Alright Stone, you win!
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I spent the last 2 1/2 hours cleaning my machine of spyware/trojans and what not! I am still unsure if my machine is clean or not. I have Ad aware, Microsoft anti spyware etc all running now. I also have 3-4 other registry/trojan cleaners. And I was constantly staring at process explorer for most part of the last 2 hours. I can tell you one thing though - these spyware writers do it well. I had a service installed, that hid itself, and kept adding BHOs of various names to my IE. It seemed to have 3-4 ways to keep alive. Painful, very painful. I am on Firefox now and my browser is reliable. But I am not sure of my machine. I dont really know what happened or how it happened. All of a sudden my wallpaper changed to a bitmap with text saying my machine has spyware. Then a spyware app automatically ran (it must have downloaded automatically too) - detected some spyware and said it can clean my machine if I purchase it :wtf: That was the beginning - I seemed to have ended up with a dozen different spyware. I have no clue which site is responsible. I had several windows open, where all those windows originated from google's India specific news site. I may have clicked on a site from a google news listed site. Or maybe gone even one more level - don't remember. All I know is that IE is absolutely and totally unsafe. Using IE to browse the web is like asking a beautiful woman to walk in scantily clad clothing through a street full of criminals and perverts! I've learned my lesson - and I learned it the painful way. I am so tired, I think I'll just go to bed now!
It happened to me sometime back and I was too close to formatting my machine to get rid of the stuff, it's so painful. When I first spotted the spyware I thought I can get rid of it easily but it turned out be a nightmare. One tip I have is set your security in the internet zone to high (beware you cant download if you have it high), this saves you atleast some heart burn until you are convinced your machine is clean.
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I spent the last 2 1/2 hours cleaning my machine of spyware/trojans and what not! I am still unsure if my machine is clean or not. I have Ad aware, Microsoft anti spyware etc all running now. I also have 3-4 other registry/trojan cleaners. And I was constantly staring at process explorer for most part of the last 2 hours. I can tell you one thing though - these spyware writers do it well. I had a service installed, that hid itself, and kept adding BHOs of various names to my IE. It seemed to have 3-4 ways to keep alive. Painful, very painful. I am on Firefox now and my browser is reliable. But I am not sure of my machine. I dont really know what happened or how it happened. All of a sudden my wallpaper changed to a bitmap with text saying my machine has spyware. Then a spyware app automatically ran (it must have downloaded automatically too) - detected some spyware and said it can clean my machine if I purchase it :wtf: That was the beginning - I seemed to have ended up with a dozen different spyware. I have no clue which site is responsible. I had several windows open, where all those windows originated from google's India specific news site. I may have clicked on a site from a google news listed site. Or maybe gone even one more level - don't remember. All I know is that IE is absolutely and totally unsafe. Using IE to browse the web is like asking a beautiful woman to walk in scantily clad clothing through a street full of criminals and perverts! I've learned my lesson - and I learned it the painful way. I am so tired, I think I'll just go to bed now!
Is your user account a member of the Administrators group? -- Andrew.
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I spent the last 2 1/2 hours cleaning my machine of spyware/trojans and what not! I am still unsure if my machine is clean or not. I have Ad aware, Microsoft anti spyware etc all running now. I also have 3-4 other registry/trojan cleaners. And I was constantly staring at process explorer for most part of the last 2 hours. I can tell you one thing though - these spyware writers do it well. I had a service installed, that hid itself, and kept adding BHOs of various names to my IE. It seemed to have 3-4 ways to keep alive. Painful, very painful. I am on Firefox now and my browser is reliable. But I am not sure of my machine. I dont really know what happened or how it happened. All of a sudden my wallpaper changed to a bitmap with text saying my machine has spyware. Then a spyware app automatically ran (it must have downloaded automatically too) - detected some spyware and said it can clean my machine if I purchase it :wtf: That was the beginning - I seemed to have ended up with a dozen different spyware. I have no clue which site is responsible. I had several windows open, where all those windows originated from google's India specific news site. I may have clicked on a site from a google news listed site. Or maybe gone even one more level - don't remember. All I know is that IE is absolutely and totally unsafe. Using IE to browse the web is like asking a beautiful woman to walk in scantily clad clothing through a street full of criminals and perverts! I've learned my lesson - and I learned it the painful way. I am so tired, I think I'll just go to bed now!
Nishant Sivakumar wrote:
All I know is that IE is absolutely and totally unsafe. Using IE to browse the web is like asking a beautiful woman to walk in scantily clad clothing through a street full of criminals and perverts! I've learned my lesson - and I learned it the painful way.
I don't even want to know the streets of the internet you have been walking down. :~ :)
ZeePain! wrote:
This seems like one of those programs that started small, grew incrementally, building internal pressure, and finally barfed all over its source code sneakers. Or something.
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Nishant Sivakumar wrote:
I dont really know what happened or how it happened. All of a sudden my wallpaper changed to a bitmap with text saying my machine has spyware. Then a spyware app automatically ran (it must have downloaded automatically too) - detected some spyware and said it can clean my machine if I purchase it :wtf:That was the beginning - I seemed to have ended up with a dozen different spyware. I have no clue which site is responsible. I had several windows open
So, Nish... *Vikram munches on a carrot* been watching too much pr0n? ;P Cheers, Vikram.
"When I read in books about a "base class", I figured this was the class that was at the bottom of the inheritence tree. It's the "base", right? Like the base of a pyramid." - Marc Clifton.
Vikram A Punathambekar wrote:
So, Nish... *Vikram munches on a carrot* been watching too much pr0n?
No, I have a dedicated machine for pr0n ;P
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I spent the last 2 1/2 hours cleaning my machine of spyware/trojans and what not! I am still unsure if my machine is clean or not. I have Ad aware, Microsoft anti spyware etc all running now. I also have 3-4 other registry/trojan cleaners. And I was constantly staring at process explorer for most part of the last 2 hours. I can tell you one thing though - these spyware writers do it well. I had a service installed, that hid itself, and kept adding BHOs of various names to my IE. It seemed to have 3-4 ways to keep alive. Painful, very painful. I am on Firefox now and my browser is reliable. But I am not sure of my machine. I dont really know what happened or how it happened. All of a sudden my wallpaper changed to a bitmap with text saying my machine has spyware. Then a spyware app automatically ran (it must have downloaded automatically too) - detected some spyware and said it can clean my machine if I purchase it :wtf: That was the beginning - I seemed to have ended up with a dozen different spyware. I have no clue which site is responsible. I had several windows open, where all those windows originated from google's India specific news site. I may have clicked on a site from a google news listed site. Or maybe gone even one more level - don't remember. All I know is that IE is absolutely and totally unsafe. Using IE to browse the web is like asking a beautiful woman to walk in scantily clad clothing through a street full of criminals and perverts! I've learned my lesson - and I learned it the painful way. I am so tired, I think I'll just go to bed now!
Nish, it sounds to me like Spyware Sherrif (or something like that). An accomplice was mentioning that he got it last night and only managed to remove it using a program starting with xoft or something like that. He was taling over the phone so I have no real idea on the spelling. Michael Martin Australia "I controlled my laughter and simple said "No,I am very busy,so I can't write any code for you". The moment they heard this all the smiling face turned into a sad looking face and one of them farted. So i had to leave the place as soon as possible." - Mr.Prakash 24/04/2004
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Have you installed all the latest patches, both for IE and for Windows itself? I run IE on XP SP2, no anti-virus, but with automatic updates turned on, and have not yet had a virus or spyware infection. Maybe I'm just going to the wrong sites ;) cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
Chris Maunder wrote:
Have you installed all the latest patches, both for IE and for Windows itself?
Nope, I hadn't :-( I did a Windows Update and found a few critical security patches (one for IE) to install. I am not sure if those were the security holes that got exploited.
Chris Maunder wrote:
Maybe I'm just going to the wrong sites
One single malicious banner ad on single one site (needn't be malicious) will do, Chris.
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It happened to me sometime back and I was too close to formatting my machine to get rid of the stuff, it's so painful. When I first spotted the spyware I thought I can get rid of it easily but it turned out be a nightmare. One tip I have is set your security in the internet zone to high (beware you cant download if you have it high), this saves you atleast some heart burn until you are convinced your machine is clean.
Kannan Kalyanaraman wrote:
but it turned out be a nightmare.
Exactly what happened. They just get into the system - services, registry, startup, BHOs...
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Is your user account a member of the Administrators group? -- Andrew.
Andrew Peace wrote:
Is your user account a member of the Administrators group?
Yes :sigh:
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Nish, it sounds to me like Spyware Sherrif (or something like that). An accomplice was mentioning that he got it last night and only managed to remove it using a program starting with xoft or something like that. He was taling over the phone so I have no real idea on the spelling. Michael Martin Australia "I controlled my laughter and simple said "No,I am very busy,so I can't write any code for you". The moment they heard this all the smiling face turned into a sad looking face and one of them farted. So i had to leave the place as soon as possible." - Mr.Prakash 24/04/2004
Michael Martin wrote:
it sounds to me like Spyware Sherrif
Holy cow, that was it - the spyware that auto-downloaded and ran, pretending to be an anti-spy tool.
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Nishant Sivakumar wrote:
All I know is that IE is absolutely and totally unsafe.
Nishant, every other browser could be equally vulnerable and could be so bad as IE. But the fact is that IE is overlooked at since it is a MS Product and most widely used, while other browsers are left as it is. There is a huge population who are shifting toward Firefox and the results are that these hackers have started working towards puncturing Firefox also! (Mozilla is giving patches too). Regards, Rajesh R. Subramanian You have an apple and me too. We exchange those and We have an apple each. You have an idea and me too. We exchange those and We have two ideas each.
Rajesh R. Subramanian wrote:
Nishant, every other browser could be equally vulnerable and could be so bad as IE. But the fact is that IE is overlooked at since it is a MS Product and most widely used, while other browsers are left as it is. There is a huge population who are shifting toward Firefox and the results are that these hackers have started working towards puncturing Firefox also! (Mozilla is giving patches too).
Yeah, perhaps true. But I'd prefer to use the safer browser for now - whatever the reasons might be.
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Chris Maunder wrote:
Have you installed all the latest patches, both for IE and for Windows itself?
Nope, I hadn't :-( I did a Windows Update and found a few critical security patches (one for IE) to install. I am not sure if those were the security holes that got exploited.
Chris Maunder wrote:
Maybe I'm just going to the wrong sites
One single malicious banner ad on single one site (needn't be malicious) will do, Chris.
Nishant Sivakumar wrote:
Nope, I hadn't
Nish, Nish, Nish... cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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Quartz... wrote:
1. Microsoft Anti Spyware 2. Ad Aware 3. and System Mechanic
Don't forget regular trips to Windows Update. It also helps to disable Java, JavaScript, and ActiveX. Just in case you click the wrong link by accident. Running in a VMWare session helps too...
---- Scripts i've known... CPhog 0.9.9 - make CP better. Forum Bookmark 0.2.1 - bookmark forum posts on Pensieve Print forum 0.1.1 - printer-friendly forums
Shog9 wrote:
Running in a VMWare session helps too...
This is a great idea. I keep a VMware session with nothing but the base OS and AV installed just for browsing to sites that I am not sure of or that may have (ahem) questionable moral character :) If anything gets infected I just restore the session file form a backup and I am back in business.
George Carlin wrote: "Don't sweat the petty things, and don't pet the sweaty things." Jörgen Sigvardsson wrote: If the physicists find a universal theory describing the laws of universe, I'm sure the asshole constant will be an integral part of that theory.
My Blog[^]
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Jörgen Sigvardsson wrote:
Quartz... wrote: 1. Microsoft Anti Spyware 2. Ad Aware 3. and System Mechanic I need none of that.
I need none of that either and I have been browsing for YEARS with IE. You just have to set the security zone high and anything that wants to be installed or run has to get permission from me first. Never had a problem, never had a virus nor spyware.
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Nishant Sivakumar wrote:
I dont really know what happened or how it happened. All of a sudden my wallpaper changed to a bitmap with text saying my machine has spyware. Then a spyware app automatically ran (it must have downloaded automatically too) - detected some spyware and said it can clean my machine if I purchase it :wtf:That was the beginning - I seemed to have ended up with a dozen different spyware. I have no clue which site is responsible. I had several windows open
So, Nish... *Vikram munches on a carrot* been watching too much pr0n? ;P Cheers, Vikram.
"When I read in books about a "base class", I figured this was the class that was at the bottom of the inheritence tree. It's the "base", right? Like the base of a pyramid." - Marc Clifton.
Vikram A Punathambekar wrote:
munches on a carrot
what are you related to Bugs Bunny?
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I spent the last 2 1/2 hours cleaning my machine of spyware/trojans and what not! I am still unsure if my machine is clean or not. I have Ad aware, Microsoft anti spyware etc all running now. I also have 3-4 other registry/trojan cleaners. And I was constantly staring at process explorer for most part of the last 2 hours. I can tell you one thing though - these spyware writers do it well. I had a service installed, that hid itself, and kept adding BHOs of various names to my IE. It seemed to have 3-4 ways to keep alive. Painful, very painful. I am on Firefox now and my browser is reliable. But I am not sure of my machine. I dont really know what happened or how it happened. All of a sudden my wallpaper changed to a bitmap with text saying my machine has spyware. Then a spyware app automatically ran (it must have downloaded automatically too) - detected some spyware and said it can clean my machine if I purchase it :wtf: That was the beginning - I seemed to have ended up with a dozen different spyware. I have no clue which site is responsible. I had several windows open, where all those windows originated from google's India specific news site. I may have clicked on a site from a google news listed site. Or maybe gone even one more level - don't remember. All I know is that IE is absolutely and totally unsafe. Using IE to browse the web is like asking a beautiful woman to walk in scantily clad clothing through a street full of criminals and perverts! I've learned my lesson - and I learned it the painful way. I am so tired, I think I'll just go to bed now!
I have been browsing for YEARS with IE. You just have to set the security zone high and anything that wants to be installed or run has to get permission from me first. Never had a problem, never had a virus nor spyware.
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Chris Maunder wrote:
no anti-virus
:wtf::omg::wtf: :omg::wtf::omg: :wtf::omg::wtf:
Chris Maunder wrote:
Maybe I'm just going to the wrong sites
Aah, that might just be it. ;) Cheers, Vikram.
"When I read in books about a "base class", I figured this was the class that was at the bottom of the inheritence tree. It's the "base", right? Like the base of a pyramid." - Marc Clifton.
Vikram A Punathambekar wrote:
no anti-virus :wtf::omg::wtf: :omg::wtf::omg: :wtf::omg::wtf:
I don't have an antivirus app either. It's been so long since I've gotten a computer virus that I view it as a waste of memory to keep the auto-protect feature running, and although I have the AVG installer on disk, I've never had reason to install it. But then, I also only get about 1 spam email per week...