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Unwanted adverts

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Suddenly started getting unwanted websites opening up at random when I'm using the internet - this is very annoying:mad: . The one that appears most is adserver5.com. How can I stop this? I have pop ups blocked, but these open up in a new window every time. I think my daughter downloaded MSN Live Messenger yesterday - could that have something to do with it?

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  • fermi
    fermi Posts: 40,542 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker Rampant Recycler
    If it was downloaded from an official site/link then it shouldn't have caused the problem.

    It might be an idea to work you way through this guide:

    Malware/Spyware Removal Guide

    Normally a good idea when the kids have been downloading or clicking on god knows what.;)

    Also look at: http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=adserver5.com
    Free/impartial debt advice: National Debtline | StepChange Debt Charity | Find your local CAB

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  • johng_uk
    johng_uk Posts: 1,960 Forumite
    Lezanne26 wrote: »
    Suddenly started getting unwanted websites opening up at random when I'm using the internet - this is very annoying:mad: . The one that appears most is adserver5.com. How can I stop this? I have pop ups blocked, but these open up in a new window every time. I think my daughter downloaded MSN Live Messenger yesterday - could that have something to do with it?

    I use spybot and Adaware to keep the cack of my system - They work a treat!
    John :beer:

    Life's too short.........
  • nerdymcgeek
    nerdymcgeek Posts: 20 Forumite
    MSN Live Messenger wouldn't install a virus - but you can get viruses sent from other people.

    Try Spybot, a good anti-virus and installing Adblock on Firefox (and NoScript is good too).
  • esuhl
    esuhl Posts: 9,409 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Download the "NoScript" and "Adblock Plus" add-ons for Firefox. Hopefully that should put a stop to 'em.

    Of course, if it's just the one site you need to block, you could edit your hosts file (C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\hosts - NB there's no file extension) and add the following line:

    127.0.0.1 adserver5.com

    This tells your computer to only look locally for the relevant content, instead of the adserver5.com website. Depending how the pop-up works, you might find that you still see the pop-up, but with a "page not found" message, however.
  • Lezanne26
    Lezanne26 Posts: 70 Forumite
    Thanks to all who replied - I googled adserver5.com and lots of people seem to have problems with this. Someone said to uninstall Messenger Plus Live + Sponsor (this is what my dd downloaded yesterday) and thankfully this has solved the problem.:j
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