URGENT! how to get rid of spyware?????

[$$$$]

i was just on my comp and all of a sudden it started buggin out. my desktop turned blue and says intsall anti spyware  software now. my virus scan is going insane.
im backing everything up as quickly as i can but i need help badly!!!!!!!

[cotis]

adaware is a spyware program...free too!

i use that and it's been pretty good for me?

[$$$$]

where abouts can i get it? and your sure its clean?

[BlowUpYourVideo]

If it's telling you to install anti-spyware stuff and is giving you a link, I would say don't click it or install anything it tells you to. Maybe kind of obvious I know, but still, it could be tempting.


You don't have Norton antivirus do you? That's normally pretty good.

[$$$$]

phew i think i got er under control. shit i almost had a heart attack

[Bandita]

Adaware is excellent-

http://lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php

I also use AVG Free, also excellent and doesn't take up huge resources like Norton-

http://free.avg.com/

[Chief]

use this to scan and then look up what you have then see how to remove it...

http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner

[Dr. Blutarsky]

Spybot is another one.

[The Chad Cometh]

Look at all you poor PC people using all your computer resources running Nortons, antispyware and what not.
I find it funny that people will not just accept the superiority of Macs.

[Layne Staley's Sunglasses]

Look at all you poor PC people using all your computer resources running Nortons, antispyware and what not.
I find it funny that people will not just accept the superiority of Macs.

You don't get spyware and viruses on your Mac?

[tim_m]

Look at all you poor PC people using all your computer resources running Nortons, antispyware and what not.
I find it funny that people will not just accept the superiority of Macs.

Windows is a bigger target and mac os x has had quite a few flaws that have needed patching nice try though.

[tim_m]

Look at all you poor PC people using all your computer resources running Nortons, antispyware and what not.
I find it funny that people will not just accept the superiority of Macs.

You don't get spyware and viruses on your Mac?

Not as much as windows because less people use it.

[mrlee]

macs are shite to use though. There layouts are just wank. And not enough things are programmed for them, such as games etc.

[tim_m]

Yeah i agree with you about that. Multitasking on a Mac is a real bitch. Its not as bad wish os x but os 9 or older its a freaking nightmare.

[D]

Call 007 James Bond?











go to www.downloads.com

find spyware doctor.

[$$$$]

k everyone shutup about macs!

apparently this virus or whatever is called "trojan" something. I stole norton from my parents house and installed it, that made things a little better but didnt fix everything (i still get a popup window from a phony security company saying i have 200000 viruses and to download their software)

norton no longer detects anything, that kaspersky thing doesnt detect anything anymore and occasionally my computer screen will turn blue saying "a virus has been detected windows is restarting to prevent any further damage"

if anyone has any ideas i would greatly appreciate them and thanks a lot to everyone who has tried to help so far

[C0ma]

get malwarebytes: http://www.malwarebytes.org/

Thats a very good program.

Also use the free online scan at bitdefender.com


The phony pop up AV program sounds very similar to the Vundo trojan.

Do a google search for Vundo Fix... there is a great specialty app for removing it.

The other thing I would do is (if possible) run all of these apps in Safe Mode with Networking. It is alot easier to remove things when there aren't running.

[$$$$]

get malwarebytes: http://www.malwarebytes.org/

Thats a very good program.

Also use the free online scan at bitdefender.com


The phony pop up AV program sounds very similar to the Vundo trojan.

Do a google search for Vundo Fix... there is a great specialty app for removing it.

The other thing I would do is (if possible) run all of these apps in Safe Mode with Networking. It is alot easier to remove things when there aren't running.

will it be affective even if the virus i have isnt Vundo Trojan exactly? I probably should have mentioned when i boot up my computer it does a phony virus scan with a phony prgram called antivirus xp 2008 then tells you theres 20000 viruses to try and scare you. it also changed my desktop wallpaper to a spyware warnig message and wont allow me to change it back. still sound like vundo?

and thatnks a lot

[GypsySoul]

and occasionally my computer screen will turn blue saying "a virus has been detected windows is restarting to prevent any further damage"

Unless you're computer savvy, take your computer to one of those "geek squad" peoples (at like Best Buy or Circuit City) FAST!!!

sounds like you downloaded something that had the virus embedded in it so the damage is done and that "blue screen of death" will happen more and more frequently until your computer won't turn on at all.

that's what happened to me and the tech on the phone just "fixed" it by wiping out EVERYTHING on my computer 

the "geek squad" can usually save your stuff and only remove the virus so IMO it's worth the cost

IMO those anti-virus programs are useless to people like me who are NOT computer savvy because they don't actually stop you from downloading harmful shit.  They only ask you if you're sure you want to continue and usually they phrase it where I have no clue what they're talking about. 

[C0ma]

get malwarebytes: http://www.malwarebytes.org/

Thats a very good program.

Also use the free online scan at bitdefender.com


The phony pop up AV program sounds very similar to the Vundo trojan.

Do a google search for Vundo Fix... there is a great specialty app for removing it.

The other thing I would do is (if possible) run all of these apps in Safe Mode with Networking. It is alot easier to remove things when there aren't running.

will it be affective even if the virus i have isnt Vundo Trojan exactly? I probably should have mentioned when i boot up my computer it does a phony virus scan with a phony prgram called antivirus xp 2008 then tells you theres 20000 viruses to try and scare you. it also changed my desktop wallpaper to a spyware warnig message and wont allow me to change it back. still sound like vundo?

and thatnks a lot

ANTIVIRUS XP 2008
and
VISTA ANTIVIRUS 2008 are the Vundo

[freedom78]

Adaware is free and clean, as mentioned above.  I also use Spybot Search and Destroy.  Also free.  Also clean.

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd/index.html

[$$$$]

Ok i got it for sure this time. 

thanks to everyone for the suggestions

if anyone ever gets a virus called ANTIVIRUS XP 2008 (its a fake virus scan that tries to fool you into buying stuff, changes your desktop etc) download this Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware Download Link and it will clean it up for you

[Bandita]

You can boot up into safe mode to try to remove viruses and spyware that are running on startup.  You usually can catch a lot more this way.  If you don't have the internet running some of the stuff can't load up so it is easier to remove when you are in safe mode.  Try this, I bet you will clean up a lot more stuff.

Adaware and Spybot are the best for this, trust me.

Also, I use a prog called HijackThis which is great if you are having issues with a browser hijack.  You have to be careful though because if you don't know exactly what you are doing you can remove stuff you need from the registry.

http://www.download.com/Trend-Micro-HijackThis/3000-8022_4-10227353.html

[$$$$]

ya my comps been running in safe mode for the past couple days now. Ive also done about 5 different 3 hour long complete scans and i think my system is pretty clean now. it was just that one trojan that kept ducking all the scans until i found malware.

[The Chad Cometh]

You don't get spyware and viruses on your Mac?

Nope ... none at all. I don't even have any antivirus software on my Mac whatsoever.

Windows is a bigger target and mac os x has had quite a few flaws that have needed patching nice try though.

Not questioning they are a bigger target, but the fact there are millions of spyware/adware/malware/viruses/trojans for PC and not a single one for Mac speaks volumes about which is the more secure system. Care to point out a few flaws in Leopard that had to be resolved?

macs are shite to use though. There layouts are just wank. And not enough things are programmed for them, such as games etc.

I used to be a PC person till I used my mates Mac. Have you noticed how all the GUI stuff programmed into Vista is just a ripoff of the Mac OS? The only thing not programmed for them is games. I fully admit that when it comes to gaming, Macs are far behind PC. Who cares but, I have my XBox. As far as everything else goes ... Mac for the win.

Yeah i agree with you about that. Multitasking on a Mac is a real bitch. Its not as bad wish os x but os 9 or older its a freaking nightmare.

Trashing OS 9 is like me trashing Windows Millenium. It's old and no-one uses it anymore. Multitaksing with Leopard is a fucking dream man. Have a look at Spaces and see what you can do.

[tim_m]

You don't get spyware and viruses on your Mac?

Nope ... none at all. I don't even have any antivirus software on my Mac whatsoever.

Windows is a bigger target and mac os x has had quite a few flaws that have needed patching nice try though.

Not questioning they are a bigger target, but the fact there are millions of spyware/adware/malware/viruses/trojans for PC and not a single one for Mac speaks volumes about which is the more secure system. Care to point out a few flaws in Leopard that had to be resolved?

macs are shite to use though. There layouts are just wank. And not enough things are programmed for them, such as games etc.

I used to be a PC person till I used my mates Mac. Have you noticed how all the GUI stuff programmed into Vista is just a ripoff of the Mac OS? The only thing not programmed for them is games. I fully admit that when it comes to gaming, Macs are far behind PC. Who cares but, I have my XBox. As far as everything else goes ... Mac for the win.

Yeah i agree with you about that. Multitasking on a Mac is a real bitch. Its not as bad wish os x but os 9 or older its a freaking nightmare.

Trashing OS 9 is like me trashing Windows Millenium. It's old and no-one uses it anymore. Multitaksing with Leopard is a fucking dream man. Have a look at Spaces and see what you can do.

Oh maybe these 41? http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=1204

[Layne Staley's Sunglasses]

I'm just gonna use my standard response everytime a virus thread comes up.

Stop watching so much porno.

[The Chad Cometh]

You don't get spyware and viruses on your Mac?

Nope ... none at all. I don't even have any antivirus software on my Mac whatsoever.

Windows is a bigger target and mac os x has had quite a few flaws that have needed patching nice try though.

Not questioning they are a bigger target, but the fact there are millions of spyware/adware/malware/viruses/trojans for PC and not a single one for Mac speaks volumes about which is the more secure system. Care to point out a few flaws in Leopard that had to be resolved?

macs are shite to use though. There layouts are just wank. And not enough things are programmed for them, such as games etc.

I used to be a PC person till I used my mates Mac. Have you noticed how all the GUI stuff programmed into Vista is just a ripoff of the Mac OS? The only thing not programmed for them is games. I fully admit that when it comes to gaming, Macs are far behind PC. Who cares but, I have my XBox. As far as everything else goes ... Mac for the win.

Yeah i agree with you about that. Multitasking on a Mac is a real bitch. Its not as bad wish os x but os 9 or older its a freaking nightmare.

Trashing OS 9 is like me trashing Windows Millenium. It's old and no-one uses it anymore. Multitaksing with Leopard is a fucking dream man. Have a look at Spaces and see what you can do.

Oh maybe these 41? http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=1204

Cool ... and they are now resolved yes? Unlike a certain Microsoft OS which will never have all it's issues resolved.

[tim_m]

You don't get spyware and viruses on your Mac?

Nope ... none at all. I don't even have any antivirus software on my Mac whatsoever.

Windows is a bigger target and mac os x has had quite a few flaws that have needed patching nice try though.

Not questioning they are a bigger target, but the fact there are millions of spyware/adware/malware/viruses/trojans for PC and not a single one for Mac speaks volumes about which is the more secure system. Care to point out a few flaws in Leopard that had to be resolved?

macs are shite to use though. There layouts are just wank. And not enough things are programmed for them, such as games etc.

I used to be a PC person till I used my mates Mac. Have you noticed how all the GUI stuff programmed into Vista is just a ripoff of the Mac OS? The only thing not programmed for them is games. I fully admit that when it comes to gaming, Macs are far behind PC. Who cares but, I have my XBox. As far as everything else goes ... Mac for the win.

Yeah i agree with you about that. Multitasking on a Mac is a real bitch. Its not as bad wish os x but os 9 or older its a freaking nightmare.

Trashing OS 9 is like me trashing Windows Millenium. It's old and no-one uses it anymore. Multitaksing with Leopard is a fucking dream man. Have a look at Spaces and see what you can do.

Oh maybe these 41? http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=1204

Cool ... and they are now resolved yes? Unlike a certain Microsoft OS which will never have all it's issues resolved.

No os will ever have ALL its issues resolved there will always be new ones found that need patching weather it be Microsoft, OS X or Linux. There may not be any known issues with Leopard right now but they do exist and at some point someone will find them.

[Layne Staley's Sunglasses]

I'm just gonna use my standard response everytime a virus thread comes up.

Stop watching so much porno.

its those fuckin asian gangbang sites, they're just loaded with spyware....its ridiculous

They aren't what they used to be. 

[pilferk]

My personal choices are adaware and spyboth: search and destroy.  They seem to work the best for me...and spybot keeps "new stuff" from attacking.  It also lets me put up a registry blocker so ONLY the registry changes I approve get done.

[Axl4Prez2004]

Stop watching so much porno.

(with tears in my eyes...)  "I thought I knew you man.  I don't know you at all.       "

[The Chad Cometh]

http://www.silvermac.com/2008/why-there-are-no-viruses-for-osx/

A really good read. The comments section is where it's at ... gives a lot of good points from both side of the coin. Also gives a lot of fanboys sniping at one another 

[norway]

Well, get anti-spyware and anti-adware...duh

Also, if you use CCleaner you get rid of a lot of info spyware collect. Great system-tool.
Setting your OS up good is more important tho

[Chief]

the best way to prevent spyware is to keep everything updated, turn on your firewall, have a virus scanner/anti spyware (a good one too like Kaspersky) and use Firefox as your web browser.  if you don't download any suspicious programs or attachments then you'll be pretty good.

[horsey]

while we are at it ,right.is there a free link to an anti virus i can get.my computer is freaking out all of a sudden now.i need anti virus badly.can anyone post a link to a good one ?

[$$$$]

while we are at it ,right.is there a free link to an anti virus i can get.my computer is freaking out all of a sudden now.i need anti virus badly.can anyone post a link to a good one ?

this is what saved my computer, seems to be pretty thorough

http://www.download.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware/3000-8022_4-10804572.html

[Bandita]

while we are at it ,right.is there a free link to an anti virus i can get.my computer is freaking out all of a sudden now.i need anti virus badly.can anyone post a link to a good one ?

I use AVG Free

http://free.avg.com/

[$$$$]

I was using AVG when my comp got infected. the program i recommended detected a million things that ducked AVG and Norton

[Bandita]

I was using AVG when my comp got infected. the program i recommended detected a million things that ducked AVG and Norton

They all miss things, I use a combination of programs.  The AVG is always running and catches a lot, I use SpyBot and AdAware to catch the rest.  I got rid of Norton years ago because it just uses up too much resources.  A combo of a few smaller free progs works just the same.

[$$$$]

true enough a combo is probably best. and ya Norton takes up a lot of resources but i was desperately looking for something that could detect this trojan virus i had.