I'm sick of these pop-up ads!!!!!

[REEDOG]

My computer keeps popping up a wierd kind of ad. They contain a message telling me to copy and paste a particular url to visit thier website. It will store these ads even while I'm not using the computer, then when I log on all the ads will show up in a row at once. Has anyone seen something similar? I've tried running Ad-aware but it doesn't find these particular ads. How can I get rid of these? Please understand I'm not a computer guru.

[TT/A1233]

You can set Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape's settings to effectively stop those pop ups. Simply disable the browser's "Active Scripting" and never see pop-ups again.

You should also delete all stored cookies and dump the browser cache. That should take care of that.

If you have problems changing those settings simply hit the HELP button on your browser and type in ACTIVE SCRIPTING or SECURITY SETTINGS. That should bring up some help on customizing your browser's security. It's easy....

PS. Changing your ACTIVE SCRIPTING will disable some web site's ability to do certain activities. That's why you use both Internet Explorer and Netscape. If your main browser doesn't work properly on a site due to ACTIVE SCRIPTING being disabled simply launch your secondary browser to hit that site. It's a little inconvienent, but nothing compared to seeing all those BS pop-ups.

[ahrimans810]

I agree, pop ups blow

[Two Lane]

www.cnet.com has some of the very latest "pop-up stopper" software ready for download. All have reviews from users.

Some free, some not...all have free trials.

Two to strongly consider are AdAware and WebWasher. Many people run both.

Also, get the free BelArc Advisor program & inventory the programs on your hard drive. Eliminate the uninvited & unwanted implants that actually "snuck" into your computer, tucked within other software.
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Do you have broadband? I lost most pop-ups by getting a router.
It acts as screen/firewall between your computer and Internet "germs & worms".

Do you have & use the standard Kazaa p2p file sharing program?
If so, get the Kazaa Lite replacement & delete the standard Kazaa, which is FULL of spyware and other parasites.

Try those suggestions. All helped me. HTH

[TurboBob]

look for winservs.exe in your startup folder. It won't let you delete it when windows is running. Its a browser hijacker. I don't know if adaware will find it yet.

Boot to dos and delete it.

Bob

[REEDOG]

Thanks for the help guys. I have a cable connection. Norton Antivirus was included in my computer package. It's about to expire, is it worth the money?

What is a router? Seems most of these programs cost money, what are the most beneficial?

I had Kazaa but when I discovered Kazaa Lite I made the changeover. The spyware was a pain!

Bob, I'm not sure I understand what you're asking me to do. Maybe I'm more illiterate than I seem, I need step by step instruction.

I installed Belarc Advisor, what now?

Sorry for my lame questions.

[Two Lane]

Two to strongly consider are AdAware and WebWasher. Many people run both.

[Two Lane]

2 additional recommended programs are:

Pest Patrol and Pop-Up Defender.
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Both are new and highly rated.

All are available from www.cnet.com

Give them a test drive. Most have some unique features.

Put 'em through their paces...see how you like them.
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With the Bel Arc advisor:

Inventory your machine. Look at the installed software.

Do you recognize all of the different programs? Which ones came with your machine new? Which have you installed? Which ones do you need to investigate, and possibly eliminate?
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A excellent program I can't praise enough is the Pro Uninstaller that allows you to get every last scrap/bit/byte of an unwanted program off the hard drive.

Another one that does more than I ever knew was available is the Diskeeper defrag program, which makes the Windows XP "defrag-ability" seem pitiful.
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Spend some time on www.cnet.com reading up on all these topics.

A terrific learning resource for all things computer/tech related is www.techtv.com especially Call For Help and The Screensavers. Lots of very well written articles are in their reference archives. Tech TV is also a 24-hour cable station you might look for.
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HTH

[REEDOG]

Thanks!

[TurboBob]

do a Ctrl Alt Del and look at the list of programs. If you see winservs then you need to get rid of it. When my other computer had it it popped 1 ad per minute until the computer locked up.

Bob