Spyware and Trojan Horse....

Aura

My computer has been acting up for the last few weeks, well months actually but kept ignoring it!

Really annoying adverts popping up when surfing the internet etc. I'm pretty clueless with this stuff but am told this is some insidious little virus type thingy called spyware that keeps track of sites you been visiting and in turn barrages your computer with subject-related adds etc. So whilst researching the problem I hear of this programme called Hitman pro and run it to rid my poor invaded PC of all nasties. Takes a good few hours I may add... That was Saturday and this morning AVG which I had installed some weeks ago tells me my PC has a trojan Horse virus...

So my question is have i invited more problems by running this Hitman Pro programme and also does any well versed computer person out there know of any safe programme I can use that won't cost me a packet?

Thanks,

Aura.

layke

Hotman Pro and AVG should do it however:

A virus is a peice of code that 'infects' other files. a Trojan is a stand alone program that performs malicious tasks.

AVG should remove it if up to date. If not find the name of the Trojan and google a fix.

Hitman pro is mainly for spyware which has little relation to you problem as spyware is annoying and not neccissarily malicious.

irlrobins

No hitman pro is grand. It removes spyware and is not bad. Other programs you can download for free include Spybot - Search and Destroy and Ad-Aware. However they will only remove spyware, not viruses.

That's why AVG detected a virus, it wouldn't have been removed by Hitman. It's possible that your PC is riddled with crap. Best thing to do is to make sure AVG is up to date. Then disconnect PC from internet, restart it in safe mode, and run a full scan. Hopefully this will remove any nasties.

You might need install updates to windows as well, so when scan is done, go to http://update.microsoft.com and see if there are any updates for you to download.

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask more questions if you're unsure about anything.

smemon

i use firefox and block all popup's, also use the adblock extension.

also use kerio firewall.

that's it. zero problems, zero spam, zero ads. the only way i get infected is if i download some dodgy software or something. then i just use 'the crap cleaner', with 'search & destroy'. if they fail, system restore does the job.

there's nothing worse than a slutty PC

Aura

I am luddite hear me roar...
Forgive my complete techie ignorance but how do I go about restarting in safe mode?

Thanks,

A.

irlrobins

restart PC, as it starts up (usually after dell logo, etc) keep pressing F8 until menu appears. Then choose safe mode.

Aura

Thanks so much Irlrobins!
I'll try that now..

A.

irlrobins

np, let us know how it goes

Aura

Seems to have.
Hopefully the end of annoying adds and other virusy type things.

Thanks

Ruu_Old

Just keep your stuff up to date, scan regularly to make sure nothing sneaked in. I'd also advise getting a firewall if you don't already have one. The Windows Firewall (with SP2 update) Zone Alarm, Kerio and Sygate (no support for it anymore, but still works) will work fine and add in Windows Defender for spyware.