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Programs were installed without any prompt?

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flugh

Technical User
Aug 23, 2002
655
US
Greetings!

Just tossing this out to see if anyone has some input on it. I have cleaned the problem files, and am now trying to reflect on how it happened.

Windows XP Home + Service Pack 2, Norton 2003 + definitions dated 8/24 or so. I run no special background stuff, surf with Firefox, don't use IE or Outlook Express. I've been around the Internet Block a few times and consider myself fairly savvy. But...

Not sure if it has anything to do with it, but I was downloading a game via RealArcade ("Ballistik", a very cool Breakout/Arkanoid style game). So RealArcade and Firefox were all that were running. I see 2 "Configuring system..." type boxes pop up (the type Installshield or MSI installers pop up). I shut everything off because by god I authorized no such action! ;-) Turn off system restore, boot to safe mode, fire up regedit, yep. There's some 'Adblocker' (not sure of that name, didn't write it down), 'webrebates.com' and some Incredifind-related garbage in the registry. So I deleted them from the Run key, removed the shortcut in Startup, rebooted confident I was clean because this wasn't particularly sneaky. But Spybot and Adaware found 47 objects to clean, including Vx2? Geez, what a deal!

Just wondering if maybe I'm missing something? I didn't install anything, run any email attachments, etc. I just got jacked by some crapware out of nowhere! :)

Anyway, comments would be welcome, or have a chuckle at my expense. I'm off to help my buddy's son clean up a "Beagle" outbreak. WooHoo!!

----
JBR
 

5, 6, and 7 might be worth consideration as additional security measures. I don't understand all the technical issues but all I read from folks that know says av alone just doesn't do it anymore.


-------------------------------------
It's 10 O'Clock ( somewhere! ).
Are your registry and data backed up?
 
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