imported_feble

Evry time i close explorer, it changes my homepage to some wierd site that makes my comp freeze. I go to change it back to my norm homepage and it works perfectly. But then the next time i go to use exporer again, the damn homepage has changed again and it freezes. How can i stop this from happening?

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Raised Fist

You got some Spyware/adware on your computer.

Adware is basically a program downloaded and installed on your computer without you knowing it, or comes with a bundle of programs (AOL has been known to do this. Thats how AIM can play movies from the buddy list; it installs a program without telling you). Adware can cause the following problems: Pop-ups on websites that have none, changing your homepage, etc.

Spyware is a program that, like adware, is usually downloaded and installed wihtout you knowing. These programs track what your doing (webpages you look at, for example), computer information, etc.

Surprisingly the people who make this software and those who bundle it with their software get away with it because they list in the privacy statement of their agreement that you allow it, and as you probably know, most people just accept and don't bother to read any of the agreement.

Here are some tips for keeping it off your computer:
- Most of the time when Spy/adware is trying to download onto your computer from a webpage, it prompts you to download software. ONLY agree to do it if you know its from a trusted company.
- Try to atleast read the agreement when installing software.
-Don't look at porn

Here are some programs to protect you from these problems:

Ad-aware
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/
Ad-aware was one of the first to really stop these programs. While it doesn't seem to catch all of them, I still give it props. Easy to use, just press scan and agree to delete the files that are bugging you.

SpyBot- Search & Destroy
http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=download
A newer program. This one is really awesome, it can update its database of known spy/adware. It looks at a spy/adware index, and goes through each file for each item in its database.

I probably missed some stuff, hopefully someone else could fill it in.. too tired to explain more.

imported_feble

thanks for the advice..i read some of the other posts here and i found out about mozilla, dled it and it works like a charm..my comp works like new again. So thanks but i got the problem worked out!

PsYcHoLoGiCaL

You are still going to want to get that spyware removed, download spybot and see if that fixes it, if it doesnt download adaware, if that doesnt work get hijack this... better yet do all three just because there is bound to be more stuff on your system other than this particular infection.

Oh come on now lets be reasonable, no reason to take any drastic measure like that! You might as well say that the air is polluted so stop breathing!

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"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." -- Thomas A. Edison

DonkeyPunch

Raised fist pretty much nailed it on the head with Ad-Aware and SpyBot S&D. Download, update, and use these programs fairly often, they can only help. I would suggest 2 more programs to download in the name of safety, which will cost you a whole lot of nothing. (A donation is always appreciated by the developers, of course.)

Make sure you have some sort of firewall up. If you have none, get the free version of Zone Alarm. This would not fix the problem you now have, but since we're talking about protecting hard drives and all, I figure its worth a mention.

After running Spybot and Ad-Aware, your hard drive should be pretty clean. Now the trick is to try to keep any trackers, bots, and hijackers out. This is where SpyWareBlaster comes in. Again, download the program, update it, and run it. It should stop some problems (like the one feble has) from happening again. None of these programs are perfect, but together, they can make for some pretty powerful protection against any annoying internet intruders.

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troublemaker_42

I have to agree....even if your computer is running smoothly now, use Ad-aware and Spybot. It really cleans up a lot of the junk on your computer that has no good reason for being there. Another program I like that found stuff the other two programs didnt is Spy Sweeper. I didnt purchase it, but downloaded a trial. It works like a champ...I've ran all 3 programs since the original Spy Sweeper sweep and have yet to find any ad/spywear type stuff on my computer.

Higher Logic

Never in the 10+ years of using computers have I had an anti-virus program, a registry checker, or anything of that sort. I do, however, use Ad-Aware, because it's fast, effective, and best of all free. It has updates too, which are usually daily updates, but I use the program usually once a day to keep things in check. People get viruses not because someone sends them it, but because they open up a file, or click 'yes' when they shouldn't. It's basically ignorance that causes errors like this. Point in case, my mom always has like 100+ things wrong on her computer, not because she is vulnerable, but because she doesn't know any better (like instaling that GAIN Gator, SAVE-U, etc.).

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