Unwanted spam desktop icons - cant delete them

ShiverinEskimo

I keep getting these desktop icons called Website Hosting, Travel, Casino and all the usual crap. Normally I just delete them. Now they are back with a vengence. I can highlight them and i can double click to open them. That is it, I cant move, delete, or even right click on them. When i go to my desktop folder they are not there and i have it set to show hidden files and proctected system files.

It is really doing my head in, AVG, SPyBot and Ad-Aware Pro will not get rid of them.

Anyone else have these and know how the **** to get rid of them?

Hobbes

Do you have active desktop running? Try switching that off.

ShiverinEskimo

Not to my knowledge, how do i check in xp pro?

Hobbes

Right click desktop, select properties. Click Desktop Tab, click customize desktop, click Web Tab.

There is an option to display webpage instead of desktop (which is what active desktop was IIRC). There is an option to stop removing desktop items there as well.

Mercury_Tilt

This post has been deleted.

sound_wave

try all of the above and stop visiting dodgy sites!

ShiverinEskimo

As previously said, i can't view their properties. i no nothing happens when i right click on them. all i can do directly is open them (double click) or highlight them (drag or single click)

Mercury_Tilt

This post has been deleted.

garthv

right click on your desktop > arrange icons by > run desktop cleanup wizard
should get rid of it for you.

is_that_so

Sounds like these things were downloaded when you added a new fancy toolbar to your browser. Have you tried running a custom scan with Ad-Aware Pro ? You can select a drive to scan ie C:\. This does clear out stuff not found by a standard scan as it will hunt down the .exe files. You should also look at the seeting fro that profile , particularly desktop settings. I dont know XP that well so someone else may be able to point you in that direction.

Hobbes

ShiverinEskimo wrote:

As previously said, i can't view their properties. i no nothing happens when i right click on them. all i can do directly is open them (double click) or highlight them (drag or single click)

No I mean right click on the desktop, not on the icons.

You can also get to the dialog via Settings->Control Panel->Display (the go from desktop tab).

It sounds like it has made your desktop into a webpage (active desktop) as it would do what you describe.

Joseph

right click, active destop, show web content

ShiverinEskimo

Sorted folks. Rebooted after running ad aware and spy bot and they are gone for now. Annoying.

Cheers for all your help. One more question though, i uninstalled Internet Explorer and yet it is still there (when i click on mailbox in MSN or when i use windows update) is there a way to actually completely remove IE?

Hobbes

Nope.

is_that_so

ShiverinEskimo wrote:

Sorted folks. Rebooted after running ad aware and spy bot and they are gone for now. Annoying.

Cheers for all your help. One more question though, i uninstalled Internet Explorer and yet it is still there (when i click on mailbox in MSN or when i use windows update) is there a way to actually completely remove IE?

Get Linux

Bubba

I have the same problem, how did you delete them in the end??

aidan_walsh

Bubba wrote:

I have the same problem, how did you delete them in the end??

Did you even look at the 14 posts before yours?

Bubba

yes smart ass i did look at the other posts but he dosn't explain how he actually got rid of them. i have just tried doing a scan with adware and spybot and just rebooted and they are still there. What am i to do next?

Bubba

finally fixed it, downloaded spyware doctor and this got rid of em.

Bubba

The little f***ers came back again without me even doing anything. one minute there gone, happy days. few minutes later i restart my computer and there back again. and this time they won't go away!! :mad: