Simply Computers Wiki

Why Is My Computer Acting Funny?

This page is located at: http://simplycomputers.davidron.com/spyware

This is a free site and all utilities mentioned and all recommendations are free.

This site is maintained by SimplyComputers for your convenience. The Group has over 14,000 members and you are welcome to join and contribute or ask a question.

If your computer has any of the following symptoms, you may have been hijacked, have a virus, spyware or adware. These infections are caused by what is collectively called "malware."

Perhaps you have...

• Mysterious Icons on your Desktop.
• IE starts with a page you didn't specify.
• Computer runs really slow or locks up when connected to the Internet.
• Some web pages work and others don't.
• Popups are everywhere.

There are several tools that help remove such things: Be sure to have all of the current service packs and updates for Windows and Internet Explorer. Many problems have been solved (blocked) with "security patches." Click "Start," and then "Windows Update."

Popups: For this, you need a popup blocker. If you use Internet Explorer, it is recommended to get the google toolbar, which has a built in popup blocker, or the panickware popup stopper which blocks popups not only from web sites. Also, if you simply switch from using Internet Explorer to using Firefox, popups almost completely go away too. Also, don't forget to disable windows messaging popups.

Viruses (Don't say virii in the group or you'll spark a 3 day discussion). Viruses can hide in your computer and actually do harm to your data, programs, and even your personal information. If you suspect you have a virus now and wish to do a scan to find out using any of the tools below:

• McAfee Stinger
• Panda Active Scan
• Pc-Cillin Trend Micro Housecalls
• Sygate Trojan Scanner
• ETrust Web Scanner
• Bitdefender
• McAfee
• Windows Security Trojan Scan
• Trend Micro
• Test Your System

If you want protection into the future, you should install a real virus scanner. Several free ones are available that work just as well, if not better, than any that you could pay for. If you already have one of these installed, often they can catch more if run in Safe Mode:

• AVG Free
• Avast
• Anti Vir
• Comodo Free Security Suite
• Microsoft Security Essentials
• a-squared Free

Generally speaking, you don't need to worry about viruses in Linux and OSX. If you want to know more about why, ask in The Group.

Spyware (adware): There are several free programs that will remove spyware. All which we recommend here do an excellent job, and will remove stuff that isn't even that harmful. The borderline stuff is arguable and so is it why some packages find stuff the others left behind. If you find something with one, you'll want to use the others in safe mode to be sure you got it all. These utilities work best when run in Safe Mode. The most widely suggested two in the group are:

• SuperAntiSpyware (SAS).
• Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (MBAM).

Other good tools include:

• Adaware
• Spybot Search and Destroy
• Microsoft Windows Defender
• BOClean
• ComboFix

Good Internet Practices: Remember, the best anti-malware tool you have is You. Never click on something that is offered or recommended unless you are SURE you know what it is. One of the favorite methods these hoodlums use to infect your computer is to trick or attract you into clicking on "something." This applies to things in email, on a web page, or in a popup. When you click "No" to an offer of a beautiful screen saver, a programmer can easily have made that button actually mean "yes, I give you permission to install your virus." A popup that tells you it has detected a problem on your computer and offers to fix it...:) NEVER click the Yes OR the No buttons. Close the popup with the X in the upper right. If no X is offered, try right clicking the button on your taskbar for the offending popup and selecting 'close'. In Windows you can use [Alt+F4] to close the window. If that does not work, you can use ctrl-alt-del to open the task manager and shut down your browser that way. If all else fails, simply reboot your computer.

Other Tools: These tools are often nice to use from time to time, but do not necessarily solve a problem that the tools specific to anti-virus or anti-spyware solve better.

• Secunia Online Software Inspector - Detects insecure versions of common/popular programs installed on your PC - Verifies that all Microsoft patches are applied - Assists you in updating, patching, and protecting your PC - Activates additional security features in Sun Java - Runs through your browser. No installation or download is required
• Advanced SystemCare Free - One-click approach to help protect, repair, clean, and optimize your PC

When Nothing Finds A Problem: If the tools you are using don't seem to find a problem, but you are sure there is something wrong, try HijackThis. Once you have a "log file" you can cut and paste that log file into the Hijack This Log File Analysis to see what nasties you really have.

When Some Tools Find A Problem, But None Can Remove It: If you have a virus that just can't be deleted by the above tools even when you use Safe Mode, you probably need to remove the virus without Windows running. To do this, you can use an Antivirus boot CD. Here are directions to download, create, and use a Bit Defender antivirus CD.