Date: Mon, 6 Dec 2004 10:18:13 -0600
Reply-To: John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
Subject: Re: popups
In-Reply-To: <00ae01c4db99$6738c730$40e43f40@korky>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Ken,
Pretty much NVC here,
but,
I run WinXP.
I use Norton SystemWorks on my computer, and I also run an on line
anti-virus program periodically just to double check. That is mainly
because Norton itself can be infected. Happened to my machine once.
I also run Lavasoft's Ad-Aware SE. This one is very good. It has nailed
adware that even SystemWorks has missed.
Spybot is sweet and everyone ought to have it. Microsoft's Internet
Explorer is notorious for providing access onto your computer by way of
"Object Helper's". If you are running Explorer and land on a website
somewhere that uses ad-ware, they will install one of these things on
your computer and they can be the devil to get rid of. Spybot does a
good job of doing it however. Not only that, Spybot has a list of 2500
or so blockers for known adware programs. You can use Spybot to install
this and it will rid you of 2500 object helpers.
Spybot and Ad-Aware SE are very complementary to one another.
I also run BHOdemon. This is a little program that just sits there in
the background and catches every attempt to make a registry change. If
someone/something trys to change your registry, BHOdemon pops up ad tell
you what it is and asks if you want to allow the registry change. It
will kill anything you say "No" to.
I do not use a registry repair program like Registry Mechanic or
anything like it because I had a program like that toast my system.
Caused me all kinds of grief.
I also use Mozilla Firefox. It is really good, and it too has
anti-adware capabilities.
It is exceedingly rare that I ever get pop-ups of any kind anymore. On
the rare occasion that some website forces me to use Internet Explorer
because it will not run on anything but IE, invariably I will get
pop-ups from that site, the minute IE logs to the site. Sometimes they
go away when I log off with IE, sometimes not, and I find an object
helper has been installed on my computer that I have to run my
anti-adware programs to remove.
Before I installed all this stuff, my machine looked pretty clean. I
noted however that it was running slower and slower. Then I took it to a
fellow that sometimes works on my computer. You know the kind . Geeky,
works at home, never sees the light of day, loves computers, lives in a
virtual world, if he doesn't know it about computers then it's not worth
knowing - that sort of guy. Well, he immediately found 65 viruses and
ad-ware programs on my machine. No wonder it was so slow. Reformatted,
re-installed all software, installed the above stuff, and and it flies.
I've not had a problem since.
I recommend the little programs mentioned above. They are all freeware
and available on the 'Net for downloading.
Regards,
John Rodgers
88 GL Driver
Ken Lewis wrote:
>A fellow list member commented on the number of popups he got while visiting
>my vanagon website http://neksiwel.20m.com/ . A shame but to be expected.
>Here are a list of free downloads I have been using for some time. I get no
>popups anywhere I go.
> http://tinyurl.com/5kgsl Adaware, to clean ad ware.
>
>http://www.safer-networking.org/en/mirrors/ SPYBOT, this is a great
>program. Use the advanced version.
>
> http://tinyurl.com/3vcux SPYBLASTER, helps stop popups.
>
>http://www.tucows.com/preview/355220.html REGCLEANER, while you're at it,
>clean your registry.
>
>And of course I have Nortons.
>
>
>
>