Allotments 4 All
General => Computers / Internet => Topic started by: tim on December 01, 2005, 17:11:35
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We suddenly got windows repeatedly saying that 'spybot has blocked double click' or whatever. Each took 3 kills before finally disappearing. So - I uninstalled & reinstalled with up-to-date Spyware Doctor.
During the process - & since - we have been inundated with batches of spam sent only seconds apart.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/photo04/spam.jpg
I have scanned & disposed of all bugs reported, without improvement.
Have I just joined the Unfortunates Club - or is there something more I can do about it??
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Not sure what causes that Tim or the long term fix. The quick fix though would be to block the sender to prevent the mail getting through.
Iain
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Double-click is adware that needs removing.
Check out this link.
www.inet-mates.com/articles/3_rm_doubleclick.html (http://www.inet-mates.com/articles/3_rm_doubleclick.html)
Also......
Start your computer in safe mode, then do your spyware and virus checks.
You will be surprised how many more it will find using this method.
Hope it helps
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Icy - I've blocked all I can, but so many things have a multiplicity of addresses & can't be blocked.
Trav, thanks. So Spybot was doing its job, but I didn't know how to respond.
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Try downloading http://www.spampal.org/ . It recognises the common ISP addresses that 99% of spam comes from whatever the email address being used. One tip - send the spam to a separate folder rather than auto deleting. It can send one line messages to spam from genuine contacts.
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Thanks again - deep in thought - 340 this morning!!!
I DON'T want the alternative of changing my e-mail address, because 8 of the family have the same stem.
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There is a program called Mailwasher.http://www.mailwasher.net/
I haven't needed to use it yet, however it comes highly recommended - and it's got that wonderful feature. It's Free..!!
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i have tried a few spam filters but the best i have found is called " K9 " by wier
It is a learning filter that works ! It is can be downloaded free form Snapfiles along with many other free programs
www.webattack.com (http://www.webattack.com)
Look in the freeware section
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Looks great - but you'd have to be intelligent to use it. That rules me out!!
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Dont know about the things recommended here, but Spybot and Adaware do NOT stop spam. They block people from sending and receiving information from your computer when you are on line. Emails are dealt with by a different set of prograsm. Have you turned your Spam Guard off, or accidently changed your Firewall setting?
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Now I come to look into it, I've never had one!!
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Dont know about the things recommended here, but Spybot and Adaware do NOT stop spam. They block people from sending and receiving information from your computer when you are on line.
You are Correct they DO not stop spam but the thread started with the spy ware "Double click" being detected
so a combination of Adaware, spybot and ideally webroot sweeper is needed to clear this,---- Then a spam filter is required help with the e-mails.
Spybot and adware DO NOT block people from sending and receiving information from your computer when you are on line. That is the job of a firewall.
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I used to use all manner of Shareware and Freeware utilities for Anti- Virus, Anti-Spyware, Spam Control, and personal privacy. The Up side was that they were free and the down side was that they were not always effective or up to date, and when there was a problem it took time and frustration to diagnose and sort out. For the past couple of years I have been using Zone Alarm Security Suite as an all round solution and it has been well worth it. I get daily updates for Virus and Spyware control and it takes care of Spam and fraudulent email. Also, when the software is updated to a new version it is made available for download and you dont have to go out and buy it. If you use the computer a lot then a suite of programs such as this is worthwhile. The update service is renewable yearly at a reasonable cost. One way to look at it is that a PC linked to the internet without a decent firewall, virus, spyware, and spamming control is like having a house with a cardboard door. You can check ZoneAlarm out at http://www.zonelabs.com.
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Hope this helps Tim it is not a great looking webpage but it has basic info to protect you online. Hope it help you.
http://pc-help.fateback.com
Also think about using another browser like firefox that has built in protection that will stop activex programs and popups for you.
www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/
Also another tip is to get a free email address from either yahoo or hotmail and use that for the internet and your ISP email for your friends and family. Sorry to give this advice after the event but if it helps anyone else then ok. Hope you do get it sorted out Tim. Hope this has been of some help and I am sorry this has happened to you.
The_Snail
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Again, thanks - something of a mouthful!!
I shall wait until literate son visits at Xmas.
Eric - yes - but it was a coincidence which might have had an association.
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Apart from the risks of 'open house', the main nuisance of spam, to me, is the deletion time involved.
If an anti-spammer is put in, does that not mean that all suspect mail goes into a bin, which you then have to sort through & delete anyway?? And even more carefully, because some wanted mail might be there??
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A learning spam filter will pick out key words,phrases and multiple address sends.
I have had only a few good classified as spam and this was before the program learn what to put in my delete file. I now don't even look what it as sorted.
You can also tellit to look for a keyword to keep , tell your friends to use this word in the tittle and you will never got it classified wrong.
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If the program can learn, perhaos there's hope for me!!
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Me too Tim, I feel like a right duffer at times ... !
Derekthefox :D
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Try this one Tim. It's used by the professionals to rip the guts out of any little nasties which might be lurking in your system. Just press the download button and stand back a bit in case you get splattered by viruses meeting a fate worse than death... ;D
http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx
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for a start, i have never heard of that programme, NEVER EVER download any spyware programme that comes as a pop-up like error safe, it usually is spyware!
get a programme called adaware, or one called Spybot.
or get both.
both will install updates when you launch them, andwill completly clean you PC and by using two, you know that there is a very very small chance you have anything left.
Those two are both free and meant to be the best around.
Pop-ups though are a pain and nothing can seem to gget rid of them anymore, they are often built into computer programs and thats how they pop-up. so unoless you delete programs then you will always have the odd pop-up.
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Downloaded that Gloworm, useful addition to the rest.
Never had a virus yet, am sure that a lot come in via outlook express, which is why I do web email, and I never visit portals, dens of iniquity.
Get rid of pop-ups with google taskbar, Adam
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Thanks Glowworm, I ran it too, all clear ...
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I'm new to computers. I'm over 60 and I've been sitting in front of a PC for only a year now... and boy! am I pissed off about a few things...
In just a 12-month period I have had two computers and a total of four clean-wipes and re-installs onto my hard drive all costing a small fortune.
Right from the beginning I have had the most highly recommended anti-virus software - two of them free downloads and the third I pay for (ZoneAlarm with Anti-virus).
And then I have always had Spybot Search & Destroy on my system... as well as two Firewalls - and BHODemon - and 'RegistryFix' (again, a paid-for software).
I am totally convinced that there are nasty cyber-bugs going around of which none of these anti-this and anti-that software programmes have a clue about. I have also been very careful to keep my anti-virus programmes fully up to date with the latest downloads.
But despite the care I have taken I had to dump my first computer in the garbage bin upon the advice of the manager of my local computer repair shop.
Then when I bought a super-dooper new computer model with an operating system of Windows XP... it only took 6 months before once again I had to trek down to the repair shop to have the hard drive wiped clean and have Windows re-installed... all at painful cost to my limited budget.
And now, only a week after having the computer returned back from the shop - I've already got some problems... !! I think I'm jinxed.
Not only that - but online computer technicians haven't got a clue how to help me with these problems. They are as baffled as I am by my continuing and ongoing bad luck with computers.
As a reward for putting up with my bitching and moaning - here's an online help site you might find useful...
http://www.protonic.com/
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But despite the care I have taken I had to dump my first computer in the garbage bin upon the advice of the manager of my local computer repair shop.
Gloworm, I would seriously suggest that you change the shop you frequent. Any computer, no matter how full of spyware/viri/malware can be fixed by re-installing Windows. There is NEVER any need to bin it unless you cause physical damage. Whoever advised you is looking to make money.
There is no reason to take the machine back to the shop to re-install Windows, either - if you have been sold a legal copy of Windows, you will have a CD entitled "Windows XP" or whatever. Simply unplug external devices (such as printers) from your machine, put the CD in your CD drive and press return; it will give you he option to re-install Windows, and that's it; peripherals, such as printers, will be installed separately by Windows later; plug them in one by one, install, and then re-start and plug in the next.
If you have time, have you thought of looking for an "Introduction to Computing" course at a local college? Many of these are run by local councils, and would probably be free if you are retired.
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Thank you for your interest Rosa_Mundi. I bought my first computer for peanuts off an organisation which is made up of retired people who buy up old computers from offices and auction warehouses so they can then give them a tune-up before on-selling them to budget-conscious blokes like me.
There's no doubt I bought a lemon. It was a Pentium 2 running on Windows 98 Second Edition. It just kept on breaking down. In the end, and upon the advice of the repairs shop manager -- he took it around the back and shot it like a lame horse. :-[
I tried to clean-install the hard drive of my new pentium 4 (equivalent) PC with Windows XP Home Edition... but even this didn't work for me. It went along fine for a while - with me following the prompts... but then it just sort of gave up. Probably my inexperience was the cause of this. I've got the Windows Installation disk and another disk I've been told is for me to install the sound system and some other bits and pieces.
As for going to school to learn about it all... ? -- no way! My brother and his wife went to one of these evening courses only to find that 99.9% of the time the teacher was talking right over their heads. They started with not a clue... and finished the term with not a clue. The only way I am able to learn is at my own pace -- at home -- and making heaps of notes in a fat note-book.
Thanks for the advice about disconnecting the external hardware before trying to re-format.
Incidentally, after a whole year of being a computer newbie I have never yet met anyone who can tell me what 'formatting' means. Even the people who run the computer repair shop could not give me a direct answer to my question:
"What do I say when I want my hard drive wiped clean before then having Windows XP re-installed in it... ?"
I'm aware that you can re-install an operating system into a hard drive without first needing to have the hard drive wiped clean. You could say that's 're-formatting'.
But what is the correct terminology when you mean to say you want the hard drive wiped clean before then being 'formatted' with a new install of the OS?
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Hello, Gloworm. The word you want is to "wipe" a disk, but you don't need it; there is such a thing as a "35-pass wipe" for those with highly confidential information on their machines, but it's not used normally.
Formatting is dividing a disk up into sections that a computer can use; there are separate sections needed to store files, another where the index of the disk is stored, and so on. It's like writing the numbers of the days in a diary; without the numbers, you would have no way of knowing which day you intended to do things. Similarly, unless a disk is formatted, a computer cannot use it.
With regard to your problems, there are a couple of things to be aware of. One is that popular sites, such a music download or games sites, are good sources of viruses and trojans. Advertising sites are prone to leave popups and such nasties unless carefully chosen. Free items should be treated with caution; again, many carry nasty bugs that they don't tell you about. Another point is to be careful with unsolicited emails; NEVER click on a link in an email unless you know exactly where it's from and know it's safe.
With regard to learning more, have you tried the "Windows for Dummies" books? They will start rather beneath you, but you many find that things are explained more sensibly in them later on. Good luck!
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I would add one minor but important detail as well. It is generally necessary now to be firewalled, and the software carefully set up so that it is effective. I am extremely fortunate in having two sons who are doing computing degrees, and they generally keep my machine running correctly.
Glowworm, your local library may be able to help with suitable courses that start from scratch. Many people are in this situation. Also if you are on a 'basics' course, don't be afraid to ask ... the tutors often may assume that the students are comfortable with basic issues, so that they can progress to more demanding stuff. Also, your Windows software should have a tutor, unless this has been deleted from XP, and you can use the net to search for more 'tutors' dealing with various issues.
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Thanks Derek and Rosa for your help with this. Right from Day One I have kept a fat note-book where I have indexed and written 'How to' notes on everything which has become clear to me. I now have 160 pages of Computers for Retards to refer to... 8)
To tell you the truth, at 62 I'm not a whole lot interested in studying the various theories and social philosophies which lie behind operating a computer - I just want to know how to wortk the d**n thing.... and most of all (for the sake of my skinny wallet) - I want to know how to 'wipe' the hard drive and re-install Windows XP at home in my living-room.... I want to put those shifty buggers down at the repair shop out of businesss so far as I'm concerned anyway... ;D
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Try this: PCWorld is a trustworthy site:
http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,105866,00.asp
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That'll be a great help to me Rosa Mundi - thanks heaps! I have heard people say it's a good idea to occasionally 'refresh' your operating system with a new install without wiping the hard drive. I don't know if there's a general rule... every 3 months.... ? every 4... ? ... only when your system's going a bit willy-wonky... ?
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When I burnt some music onto a CD-R disk it played okay in my stereo system. But when I burnt the same music onto a CD-RW disk it wouldn't play in the stereo.
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You only need to "refresh" your operating system if it starts acting slowly, Gloworm - otherwise, don't worry.
The CD-R CD-RW question may be your stereo - some don't recognize both types of CD (although most new ones should). You could also be unlucky and have a CD that doesn't work with everything - that can happen quite easily
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Something that I am guessing at here but may be necessary for RW disks, you may need to specify that the disk is 'closed' as it may default to remaining open. ie your music system may only recognise a closed disk. However once you have closed the disk, I dont know whether it can be editted ...
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I've taken note of your comments Rosa. And thanks Derek - I'll check that out. I notice after burning there's a notice which tells me that.... 'Protected?' - 'No'.
I've been thinking if it's not protected then that means the CD disks will play in anything. But maybe I've got it the wrong way around. And you've given me an idea - I'll see if the CD-RW will play on my neighbour's stereo which is much more modern tech than mine is.
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If there's anyone here who can tell me (and a few million others) how to uninstall search plugins in the Firefox sidebar you'd be doing us all a favour.
It's dead easy to install new search plugins... ie 'Add Extensions'... but just try to delete any of them... ! I've followed their instructions at ... http://kb.mozillazine.org/Uninstall_search_plugins ... but I'm still none the wiser. I know from others on forum boards that this is a pain in the neck to many others besides myself.
It seems quite extraordinary that Mozilla Firefox can be so good with so much else that they've done and yet go ahead and blot their reputation with something as irritating and dumb as this.
Derek - maybe your boys can shed some light on this. Believe it or not a few months ago I could actually do this... uninstall these search plugins... but what I did no longer works. To uninstall I would install another search plugin - and then, while the download manager window was up I would delete what I wanted to from the list of what I had previously installed.
Problem is - I can't get that d**n Download Manager Window to appear any more...
It seems that with each problem I solve - three more take its place... ! I wonder sometimes why I put myself through this punishment... ! :'(
;D
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Tim, how is your spyware problem now, any better? Still need advice? (have only just seen this thread!)
Sam
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I will ask next time I see my eldest lad glowworm ...
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Thanks Derek - but you're not going to believe this - I only just now came across a piece of software equipment which enables people to delete what they want to from the Firefox sidebar. This 'uninstall' software has only been out a month.
Here it is - your eldest son probably hasn't even had time to catch up with this yet...
https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.php?id=1563
Cheers.
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Sorry - but I spoke too soon. This uninstall software has turned out to be a lemon... a little pile of dog-poo.
Now when I click to uninstall these search plugins they all come back onto the sidebar list again.
I just can't win with this. :'(
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Yes, glowworm, alas that is so often the case ... never mind, I will still interrogate my son.
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Get rid of pop-ups with google taskbar, Adam
It still wont get rid of anything fully. po-ups are built into programs and as long as you are connected to the net thye will pop-up they are seen as windows opening in the programme, like save as screen etc, so it wont block them.
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Guess wot... ? The problem came good over-night. ::) All the search plugins have just disappeared like a miracle.
I've spoken to my local priest about performing an exorcism on my computer... and he's kindly agreed to chuck me in too -- all under the same one standard fee.
I hope my head won't spin around and around... or that I'll spew a great stream of green bile at him while he's performing the exorcism. That wouldn't be polite would it?
Wish me luck, fellas.
:-X
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Did you do anything ? eg reboot ?
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That must be it... switching the computer off and then switching it on in the morning. That's still a bit odd though because at the time I did reboot my computer without success.
Must be Gremlins.
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Would that have been a soft reset though, ie activate a restart through the mouse, whereas overnight you did a hard reset. I don't know the details of what goes on inside the computer, but sometimes it is necessary to do a complete shutdown
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ADAM.......from a microsoft site....Using Windows XP > Web Browsing and E-mail
Block Pop-up Windows with Internet Explorer
Many legitimate advertisers on the Internet use windows that pop up in the middle of your screen to display a message. They might also open when you click a link or button on a Web site, and they might open either over or under the window you wish to view. Some pop-ups are helpful. For example, if you click an image to see a larger version, it might open in a pop-up window. Unfortunately, some pop-up windows can contain inappropriate content or can be a way for you to accidentally download dangerous software (called spyware or adware) onto your computer.
With Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) Internet Explorer allows you to prevent most pop-up windows from appearing over pages you want to view while you're using the Internet.
Using Pop-up Blocker
When you install SP2, Pop-up Blocker is turned on in Internet Explorer and set to the medium setting, which means it will block most automatic pop-ups. The default settings for the pop-up blocker allow you to see pop-ups that are opened when you click a link or button on a Web site. Pop-up Blocker will also play a sound and show the Information Bar when a pop-up is blocked. You can adjust these settings so that Pop-up Blocker works the way you want it to.
To change Pop-up Blocker settings
1.
Open Internet Explorer.
2.
On the Tools menu, point to Pop-up Blocker, and then click Pop-up Blocker Settings. .............
.and microsoft anti-spyware ,formerly Giant..plus as mentioned Google Taskbar.
Don't get pop ups anymore.
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yes, i have Win XP SP2.
Settings on medium, used to be on high but got annoyed with pressing CTRL all the time.
still get pop-ups...
used to have google search bar, then yahoo search bar, but got rid of both as neither did get ird of po-ups and were simply a waste of time that cluttered things up.
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I have mine set on medium too, most pop ups are blocked, I just live with the rest ...
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Hi ADAM ...you could try Computeractive forum, not sure if you have to register.
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That's a bit odd. I don't seem to have any pop-up advertising at all. Not the sort that goes Wham! right in your face. I only get little sneaky ones on the side which I hardly notice.
Hard re-boot, Derek? That might have done the trick. I only gave it a 'soft' re-booted with a Restart.
Here's a nice little website which I've had some fun with.... free music. So far it's the only genuine free music site I've found so far. All the rest boast a free download of their music - but not the music itself... you have to pay. If anyone else can give me another free music site let me know!
http://music.download.com/2001-1_32-0.html
I've burnt a couple of CD's with music I've downloaded from here.
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I had a devil of a time yesterday trying to burn some DVD discs. I transfered a VCR taped film onto a DVD-R disc in my DVD-Recorder successfully. Then I burnt this DVD-R disc to another DVD-R disc in my computer - again successfully.
But then things began to go terribly wrong. I then tried to burn a DVD-RW disc to a blank DVD-RW disc in my computer... and all I got was some error notice saying I needed a 'decoder' to read the disc. So I downloaded something that said it was a decoder of some sort. Still no joy.
So I then tried copying a DVD-RW disc to a blank DVD-R disc... no success.
But at last - just before turning in for the night I had some success when I copied a DVD-R disc to a blank DVD-R disc... and it came out all right.
What I've got to do now is find out where I can download the 'decoding' software that will allow me to make copies of my DVD-RW discs..
Anyone have an idea... ?
I use 'Nero StartSmart' to do my video burning... and Microsoft Windows Media for my musical CD burning.
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My son just smiled when I mentioned the soft v hard reboot ...
Thanks for that music link .
I have had an awful day re computers, managed to download a stinker of a trojan this morning, my son had to conceed defeat (it is new on the net ... a spyaxe thing ...) and am in the process of a complete reinstall ...
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It's good isn't it Derek... ?! We buy our computers like having a second wife in the home and then spend all our time cussing and cursing the d**n things for the trouble they give us. ;D We can't even take the PC's into the bedroom for a bit of romance to compensate us for our troubles... (I've got friends who even say that about their wives... (http://www.kenzy.com/smilies/rotflmao1.gif) )
Thank God for the porno sites is all I can say... ;D ;D ;D ;D
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I use Limewire for free music & films, Win MX is back on for same as well & you can get both for free.
Mac.
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It makes my blood how service desks take customers for a ride. 99% of the time a competent operator can solve problems without reformatting or reinstalling windows but you rarely get that sort of help from a help desk. A friend of mine works for the help desk who cover PCWorld, Currys and Dixons. He's a graduate in computing and it's driving him mad. He's not allowed to tell you to take backups and with very low level problems ( which he knows how to solve ) has to tell you to reinstall windows. He assures me that in 99% of cases, with due investigation, all files could be saved, but they're not allowed to spend that long sorting a problem out. It's a scandal.
Technically I'm still using the same PC I bought 10 years ago. In that time I've replaced every single component one at a time rather than buy a new PC entirely. Unless the motherboard and processor have fried then there's no need to bin a faulty computer, just replace the faulty part. Around every 4 years you need a new motherboard to be able to use newer components. Computers are probably the worst example of the throwaway society.
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He assures me that in 99% of cases, with due investigation, all files could be saved
Perfectly true, DJ - but that would take time, which they're not allowed to give, even when charging you £1 a minute... ???
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Mac49, you say Winmx is back ? I was trying the other day and couldnt get a download. Do you have a link? (pm me if you prefer).