Spyware/Adware Info Article 2

[smah]

Here's an article that I found that has some interesting info about spyware & adware:

http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-985644.html

It references some of our favorite problems such as Xupiter.com & Lop.com as well as our favorite removal tools Ad-Aware & Spybot.

One of the most interesting paragraphs is:
Some of these programs are getting better at sinking roots deep into a computers' operating system, making removal impractical. A widely distributed marketing program called "CommonName" recently changed its code, so that removing it with software such as Spybot made it impossible for the affected computer to access the Net.

So, when these 'I can't browse the internet' issues come up for no apparent reason and all software settings seem to be right, it might be worth asking if CommonName was found and removed from the system. If anyone has removal instructions for this particular mal-ware that can avoid the net connectivity problem, be sure to post it to this thread.

 

[carrr]

Excellent post...star for it. Many of the problems that get posted daily can be easily resolved if users would incorporate "sweeping" for malware as part of their regular maintenance routine. A lot of posters ask "why should I be using" AdAware or Spybot...the simple answer being, if you're out browsing, you'd better be using them.

 

[shirleyowl]

OK Carr I think I may have used Adaware by lavasoft to remove some rubbish on my computer, then I read that I should not use a certain edition of it,, too late I already did it] this may have caused my problems so tha all my internet browsers and email prog have been knocked out. SO now how do I get them back again. I tried system restore as I use Windows ME, to no avail. Help what do I do now???
regards
shirley Learn something new every day.

 

[smah]

Doesn't Ad-Aware have a restore/undo function within the program itself? Maybe you can get back to where you were at least.

 

[carrr]

Well, the precaution against using a certain verison (the now obsolete 5.83) is that it was out of date and could leave newer pieces of malware on your machine undetected. Barring the outside chance that you've whacked some registry entries, I'm not sure that AdAware is to blame.
Do this...repost your problem as a new thread, so that we don't clog up smah's post and we'll try to get you a solution. Please be sure and post any error text that you're getting and let us know what kind/version of internet browser you're running as well as your mail program.

 

[carrr]

And, yes...smah is right. AdAware has a funciton where you can restore your last run.

 

[shirleyowl]

I have poted my problem in the MIS/MIT security discussion forum, shall I copy it from there or can you find me. thanks
shirleyowl Learn something new every day.