BEWARE! A spyware from hell I just had!

[William769]

ATDMT.com

This dam little bugger would direct me to a non exsistent page no matter what website I went to. No matter what I did I could not get rid of it!

I ended up calling Microsoft (this is not the thread to be bashing Microsoft) and they took control of my computer to get rid of the spyware.

Has anyone else had this spyware? And if so How did you get rid of it?

[Dogmudgeon]

1. Prepare for 30 posts promoting Linux and MacOs

:popcorn:

--p!

[iconoclastic cat]

7. The issue doesn't sound like a virus, but spyware or a malicious cookie

In that case, Linux won't help in itself. Firefox or Opera, however, would stop that from happening again.

[iconoclastic cat]

2. No, but to be safe, use Firefox with the NoScript plugin. That should do it. nt

[walldude]

5. Agreed, since my switch to Mozilla last year

my spam, viruses and pop-ups are down about 80%.. Firefox rules!

[Subdivisions]

3. Microsoft took control of your computer? Man, that's

scary.

[William769]

6. I always had the option of cancelling the connection.

[iconoclastic cat]

8. Did they say it was specifically a virus? Because that sounds like spyware.

You may want to check out this website, too: www.spywareinfo.com

[William769]

12. Correction, they said spyware.

I'll change the OP

[iconoclastic cat]

18. Then definitely get Firefox, the NoScript plugin, and consider

learning about other operating systems. If not Linux, you could download the new Mac OS (Leopard)for nine bucks (it now works on Intel and AMD chips).

[0007]

4. Yes! This morning strange things are happening to this PC

like every move is being tracked.

[iconoclastic cat]

10. Hence the name, "tracking cookie." nt

[HCE SuiGeneris]

23. There is a new Microsoft .NET update that is being distributed today

This will take some time to install and will utilize a lot of CPU.

[papau]

9. Firefox/no script is great - but a linux partition allows you to still use the computer to clean

up the Windows partition. Ubuntu is extremely easy to install.

[iconoclastic cat]

14. Or, you know, ditch Windows and use Ubuntu all the time! You can run MS programs anyway.

The WINE application lets you run most Windows programs, and if that won't work, you can create a virtual Windows computer that will run everything from within Linux.

[papau]

36. True - wine runs Office 2007 - but transfering Outlook and Quicken is a pain

[iconoclastic cat]

39. Create a virtual machine! It opens in an XP or Vista desktop in a Linux window!

It's unbelievably easy: http://www.easyvmx.com/new-easyvmx.shtml

Then, just install Quicken and Outlook to the virtual machine, and there you have it. And it's free! In addition, you can share files between the virtual machine and your Linux distro with Samba.

[benld74]

11. I HAD ONE ONCE THAT

directed me to the nearest bathroom no matter what I was doing or where I was at the time. But I did get rid of it.

[DJ13]

13. Had that a year back

It required line by line removal in the Registry.

It was no fun.

[fenriswolf]

15. every six months i reformat my c:

It kills all viruses, spyware, keyloggers, etc. I keep all my progs, media, music, etc on an external harddrive and all programs and games in .iso format. this keeps my computer secure, clean, fast performing. someday when I am tired of video games Ill make the switch to linux but right now im waiting on age of conan hehe.

[William769]

17. With a 500 gigabyte hard drve.

Thats not an option for me.

[fenriswolf]

24. thats why my c drive

is my operational drive with only a 100 gigs. enough for operating systems, any games i need installed and of course my selection of media to watch/listen to. I keep most of my stuff on my 500 gig EXTERNAL hard drive hehe.

[iconoclastic cat]

26. External, or internal with an enclosure? nt

[fenriswolf]

29. external firewire. its sitting on top of my pc case right now.

[iconoclastic cat]

32. I've been doing some research, and I found the 250G+enclosure to be cheaper

than the pre-made external drive. Plus, I can change drives and still use the enclosure! And most importantly, the good enclosures have a fan, which is good because heat is what kills a lot of external HDs.

[fenriswolf]

34. this one i got at best buy for 120 bucks. doesnt produce alot of

heat either. but definatly i have some internal Hdd as well to take advantage of their cheapness and also my case fans.

[iconoclastic cat]

20. Why not change to a better OS? Microsoft has jumped the shark.

They're focusing on other things now, not PC operating systems.

[fenriswolf]

28. I'm a gaming type of guy

like i said and as long as the best games are only coming out for xp ( I know alot of diff games are availible or have been made compatible with linux) but for the time being I'm not giving micrsoft any more money, I'm not beholding to them and I can deal with all the viruses and spam that target the windows OS. I'll survive but thanks. Someday i will make the switch but not untill I get my hands on some new games coming out. check out "age of conan" you'll see why i wanna stay on for a little while longer.

[iconoclastic cat]

31. Actually, on the AoC forums, they have it working in Linux:

http://www.ageofconan.com/wsp/conan/frontend.cgi?func=publish.show&template=content&func_id=1339&sort=PRIORITY,RELTIME%20desc&table=CONTENT

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=565026

[Occulus]

37. I have CNC3 running under wine

It's my understanding Oblivion will run as well. I tried Bioshock, but it hated the silly "download these required files" DRM.

Supposedly, Civ4 and GalCiv2 run under wine also, but I tried and it was a no-go. Then again, I'm using Fedora. Maybe that's the problem.

Really, wine is getting better and better. They do need a lot more work on the DirectX support, though.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

16. use any spyware remover

you can download thm for free

pcworld.com

[William769]

19. They did give me a program called "Hijack this".

[Rosa Luxemburg]

21. reliable freebies

http://lavasoft.com/
http://www.safer-networking.org/index2.html

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

22. Hijack This Is Great, And There Are So Many Communities Out There On The Web To Post Your

hijack this logs; that posters then go through and tell you exactly what you need to do.

Personally, I use a combination of Window Washer and Spy Sweeper, along with firefox with the noscript plugin. I haven't had any real untemporary nuisances since.

[Medusa]

25. Hijack This is excellent

I've used it on my own system and that of a friend's who had a very stubborn pop-up type deal. It also hijacked her system and would take her to a "fake" google site when she tried to find a cure for her virus! You know if you think about the worthwhile things these freaks could be designing instead of nasty computer viruses. . . .

[fenriswolf]

30. Be carefull with that

that is definatly a program that if you don't know what an option does for certain then don't do it. It can damage your OS and you'll have to reformat if you don't know what your doing.

[William769]

40. Thanks for that tip.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

27. My Dad had that on his computer several months back

It was a pain in the rear to purge.

Do you run Ad-Aware and Spybot? I'm pretty sure they block this at a hosts file level now.

[Breeze54]

33. Get and install SPYWARE BLASTER and Firefox!

SpywareBlaster 3.5.1

Prevent the installation of spyware and other potentially unwanted software!

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

Spyware, adware, browser hijackers, and dialers are some of the fastest-growing threats

on the Internet today. By simply browsing to a web page, you could find your computer to

be the brand-new host of one of these unwanted fiends!

The most important step you can take is to secure your system.

And SpywareBlaster is the most powerful protection program available.

# Prevent the installation of ActiveX-based spyware, adware, browser hijackers,
dialers, and other potentially unwanted software.

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# Restrict the actions of potentially unwanted sites in Internet Explorer.


SpywareBlaster can help keep your system spyware-free and secure, without interfering

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SpywareBlaster is freeware for personal and educational use.

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Download SpywareBlaster 3.5.1 --> http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/sbdownload.html

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Keep Up-to-Date!

The most important key to maintaining a secure computer is keeping your protection up-to-date.

SpywareBlaster Latest Definitions: 1/10/2008
> Learn more about how to update

Why is it Free?
We're all about helping you protect your privacy and security, because we value ours so much.
We believe strongly that people should have free access to innovative security and privacy solutions.
Through our offering of freeware products, we try to realize that belief.

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:hi:

[orleans]

35. bookmarking -- just in case (future reference) n/t

[dkofos]

38. Sounds like a browser hijack.

[catmandu57]

41. If you get in over your head this is a great place to find help

http://www.castlecops.com You'll have to have hijack this running on your computer so that you can post a log there, but it's a very good security site.

I've been using Firefox, I've got Spyware doctor Comodo Firewall, and boclean, AVG anti virus and I feel pretty safe. I'm not going to say totally safe because then I'll jinx myself, but I feel pretty secure.

[William769]

42. Thanks for the link!

[ReverendDeuce]

43. How does anyone get spyware anymore?

I have not had a spyware infection since I started using Mozilla back in 2002... I use Firefox now and the same is true. I only use IE7 when necessary.

I never get spyware. Ever.