" parasite installed. This software can compromise your computer's security. It might have been installed without your knowledge. Information and removal instructions.

That's what it said I had. I also have the yellow highlighted text.

I'm doing Ad-aware right now. I did a defrag and virus scanner earlier, but I suppose I can do it again.

Computers are a grea thing, but these people make me realize how easier life would be if we didn't have them.

Thank you so much for you help, Blair. I'm going to do everything (And attempt to write a paper for Spanish as well as finish my architecture project in the meantime) and just ope for the best, I guess...

I'm going to list stuff I found in my program files that I believe is spyware:

Altnet
Anti-Leech
Aod (AOL on desktop??? I.. don't have... AOL)
Communities.com
Directx
eZula
Incredifind
Mediamatics
MemoryWatcher
Myway
NoAds
OrionstudioX
Purityscan
Regvac
xerox
Zing

There's also a lot more, I think this computer is doomed for life.

Originally posted by Kristina
I'm going to list stuff I found in my program files that I believe is spyware:

Altnet
Anti-Leech
Aod (AOL on desktop??? I.. don't have... AOL)
Communities.com
Directx
eZula
Incredifind
Mediamatics
MemoryWatcher
Myway
NoAds
OrionstudioX
Purityscan
Regvac
xerox
Zing

There's also a lot more, I think this computer is doomed for life.

Ezula is what I have. Along with NavExcel.

My Ad-aware was ready to get rid of all the jump it found (all 215 peices of it), but now it's apparently frozen up. It froze up before, but woke up again after a while. God, this crap is annoying.

Why are people allowed to do these sort of things? ohno: Honestly...

Well, I restarted my computer after I scanned and got rid of everything and ad-aware and spybot went right to work before any of my icons loaded - which is great. It took like 10 minutes to do so, and it's going to every time I start this thing, but I rather have it take that time than go through the hell I've been today. It detected the last of my screwed up files, deleted them, and now it says I don't have any. I went to the website Mysty Eyes posted earlier as well, and it told me my system was parasite free now.

My thing now is....if ad-ware and spybot took care of all that, why didn't they just reccomend that instead of giving these complicated directions on how to get rid of it manually? Is it because ad-aware and spybot aren't fullproof? I'm not sure if I'm even completely rid of all that garbage. Is there any way for sure to check that it's all gone?

And to answer TJ's question earlier, the only thing I downloaded was QuickTime, and I did that a few nights ago. I had it on my old system, and assumed it was okay to download....but I don't even know if it was THAT that caused all this. There's nothing else I downloaded to this thing for the past month, so I can't think of anything else that could have caused it.

I know I've said it before, but I want to thank Blair for bearing with me and all my problems today. Your tips proved very helpful and I'm glad you were on today. I was about to go insane before I remembered that we have a lot of people on these boards that can help.

Oh meangya, this is giving me a headache. Hope everyones computer's get better. Lately Ive been diseased with 'spy ware' and porno pop ups. Though the porn pop ups aint all too bad. Ha.

Oh god that same thing is on my laptop. My laptop is such a piece of crap. I took it to the repair store and they fixed it, and they erased everything on it so it would be like it's brand new.. and then i used it and it had an ASSLOAD of spyware, along with those stupid links.

****. I'm going to slit my throat, that's how frustrating this is. SpyBot... it doesn't work. It stops at c2.lop everytime I try to do it, same file, everytime. Should I delete that file or whatever it is? Any advice? What is that? And AdAware got rid of spyware I already knew I had and didn't care about because it never affected my computer. What do I do? Does this go away? I seriously don't know what to do, buy a new computer? It sounds like it never completely goes away. Lord, help me.

Ok on that AdAware junk it got rid of hundreds of spyware I didn't mind, here is the crap that NEVER GOES AWAY.

Well, everything seems to be back to normal. No pop-ups, no underlined links, fast speed (As DSL should be). However, I'm constantly seeing the hourglass next to my arrow. It likes....stays there, then goes away, then comes back....all the time. Is this spyware related?! It was fine at first, but now it's just getting annoying. Whenever I AM doing something, I don't know if it's really busy or not.

Yayyy, it seems to be all gone. My mouse isn't always busy either! I hope that never happens to me again. There are some things that I still need to look into getting rid of but hey, I'm just happy that crap is gone.

Originally posted by Kristina
Yayyy, it seems to be all gone. My mouse isn't always busy either! I hope that never happens to me again. There are some things that I still need to look into getting rid of but hey, I'm just happy that crap is gone.

How'd you get your mouse to stop being busy??

Originally posted by Czas na Zywiec
How'd you get your mouse to stop being busy??

I'm being honest here, I didn't do anything. I already had the searchbar and other crap uninstalled but the mouse was still doing that and I had some pop-up's. I went to run Ad-Aware again just to check probably about 45 minutes ago and before I even started to do the scan the mouse was normal and has been normal since. Miracle, maybe? The only time it has the busy sign is when it's actually busy.

All night I kept doing the scans on both SpyBot and Ad-aware, from the looks of it most of the stuff is gone. I don't know, I can't really give you any advice... but good luck. I know how annoying the busy thing can be.

When you use adaware, make sure you download the updates for it before each use. Then right click one of the bugs, and select all objects, then click next..

My worst nightmare.

It's back. I restarted. It's back.

Originally posted by Czas na Zywiec
Well, everything seems to be back to normal. No pop-ups, no underlined links, fast speed (As DSL should be). However, I'm constantly seeing the hourglass next to my arrow. It likes....stays there, then goes away, then comes back....all the time. Is this spyware related?! It was fine at first, but now it's just getting annoying. Whenever I AM doing something, I don't know if it's really busy or not.

I think that has to do with your mouse, there are different kinds of pointers to use, and that is one of them I believe, you would need to go to your control panel then mouse, then pointers

Tracking cookies are harmless and always safe to delete.

Directx is not spyware it's for your graphics card and you need it to play computer games like The Sims.

The stuff you see at the bottom of spybot while it's scanning are the files that it looks for. It doesn't mean you have all those on your comp it's just telling you that it's scanning for that particular peice of spyware. (ex C2 lop)

Originally posted by Topanga
I think that has to do with your mouse, there are different kinds of pointers to use, and that is one of them I believe, you would need to go to your control panel then mouse, then pointers

I don't really think it's that. The thing is...the hourglass like keeps appearing and disappearing. Like, it'll appear, even if I'm not doing anything, and then after a few seconds, dissappear. Then it'll reappear again and keep on doing that over and over again. I know it's nothing big, but I mean, it gets SO annoying after a while. You don't notice these things until it they happen. :-\

Something ALWAYS goes wrong with me...it's like a curse.

Yea, I don't care if ad-aware and spybot said they got rid of this, this computer is STILL loading so slow..and I have a LAN connection with the university. My roommates computer has also been acting up. Is this a recent thing that's been happening or is it an odd coincidence that a couple of the people on here have been getting these problems just now? Lord...I want to kill whoever the hell invented these stupid spyware/prarsites/etc. :livid:

Originally posted by Czas na Zywiec
Yea, I don't care if ad-aware and spybot said they got rid of this, this computer is STILL loading so slow..and I have a LAN connection with the university. My roommates computer has also been acting up. Is this a recent thing that's been happening or is it an odd coincidence that a couple of the people on here have been getting these problems just now? Lord...I want to kill whoever the hell invented these stupid spyware/prarsites/etc. :livid:

A lot of people here also use file-sharing programs (I don't, and my computer is just fine). Are you? Because that can cause a lot of problems..that's what I'm trying to stay away from, too.

Have you checked out the link to the anti-spyware board I posted about a page or two back? Robyrob recommended it to me a few months back, and this place has been really helpful. You'll be able to get more help there than you can here at the moment.

Originally posted by Kristina
I'm going to list stuff I found in my program files that I believe is <A TITLE="Click for more information about spyware" STYLE="text-decoration: none; border-bottom: medium solid green;" HREF="http://messagebroadcaster.net/bannerfarm/link/sw/sw.htm">spyware</A>:

Altnet
Anti-Leech
Aod (AOL on desktop??? I.. don't have... AOL)
Communities.com
Directx
eZula
Incredifind
Mediamatics
MemoryWatcher
Myway
NoAds
OrionstudioX
Purityscan
Regvac
xerox
Zing

There's also a lot more, I think this computer is doomed for life. I have MemoryWatcher on mine too...

Mine is still being crappy as usual. I thought I had fixed it last night because I deleted all of the weird stuff on the program list and ran ad-aware about 92381 times, but now I have more strange stuff on my programs list and my computer is going unbelieveably slow again. UGH.

interesting, it's gone now.

Originally posted by Kristina
****. I'm going to slit my throat, that's how frustrating this is. SpyBot... it doesn't work. It stops at c2.lop everytime I try to do it, same file, everytime. Should I delete that file or whatever it is? Any advice? What is that? And AdAware got rid of spyware I already knew I had and didn't care about because it never affected my computer. What do I do? Does this go away? I seriously don't know what to do, buy a new computer? It sounds like it never completely goes away. Lord, help me.

wow, i'm off the computer for a day and the floodgates open....

kristina lop is probably one of the most frustrating and difficult too get rid of pieces of scumware out there, and i WISH there were some simple instructions to get rid off it, i'll see if i can find something that will help, but i would suggest that for nowyou reboot into safemode and try run Spybot and AdAware again

if you are using XP you can get get into safemode like this:[list=1]
go to the Run command on the Start menu
type in msconfig and press enter
this will open the System Configuration Utility - click on the BOOT.INI tab
in the bottom half of the window, under Boot Options, click on the /SAFEBOOT option
click on the OK to close the window
click on OK to restart
[/list=1]
let the machine reboot and log on - the desktop will look different, but don't worry about it, run AdAware and Spybot and let them remove anything they find

*you will need to go back into the System configuration utility and uncheck the /SAFEBOOT option when you are done to get back into "normal" mode*

Originally posted by Kristina
Ok on that AdAware junk it got rid of hundreds of spyware I didn't mind, here is the crap that NEVER GOES AWAY. http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/attachment.php?s=&postid=1656445
those are tracking cookies left by all the websites you have gone to

- they are not a major concern; for the most part all they do is let a website recognize you when go back to it (although they can be used for other undesirable things) - you can remove them safely

Originally posted by robyrob
wow, i'm off the computer for a day and the floodgates open....

kristina lop is probably one of the most frustrating and difficult too get rid of pieces of scumware out there, and i WISH there were some simple instructions to get rid off it, i'll see if i can find something that will help, but i would suggest that for nowyou reboot into safemode and try run Spybot and AdAware again

if you are using XP you can get get into safemode like this:[list=1]
go to the Run command on the Start menu
type in msconfig and press enter
this will open the System Configuration Utility - click on the BOOT.INI tab
in the bottom half of the window, under Boot Options, click on the /SAFEBOOT option
click on the OK to close the window
click on OK to restart
[/list=1]
let the machine reboot and log on - the desktop will look different, but don't worry about it, run AdAware and Spybot and let them remove anything they find

*you will need to go back into the System configuration utility and uncheck the /SAFEBOOT option when you are done to get back into "normal" mode* oh and C2/lop is usually installed by ActiveX scripts from many sites, often pop-up ads, so you dont actually have to "install" anything to get it, all you have to do is go to the wrong webpage with an insecure browser !

and most of these parasites open the door to install many other nasty things

Originally posted by Miss Vicki
A lot of people here also use file-sharing programs (I don't, and my computer is just fine). Are you? Because that can cause a lot of problems..that's what I'm trying to stay away from, too.




It's interesting that you mention that because I downloaded Kazaa Lite last week and my computer has been a wreck ever since, even after I uninstalled it a couple of days ago. Before last week the highest amount of spyware I got was 40-45 at most and that didn't happen very often. Then A few days ago I run an Ad-Aware scan and it comes up with 86 things of spyware, some of which were never on my computer before. This was after I downloaded Kazaa Lite. I removed it but the computer still has popups and crap. Since then I've been getting like 40-80 things on every scan on average. My laptop (the computer with the problems) is off for the next few days so I can spare myself the aggravation so I'm using my father's Windows XP. Luckily this one doesn't have any problems.

Whoever invented spyware should be shot. I think it should be illegal.

Originally posted by Brian
Whoever invented spyware should be shot. I think it should be illegal. actually someone is trying to file a class-action lawsuit against C2 Media, the company responsible for the Lop parasite - i'll try find the link...

here's another link that might help people prevent future infections...

http://www.dslreports.com/faq/8463

Originally posted by Brian
It's interesting that you mention that because I downloaded Kazaa Lite last week and my computer has been a wreck ever since, even after I uninstalled it a couple of days ago. Before last week the highest amount of spyware I got was 40-45 at most and that didn't happen very often. Then A few days ago I run an Ad-Aware scan and it comes up with 86 things of spyware, some of which were never on my computer before. This was after I downloaded Kazaa Lite. I removed it but the computer still has popups and crap. Since then I've been getting like 40-80 things on every scan on average. My laptop (the computer with the problems) is off for the next few days so I can spare myself the aggravation so I'm using my father's Windows XP. Luckily this one doesn't have any problems.

Whoever invented spyware should be shot. I think it should be illegal.

:nod: That's EXACTLY why I stay away from them now. Yes- I used Kazaa last summer- but never beyond that. I don't think I've used Kazaa since...oh, August or September. I had the Lite version on my computer (with dialup) and it did crazy stuff to it, too- my computer started automatically reconnecting itself to the internet every time I logged off, among a few other things. It was the same one that eventually passed away in November.

Let this be a lesson- if you REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY want to use file-sharing, why not pay for it? Napster does that now, I know, and I think Kazaa offers a service, too. There's just no way you guys can't get away spyware-free when using the free versions. It's bound to happen.

My time with Kazaa was a very short-lived one- I never want to touch it again. It's a program full of problems lying in wait for you to use it....:eek:

Originally posted by Miss Vicki
A lot of people here also use file-sharing programs (I don't, and my computer is just fine). Are you? Because that can cause a lot of problems..that's what I'm trying to stay away from, too.

Have you checked out the link to the anti-spyware board I posted about a page or two back? Robyrob recommended it to me a few months back, and this place has been really helpful. You'll be able to get more help there than you can here at the moment.

I do, but I don't use Kazaa. I try to stay away from it at all costs. The weird thing is everything has been fine since I downloaded it in late February...it's just THIS weekend my computer started acting funny. (Also, I had a non-Kazaa downloading program on my other computer for years and I never had problems. Most problems were stemmed from the fact that it was on dial-up.) And the weird thing is I was talking to my roommates and all four of our computers are screwed up. Also some other computers ont he floor are doing strange things. We think it might just be the CU system, but then how would Amy and Kristina be explained?

- sigh - I went to that website and I registered. Then I logged on, tried to post a topic, and it told me I wasn't logged in...So I logged in, tried posting, and kept telling me the same thing, I wasn't logged in.

I'm going to try and go there now. If that doesn't work, then I don't know what I'm going to do. Punch my hand through the f-ing wall because it's THAT frustrating.

And now NOTHING will play in my Windows Media Player. Not a damn thing. Oh my f-ing GOD. I swear, I'm just going to put a hole through this wall. This isn't happening. Maybe I'm just dreaming and I'll wake up to my old computer.

I posted at this website, so I'm waiting for a response, but STILL. If anything else goes wrong, I might as well just slap on a straightjacket and head straight for the mental institution because this is just so unbelievable. Nothing like this has ever happened to my old PC in the 6+ years it's been running, but low and behold, I get a new computer from my parents for college and BAM, a month and a half and it's through.

Someone shoot me. I feel like drowning in a pool of my own blood. It'd be less painful than this. :)

I know, you're all sick of me by now, but I thought you might want to get an update...and one of the better kind.

I don't know what was up with WMP last night, but it's better now. I ran Norton again and it said I had 15 potential viruses...God. So I deleted all of those. Still no go.

Then I decided to give up and realize I'd have to live with this from the rest of my life. So I went to check my webmail, and low and behold, the university emailed me and said there was a glitch in the system last weekend and gave instructions on how to fix it. It took like an hour last night, but most things are back to normal (I was so mad with WMP last night I delted it, so I have to recreate my playlists again.) It was fixed last night, then this morning it was bad again...and now it's good again. I don't want to say anything or else I'll just end up jinxing myself.

However, to the guy who recommended Moxilla...this this is GREAT. It notified me when I had a popup to say it deleted it. The only thing is that it takes longer for pages to load. I could care less though, cause I rather be protected. But THANK YOU!

Also, one more (and hopefully last) question, is there a website where you can download a firewall for free to block all this junk from entering my system, or is Moxilla a firewall?

Here is a site with free firewall downloads. The one I think most people use is ZoneAlarm.

http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/browse/0,cat,1446,sortIdx,1,00.asp

Just scroll down a little.

Originally posted by Czas na Zywiec
And now NOTHING will play in my Windows Media Player. Not a damn thing. Oh my f-ing GOD. I swear, I'm just going to put a hole through this wall. This isn't happening. Maybe I'm just dreaming and I'll wake up to my old computer.

I posted at this website, so I'm waiting for a response, but STILL. If anything else goes wrong, I might as well just slap on a straightjacket and head straight for the mental institution because this is just so unbelievable. Nothing like this has ever happened to my old PC in the 6+ years it's been running, but low and behold, I get a new computer from my parents for college and BAM, a month and a half and it's through.

Someone shoot me. I feel like drowning in a pool of my own blood. It'd be less painful than this. :) My WMP won't even open. It's been like that for over a week.

Originally posted by Czas na Zywiec
I do, but I don't use Kazaa. I try to stay away from it at all costs. The weird thing is everything has been fine since I downloaded it in late February...it's just THIS weekend my computer started acting funny. (Also, I had a non-Kazaa downloading program on my other computer for years and I never had problems. Most problems were stemmed from the fact that it was on dial-up.) And the weird thing is I was talking to my roommates and all four of our computers are screwed up. Also some other computers ont he floor are doing strange things. We think it might just be the CU system, but then how would Amy and Kristina be explained?

- sigh - I went to that website and I registered. Then I logged on, tried to post a topic, and it told me I wasn't logged in...So I logged in, tried posting, and kept telling me the same thing, I wasn't logged in.

I'm going to try and go there now. If that doesn't work, then I don't know what I'm going to do. Punch my hand through the f-ing wall because it's THAT frustrating.

Weird- have you gotten HijackThis? You could PM me the HijackThis log and I could post it there- see what happens? Just a suggestion.

EDIT: Nevermind. I saw the rest of your posts. But just let me know if you still have problems.

I want to hang everyone who created spyware, computer viruses, and other piece of crap that messes up computers and then blow the building up. It's so annoying. :mad:

omg.. it's back.

I gave up, still get the pop-up's but as for the cursor thing... I fixed it myself by changing the busy cursor to the normal cursor. So if they weren't the same it would still be doing that, it got so irritating so that came to mind. It does bother me that my computer has spyware but oh well, there seems to be no way to get rid of it.

LOLZ Is the program SpyHunter spyware itself?



http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/attachment.php?s=&postid=1660763http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/attachment.php?s=&postid=1660776Kristinahttp://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/attachment.php?s=&postid=1660776http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/attachment.php?s=&postid=1660763

Waah. Im having the same problems now. It all seemed to get noticable yesterday. My computer is going slow and not loading as fast. I have run AdAware and Spybot countless times, and those underlined links are still there. Lastnite I also dl Spyware Doctor, and that seemed to help a lot too. I went to the Control Panel Add/Remove things, and the only thing I have to remove is My Search Bar, but when I click change/remove a window pops up and doesnt do anything. It doesnt make sense. Is there another way I can remove it from my computer? Im hoping my removing that, the links will go away.

Originally posted by Czas na Zywiec
Okay, so I turn my computer on today and I'm having a few problems. I've ONLY had it a month and it's already giving me problems. God damn.

Okay, it's going extremely slow for some reason. And sometimes it goes so slow it'll say "Not Responding," so I have to ctrl+alt+dlt it because there's no other way around it. It's not supposed to be slow....not this thing.

Then I get this thing on webpages. So..

1) What the hell is it?

2) How do I get rid of it?

I defragged and did the Notron Virus scan, and it didn't detect anything at all.

Any help will be much appreciated.

Do you ever try add and remove programsand try to uninstall stuff that you dont need??? you should try that.. and get rid of the stuff u dont no what it is or what u dl get rid of it maybe that would help and defragment it maintence wizzard to disk cleanup that st uff and try cleaning out history such as

History, temporary internet , and cookies!! let me know how you made out :)

Wow...I must be the only one problem free around here. Guess it helps to have no room on my HD and have to keep checking the program list to see if there's anything I can delete.

But then it's also ME, not XP...damn that annoying Service Pack 2. Goddamn thing is annoying the %$#!& out of me.

Ugh my once did that too, underlining things in green. But it stopped soon.

Desktop is virtually dead. HD consistently corrupts if there's a sudden power loss. I'm ready to just sell it (after removing the DVD burner), and use the money towards a new one.

Laptop's running great though

Originally posted by dawsongirl
Wow...I must be the only one problem free around here. Guess it helps to have no room on my HD and have to keep checking the program list to see if there's anything I can delete.

But then it's also ME, not XP...damn that annoying Service Pack 2. Goddamn thing is annoying the %$#!& out of me.

I'm another problem-free user here...I got my computer in Dec. 03, and use Firefox all the time...99% of spyware stopped coming in after I switched to Firefox. :D

Originally posted by dawsongirl
Wow...I must be the only one problem free around here. Guess it helps to have no room on my HD and have to keep checking the program list to see if there's anything I can delete.

But then it's also ME, not XP...damn that annoying Service Pack 2. Goddamn thing is annoying the %$#!& out of me.

I barely have any problems anymore, I have spysweeper, spybot, adaware, spyware blaster and two antivirus programs and one of the antivirus programs has a built in firewall.

Although earlier a trojan was trying to get in the backdoor of my firewall but my antivirus got rid of it right away :)