Damn Spy-Ware

[Calico Jack Rackham]

My computer has been taken over by ads. Do any techies here have any advice to help me out? The main problem is that I have an ad that has taken over my screen saver and I can't get rid of it. My computer runs slow and I also get knocked offline occaisionally.

I have run spybot and adaware numerous times and they are not working I have alos run the virus scan tons of times and it comes up clean.

[Reverend_Smitty]

1. if none of the spybot things work for you...

you might have to re-format your hard drive...I know those are dreaded words but desperate times call for desperate measures

[Liberal Veteran]

2. Do a search on your computer for kalv*.exe

Let me know if you come up with anything.

[ET Awful]

3. Try running the MS anti-spyware utility from Microsofts site

believe it or not, it works very well. I've used it to successfully remove stuff off of my clients PC's that neither Ad-Aware or Spybot would get rid of.

[BikeWriter]

6. Windows AntiSpyware 1.0.501 (beta 1) - FREE DOWNLOAD

http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Windows-AntiSpyware-Download-18750.html

[Calico Jack Rackham]

8. I ran the MS program and it worked.

The ad on my screensaver is gone but the screen remains blank and I can't change it.

[BikeWriter]

9. You can't pull up another one at all?

[Calico Jack Rackham]

10. I can change it

but after windows starts up it is covered over by a white blank screen. The screen saver is still there it is just covered over I suppose. Whenever I start or shut down it flashes the screensaver I have on, but after windows initillizes it is covered over again.

[BikeWriter]

11. Hmm... Did you notice or can you find the name of the ad ware...

...you deleted? We might find a fix on the net if we knew.

[Calico Jack Rackham]

13. I believe

it was called LookingFor(Dialer) the description said that it replaces the screensaver with an ad.

[BikeWriter]

14. Here it is, Jack. I don't know if any of this will help now.

http://www.scanspyware.net/info/DialerPlatform.htm

[Az]

4. Find out the name of the file running the screen saver

And then google it. You should be able to find it out there. Google any aspect of the screen info it throws at you if you can't find the actual file name.

[BikeWriter]

5. Try posting that in the "Computer Help and Support Group"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=242

[mcscajun]

7. You might want to try "HijackThis"

As it sounds like some things have gotten into your registry and browser.

HijackThis is Free and Available at www.download.com

Download it, then place HiJack This into a folder of its own, by doing the following:
Go into your documents and make a new folder and name it HJT or something you like. Then unzip HJT into your new folder. You'll need it. HJT creates quite a few documents, including a home for the logs you'll be creating.

Where to post the resulting log*:
http://www.spywareeliminator.com/forum/
(Registration and login required -- but it's free and they KNOW what're doing)

Read the FAQ, by all means — and Pay Attention to the many places where you are cautioned "Do Not Post Logs In This Forum!!!" They have a separate area in the forum called, appropriately enough, "Hijack This Posting."

THAT'S where the logs should go...and ONLY There. Check back in a while (longer on holidays and weekends) until you see a response. You're not paying them, so be patient...someone WILL tell you what to do with the results of your log...and do ONLY what they say, observing any cautions they offer.

[Megahurtz]

12. Here's a great site for

all kinds of anti-spyware and fun stuff to tweak and clean up your computer:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/

Check it out!

[leftyandproud]

15. turn off system restore first

go to download.com and download spyware doctor (free). Next, right click my computer and go to properties, then find system restore in the menus. Turning off restore deletes spyware stored on your hard drive. After you turn it off, UPDATE ad-aware, spybot, and spyware doctor then reboot into safe mode (press f8 during boot) and run complete scans with each program.

next, defragment your hard drive.
start, programs, accessories, system tools, defragment.

Reboot and defragment again. Turn system restore back on. And start using FIREFOX permanently to prevent spyware.

www.getfirefox.com