| The Problem: | The Reason: | The Fix | Related Links: |
| Before you even start: | Because you really really should. | Download the latest patches for your operating system and browser. It's very simple. Any idiot could do it. If you have trouble doing this first because of popup problems, skip to the steps below then come back to this after each. | Microsoft |
| I get popups when surfing the Internet. | Very common on most websites today that use advertising banners. Not much to be concerned about, but annoying. | Install a pop-up blocker (such as one of the free search engine toolbars), or use a browser such as Opera (also free) or Thunderbird (also also free) with pop-up blockers built in. Beware that many so-called popup blocking toolbars actually install spyware on your computer. Google supposedly does this, but you can disable the 'spyware' portion of it. I personally vouch for any toolbar link shown to the right. | Google Toolbar Yahoo Toolbar AltaVista Toolbar fake google sites hijacked hosts file |
| I still get popups even after installing the Google Toolbar or some other "Popup Blocker" | Carefully constructed popups may slip past your popup blocker. This is rare. Some popup blockers will allow popups that you specifically request by selecting a link. If you still get an excessive amount of popups, or popups appear when you do not click a link, "spyware" has installed itself on your computer, quite possibly the popup blocker itself! |
Download and install a reputable spyware detector (NOT ONE YOU FIND ADVERTISED ON A POPUP!) such as Ad-Aware (free) or Spybot - Search & Destroy (also free! [currently redirects to "www.safer-networking.org"]). Make sure you download the installation files from a website you trust, because many advertisers are now hosting fake Spybot sites or directing web searches to their product, and I'm willing the bet they attack Ad-Aware next. | download.com zdnet techtv *NEW! Yahoo Anti-Spy* |
| I get popups when I'm not surfing the Internet. or My homepage is changed without my permission. |
Outlook & Outlook Express use Internet Explorer to display html emails. Is a third party application running that displays ad banners? (KaZaa, eDonkey?) "Spyware" has installed itself on your computer. |
Download and install a reputable spyware detector. See above. | download.com zdnet techtv |
| I can't delete an email because it keeps asking me to install software and won't take no for an answer. | You get a lot of spam. | Turn off the preview pane in Outlook or Outlook Express. You should be able to delete the email after that. | ::instructions:: |
| My CD or DVD drawer opens by itself. | May be limited to Internet Explorer. A script triggered by on online banner ad or website can do this quite easily. Nowadays it's usually accompanied by a pop up ad saying "If your CD tray just opened, you have spyware on your system." | The popup may or may not be telling the truth. Run your spy detection software to be safe. If you do find spyware, the company that is trying to sell you anti-spyware software probably put it there in the first place. | |
| I get a full screen popup that won't allow me to do anything except follow it's instructions. or I get a full screen popup that suddenly disappears if I do anything except follow it's instructions. ::screenshot:: |
These are limited to Internet Explorer. A script triggered by on online banner ad or website is attempting to hijack your browser. Will generally change your homepage, could add spyware. | The latest patches from Microsoft appear to have lessened the damage caused by this. Use Mozilla or Opera as a browser alternative. Report the offending Banner ad to the host site. Usually the host site has been deceived, and has no idea it is running malicious ad banners. They will be more than happy to boot the offending advertiser. | Don't "Passthison" Passthison Hijack |
| Notepad opens by itself, with a message telling me I have spyware on my system. | In an attempt to fix the previous three issues, people began associating the scripts with notepad instead of Internet Explorer. So whenever those people came across a malicious site, harmless little old notepad would open instead of the cd tray opening or full screenpop. | No fix needed. Site is trying to deceive the user into thinking that notepad opening by itself is a bad thing. (Exception: There is a new virus spreading, called "MyDoom" or "Novarg" that will open your Notepad program also. However, the message in notepad will be unreadable code.) | Wicked popups spywiper/spydeleter |
| HTML links appear in online forms I post. or Certain words are always highlighted on all webpages and link to ntsearch.com |
Particularly nasty spyware/virus that notices when you are filling out online forms and adds it's own affiliate links to specific webpages. The version I encountered added a link to ntsearch.com everytime somebody used the words "music", "people", or "time". These are extremely dangerous because some variations may reside on your computer and not post data, simply steal it. They could be used to get credit card numbers and expiration dates, passwords, etc. etc. | Keep your spyware detector/anti-virus software up to date. And run both often. ntsearch seems to be a member of the coolwebsearch family. It may be beneficial to download CWShredder. |
adware.ntsearch Security Task Manager (info link only, program not tested!) |