!!!!!! pop ups! How to stop them and how to ensure my children dont get them?

lellie

!!!!!! pop ups isn't usually related to browsing - it's adware installed on your computer.. you will have caught it browsing, but changing browser or using pop up blockers generally will not get rid of the problem - as the program is installed on your computer and is programmed to open up a browser window and connect to a !!!!!! ad server every X seconds.. (usually about every 3 minutes or so)..

if adaware, spybot and cwshredder does not get rid of it, usually the only method of properly removing the adware is a reinstall of windows (back up what you need first - as you NEED to reformat fully for this to clear out the nasties.)

I don't wish to cause marital problems but !!!!!! pop-ups generally only appear because someone has been searching for !!!!!! sites in the first place.

This is true - in order to catch the adware you generally have to have been on a dodgy site in the first place - and to have accepted the download (although you might have by accident). It is possible to have got it another way but generally unlikely - sometimes if you use p2p filesharing also these things can be disguised as other things and you can catch them without realising.

wolfman

lellie wrote:

!!!!!! pop ups isn't usually related to browsing.

I disagree. Browsing is very much related to popups.

You'll either get unsolicited popups when browsing, coded in the webapge as javascript or flash. Most of these are blocked nowadays. Or it'll be, like you said, spyware that has got onto your machine, usually through browsing. Other ways include via P2P (Kazza has Spyware included), certain software products (I think DivX has Gain included) and email.

To prevent spyware:
- Use a browser like Firefox. No spyware can automatically install into Firefox just by visiting a webpage. IE has a number of security flaws including ActiveX being enabled. Firefox will block any unsolicited popups and is much harder for spyware to be installed upon.
- Get a real-time anti-spyware application like Pest Patrol. It runs as a background process and notices spyware as and when it tries to get on your machine.

To clean spyware:
- Use free applications such as Spybot and AdAware. If you've got Pest Patrol though (suggested above) then that will be more efficient than AdAware or Spybot, but you have to pay for it.

I wouldn't neccessarily go assuming someone has been browsing pornographic sites just because you have pornographic popups. They can also be associated with illegal software sites (warez, cracks etc...), betting sites, and any form of underground kind of site. In fact, from what I've read illegal sites are the most likely.

Lastly, get a Firewall like Kerio Personal Firewall, this will alert you to any applications trying to run on your machine. The second a piece of spyware does, you can at least block it before trying to remove it.

s30jok

goto google and download their tool bar it is very good it stops everyhting and it has all the google functions on it saving you from going to their page all the time

Jay-Jay_4

s30jok wrote:

goto google and download their tool bar it is very good it stops everyhting and it has all the google functions on it saving you from going to their page all the time

Ditto that! I have the Google toolbar with pop-up blocker and it works for me.

Cortes

I'd just dump I.E. and go and download Firefox, a belter of a browser and will stop all the nasties.