I've surrendered, and it was not honourable. I accept that my spyware problem is out of control, and i need some expert advice. Spybot, CWSShredder and Adware just won't kill them. So, any advice on which on of these tech help forums to get help from? I know there are a few about but i dodn't know which are the best and quickest at problem solving. I would really be grateful for the advice, i'm seriously considering wiping the hard-drive to get rid of the buggers, its that bad...

Re-install WinXP if you use that, install service pack 2, install adaware, spybot, spyblaster and your all good to go. My two computers are running like this for 6 months now, completely clean, no weird stuff happening, fast. I have a modem-router which gives me networking options, all flawless. I download 24/7, browse everywhere, install, de-install, you name it. Games, latest 3D games also run smoothly, as expected fom my system, no strange stuff there. Maybe I'm just damn lucky...

Oh yeah, don'ty let anyone besides you use your PC without your supervision! You're asking for trouble otherwise!!

No one else uses the PC, can't think how they got on their in the first place, i don't download much or use file sharing.

OK, so if i re-install (possible retarded question here) i'll have to back up my file right?

i understand that this is perhaps the best way, but with a slow net connection i'm reluctant to do so untill i upgrade it, should be soon though. Is there anyway that i can minimize the problem in the short term?

I know your're not all experts here and that it is a complex and individualized process so i wasn't expect help, just where to find it.

<font color=plum>Heya <font color=teal>Aragorn</font>

Sorry to hear about your problems. I'm no expert on software either, but here are two avenues of advice that I have followed in the past.

Step 1 - Do a Google Search for the specific spyware program that is causing you problems. Just type "Remove "spywary program name"" and you should be given several sites that provide you step-by-step instructions to remove that program. They will give instructions on how to remove it automatically and manually.

Step 2 - Wiping you HD isn't such a bad idea and it IS the only foolproof method. If you have lots of different spyware programs, wiping the HD clean and re-installing Windows might actually take less time than removing them individually. I'm not savvy enough to do the cleaning and re-installing myself, so I had a local PC shop do it. It only cost about $100 (for roughly 2hrs labor). That may sound expensive, but they cleaned my HD, reinstalled Windows, and Saved everything in My Documents, my Favorites, and my Address Book. They then reinstalled these also, so my PC was ready to go when I picked it back up.</font>

Well, have you tried an online scan? Have you tried using Spybot S&D? Is your adaware up-to-date? Also, google. You can delete these things from your registry, and IIRC CWSShreder is under this category. There are others out there that have suffered the same fate and have solved it, so a google search should help you there. Try this before reinstalling, as it is probably unnecessary.

<font color=plum>Now I have a question of my own along a similar vein.

<font color=teal>Aragorn</font> mentioned file sharing programs. I had KaZaaLite installed before the PC shop wiped my HD clean. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask them to save all of my music files and lost over 150 songs I had downloaded :cry:

I would like to download another P2P software program, but I am only interested in LEGIT file sharing software. I don't want any spyware and I don't mind paying for the software and the downloads.

So if anyone has suggestions of a legitimate P2P program that complies with all the new regulations about file sharing, I would be interested in information and links.</font>

To Aragorn: may I suggest you head over to TechTV.com (now it may be G4TV or a combo of them both) and see what they have floating about?

They've got different forums for tech questions and VERY often have links to d/l things that will help clean your system and *keep* it clean.

They are simply awesome over there. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Hope that helps.

Hey...there's a chance they might be able to answer your question, too, Cerek. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Edit: www.techtv.com

[ 01-25-2005, 06:56 PM: Message edited by: Lady Sedai ]

I'd add one more piece of software to the list... HiJack This. It's another defender, but operates differently by highlighting potentially bad behavior instead of potentially bad software. IOW, it recognizes what shouldn't be happening, and can help you fix it, even if it's brand new.

Other than that, you've got your choices. Wipe 'em out one at a time, or wipe the drive and start over.

Oh yeah, having a seperate partition for WinXP is also great! Allows you to re-install WinXP without the bother of looking after your precious files. Just make sure to backup the font (if necessary) and favorites folders. Also your received files folder. Then simply re-install on your WinXP partition. This works wonders in terms of ease of use and speed!

thanks for the advice, I've got highjack, and i did mention that i used spybot. i'll try the forum you've mentioned, i really don' want to download all my updates again. I think i had i down to one file once but didn't know how o get rid of it without connecting to the net, and i knew if i did that it wold all re-install itself, very frustrating.