I have never been so tempted to shoot an inanimate object.

[BabyRider]

I have recently been SWAMPED with pop-ups, and my screen keeps getting taken over by another window saying: Is your computer infected with spyware? With the option to "test" showing in the window. Not to mention the new toolbar at the top of my page that has 4 buttons on it: "Anti-spyware", "Movie galleries", "Picture galleries", and "New free sites". It's all porn. I am getting SOOO aggravated. My sister came over yesterday and spent 2 hours here, cleaning up a bunch of unneccesary stuff, and installing Ad-aware, Spybot, and AVG free. It seems to have done very little. When the screen is taken over asking me if I want to test for spyware, the window at the bottom of the screen that shows everything that's running says "The searchmall". It doesn't open a new window, it takes over the window I'm currently in. I hope I'm explaining this right, because I am about to shoot this friggin' machine. Hawke...Any ideas? Remember, I'm about 6 years old when it comes to this computer stuff, but any suggestions you have, I'll be sure to have my sister read. Thanks for any help!! Save a poor, defenseless computer from a bullet to its hard drive!!

[Hawke]

BabyRider, it sounds like you're experiencing a browser hijacker at the very least, coupled no doubt with a number of other spyware programs. You have a couple of options available to you, largely depending on how seriously you want to clean your computer and how fast your internet connection is.

Option #1) Be sure to dowload the latest updates for Spybot. Start your computer in Safe Mode and run spybot repeatedly until all spyware has been removed from your computer. Follow this by connecting to Windows Update and installing Service Pack 2 and all of the security patches. Since you're an Internet Explorer user, you can get there by going to (in IE) Tools->Windows Update.

Configure your firewall (which comes with Service Pack 2) to have 'no exceptions' in protecting your computer.

Option #2: Back up all of your important files, then reinstall your OS from your restore CDs. This is the option I recommend, since much of the damage caused by viruses/trojans/spyware cannot be reversed, removing the program from your system does not necessarily undo the damage they cause. In addition, the spyware removal programs do NOT scan for every possible spyware program. Therefore, I recommend you do the following:

1) Disconnect from the internet. (physically, as in unplug the cable)

1) Back up your files (burn them to a CD, back them up on a thumb drive or removable hard drive)

2) Run your restore CDs.

3) Install an anti-virus program IMMEDIATELY after restoring. Reconnect your internet. UPDATE your anti-virus

4) Connect to windowsupdate.microsoft.com. Download all updates INCLUDING Service Pack 2.

5) Consider switching to an alternate web-browser, such as FireFox. Certain viruses/spyware programs take advantage of security vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer to infect your computer.

6) Virus Scan (IMPORTANT!) the volume containing your important files. If the volume is infected, clean it with the appropriate cleaner, many of which are available on Symantec's website

I'm sorry this is a bit technical, but a fix on this level is difficult to explain easily. You or your sister can email me and I'll try to clear up any difficult parts.

Good Luck!

[BabyRider]

Hawke, it is a bit technical for me, but I'm sure my sister will understand every word. Thanks so much for your help, and I'll let you know how it goes. :yh_hugs