I've only had my new computer for about two weeks, and I already have 88 spywear programs. When I told my computer to delete the ones detected after the scan, it took me to a register window and asked for my name, contact info, and my CREDIT CARD! 1) I don't have a credit card, and my debit account has been cancled until I pay the bank seven hundred dollars (I got this computer as a birthday gift from my brother), so I can't do this, and 2) Why should I have to pay to clean out my computer?
Download [google]MS Antispyware[/google]. Its free and won't ask you for anything. Always stick to the free utilities . Do a scan with that and it should remove them all and protect real time.
Several apps will do the same thing for you, personally I recommend either MS Antispyware as Addis suggested or Spybot - Search & Destroy. Both free and easy to use.
A little note - At least for the first time. Run the antispyware program in Window's safe mode. Coma back if you are not sure....
oh, and know of a friend who has spybot. How do I download it onto my computer? Can you provide me with a link?
Here are three free anti-spyware tools I recommend: AdawareSE -- Spyware Removal Spyware Blaster -- Spyware Immunization Spybot S&D -- Spyware Removal & Immunization I advise that you install, update, and run each of these tools and allow them to remove anything they find in the process. Repeat the process weekly or so to keep spyware off your system. Also, if you are using Internet Explorer as your web browser, I advise that you strongly consider switching to a free alternative such as Firefox or Opera (or both, they're free!). Either browser is much more secure, and they actually have some very useful features that IE doesn't. P.S. - It's "spyware" not "Spywear" -- the latter sounds like a clothing line for James Bond.
When you are starting your computer, you normaly get some text scrolling or apearing during start up. Foe example Dell will have theur logo showing etc. At this point press the F8 button. You will get a menu with a few options such as - Safe mode Safe mode with command prompt And a few others.... Choose safe mode and let windows load fully. Some of the spyware cannot be removed during normal windows operation. Working in safe mode insures a better chance of getting rid of such spyware. Good luck.....
Some types of spyware cannot be removed in safe mode either. Rootkits are a good example of this. The only way to remove such aggressive spyware is with a 3rd party OS, like a live Linux distro. Of course, that may be a bit advanced for most people, so in that case the best solution would be a complete reformat and reinstallation of Windows. So unless the situation is that drastic, I recommend at least trying the three programs I've recommended and see how well they fare. Both Spybot S&D and AdawareSE will schedule a removal for the next reboot if the object cannot be removed immediately, so booting into safe mode is completely unnecessary for those programs.
