What's up with this?

[homeyg]

I go to do something with my AIM thing, and all of a sudden, a download box comes up on my screen. What in the world caused that? And what is it trying to download on my computer?

 

[CruddyLeper]

I'm pretty sure it's adware. Double click do like to put little programs about to put advertising.

Sweep your pc regularly for adware (and the malacious counterpart, spyware).

You can download Adaware SE 1.05 for free from

http://www.lavasoft.com

There's also Spybot:Search and Destroy but I don't have a linkl for that.

 

[Chieftess]

Spybot S&D.

I use both of those too, plus ZoneAlarm, and Norton Antivirus.

 

[homeyg]

Okie dokie.

 

[gonzo_for_civ]

And please, tell me you hit cancel.

 

[Chieftess]

And please, tell me you hit cancel.

I know many a newbies would would just hit spacebar, or just click anywhere. Probably why I spend 2-3 hours cleaning out my little sister's computer of spyware after my family uses it.... (Granted... my aunt thinks windowless popups are viruses...)

 

[gonzo_for_civ]

Hmmm sounds like it's time for a little sit down chat with the family chieftess. Use some good ol' fashioned scare tactics to get them thinking 3rd parties are watching there every move if they aren't careful...

 

[hbdragon88]

OH MY GOSH GONZO IS BACK!

I actually told a girl to hit "okay" when one of those things popped up (we were at school and she had an AxtiveX prompt). It was payback because she was calling me a "freak." BAM - she got a BSOD and was pretty pissed at me.

 

[Makomillion]

Always hit cancel!!

 

[CruddyLeper]

I'd go along with that. Always hit cancel if you're not sure.

If I cancel something necessary then there's always a way to start it going again.

 

[Dabomb18359]

What's a BSOD?

 

[hbdragon88]

What's a BSOD?

Blue Screen of Death. It was in Windows 95/98/ME but has stopped in XP -I've never gotten a BSOD in XP in the two years I've used XP.

 

[Chieftess]

Blue Screen of Death. It was in Windows 95/98/ME but has stopped in XP -I've never gotten a BSOD in XP in the two years I've used XP.

I've gotten one.

 

[GenMarshall]

I've gotten one.

Ditto

 

[hbdragon88]

Oh, those blue screens - I've gotten a couple on the school computers. Thsoe crashes where they had to shut down to preven further damage.

But I've never gotten them at home.

 

[The Person]

I got a few of those when I assembled my desktop computer. I only had to reinstall XP, and they were gone, though.

I've also gotten them when I screwed up something, but that's very very very very very rare. When you get a bluescreen on XP it's something really serious. But I've never gotten to the point where a reboot didn't fix it.

 

[gonzo_for_civ]

After hearing of XP bluescreens I had to try for a week to cause one.

That, my friends, is a vast improvement over 95/98/Me

 

[ainwood]

I got one about a week ago. Video driver had somehow been corrupted.