We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
Ad-Aware & Spybot

mrsausages
Posts: 17 Forumite

in Techie Stuff
I have the free (and often updated) versions of both Spybot and Ad-Aware installed on my PC, which I run at least once a week. I have a dial up conection (56k) with the Yahoo pop-up blocker running. Despite this I get three or four pop-ups coming up within a couple of minutes each time I connect. I have three questions:
1. Is there any other free software around which may get the things that Spybot and Ad-Aware are not?
2. Am I going to have to accept that if I want to get rid of them I may have to pay for something? (first post on a money saving website and it could cost me money?)
3. My standard reaction is simply to close them down as soon as they appear. Is this the best thing to be doing?
I would appreciate any thoughts.
1. Is there any other free software around which may get the things that Spybot and Ad-Aware are not?
2. Am I going to have to accept that if I want to get rid of them I may have to pay for something? (first post on a money saving website and it could cost me money?)
3. My standard reaction is simply to close them down as soon as they appear. Is this the best thing to be doing?
I would appreciate any thoughts.
0
Comments
-
1. Yes - see below.
2. No. The options below are free.
3. Yes.
Have you tried the Google toolbar, which is an efficient pop-up blocker?
Or Firefox, which is probably the best blocker I have yet seen.0 -
Which OS and browser are you using? If XP and IE, then make sure you've downloaded all the Windows Updates, as this will install a pop-up blocker for IE.
IIRC, the pop-up blocker was part of SP2. If you've not upgraded to SP2 yet, you need to think about doing so as future Windows Updates will be dependent on you having SP2 installed.
HTHWarning ..... I'm a peri-menopausal axe-wielding maniac0 -
Have a look at Microsoft Anti-spyware beta
Only been out for a few months (in this form) so the jury is still out on how good it is.
It may not be free when they roll out the full version
I've linked to download.com so you can read the user reviews. Clicking their link takes you through to the microsft download page.0 -
they sound to me like they could be windows messenger pop ups? If they appear in the middle of your screen, in a box, check the title bar of the box. If its a windows messenger pop-up, you can just turn off windows messenger service. If you are running XP:
How to Disable Messenger popups...
1... Click on the Start button then Settings then open the Control Panel
2... Double click on the Administrative Tools icon.
3... Then in the window that opens double click on the Services icon.
4... In the right pane of the window that just popped up, find Messenger and double click it.
5... Set it to manual then push the stop putton.
HTH
ZedAll of this might just be an elaborate simulation running inside a little device, sitting on someone's table.0 -
sra555 wrote:Have a look at Microsoft Anti-spyware beta
Only been out for a few months (in this form) so the jury is still out on how good it is.
It may not be free when they roll out the full version
Something I've just read today that I don't like is that its idea of preventing browser hijack is to default revert everything back to MS products eg MSN, etc. I haven't looked a bit deeper yet to see if this is an option or mandatory. I'm wondering if this would cause conflicts with other products that prevent browser hijack.0 -
Definitely take a look at Firefox browser. :T0
-
andy88 wrote:I haven't looked a bit deeper yet to see if this is an option or mandatory. I'm wondering if this would cause conflicts with other products that prevent browser hijack.
I run the scan sometimes but i don't use all the options. The reverting to default isn't madatory (though i can't remember the defaults - maybe I set it up not to)
The problem I had was that I couldn't get the thing to stay off. No matter how I configured it - and how many times I told it not to activate at startup - it always popped up and I had to close it.0 -
sra555 wrote:I run the scan sometimes but i don't use all the options. The reverting to default isn't madatory (though i can't remember the defaults - maybe I set it up not to)
The problem I had was that I couldn't get the thing to stay off. No matter how I configured it - and how many times I told it not to activate at startup - it always popped up and I had to close it.0 -
I never get any problems when I check my system with Ad Aware and Spybot mainly because I use Firefox but much more because I've got Sandboxie installed. I think I've mentioned this before but basically it is a temporary folder (the 'Sandbox') which is created each time I browse which attracts EVERYTHING that wants to penetrate my system, this includes spyware, cookies, registry changes and recently AVG flashed that I'd got a virus while I was browsing, but thanks to Sandboxie the virus was contained within the 'sandbox' which is deleted anyway once the browsing session ends. So far it hasn't failed me and I'm delighted with it, I wouldn't surf without it now. The only time I don't use it is when I want to download because that too would end up in the 'sandbox' and couldn't be retrieved.
https://www.sandboxie.com.0 -
Dont forget to install "pop up stopper"
again its a free download from
http://www.panicware.com/product_psfree.html
enjoy0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 352.1K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.6K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 454.2K Spending & Discounts
- 245.1K Work, Benefits & Business
- 600.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 177.5K Life & Family
- 258.9K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.6K Read-Only Boards