Follow these steps in order to keep your computer clean, secure, and running efficiently.

1. Install Spybot - Search and Destroy - Install and download Spybot - Search and Destroy with its TeaTimer option. This will provide realtime spyware & hijacker protection on your computer alongside your virus protection. You should also scan your computer with program on a regular basis just as you would an antivirus software.
   
   A tutorial on installing & using this product can be found here:
   
   Using Spybot - Search & Destroy to remove Spyware , Malware, and Hijackers
   
   
2. Install Ad-Aware - Install and download Ad-Aware. ou should also scan your computer with program on a regular basis just as you would an antivirus software in conjunction with Spybot.
   
   A tutorial on installing & using this product can be found here:
   
   Using Ad-aware to remove Spyware, Malware, & Hijackers from Your Computer
   
   
3. Commercial Spyware Removal/Protection Programs - If you feel more comfortable installing a commercial Spyware removal program then we recommend WebRoot's Spysweeper or Lavasoft's Ad-Aware Professional. There are many commercial products on the market, but unfortunately most are misleading and substandard. Both of the products we recommend here are proven to be excellent products and a worthy addition to the arsenal of software protecting your computer.
   
   Spysweeper Product Information
   Ad-Aware Pro Production Information
   
   
4. Make your Internet Explorer more secure - This can be done by following these simple instructions:
   1. From within Internet Explorer click on the Tools menu and then click on Options.
   2. Click once on the Security tab
   3. Click once on the Internet icon so it becomes highlighted.
   4. Click once on the Custom Level button.
      
      1. Change the Download signed ActiveX controls to Prompt
         
      2. Change the Download unsigned ActiveX controls to Disable
         
      3. Change the Initialize and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe to Disable
         
      4. Change the Installation of desktop items to Prompt
         
      5. Change the Launching programs and files in an IFRAME to Prompt
         
      6. Change the Navigate sub-frames across different domains to Prompt
         
      7. When all these settings have been made, click on the OK button.
         
      8. If it prompts you as to whether or not you want to save the settings, press the Yes button.
   5. Next press the Apply button and then the OK to exit the Internet Properties page.
5. Use an AntiVirus Software - It is very important that your computer has an anti-virus software running on your machine. This alone can save you a lot of trouble with malware in the future.
   
   See this link for a listing of some online & their stand-alone antivirus programs:
   
   Virus, Spyware, and Malware Protection and Removal Resources
   
   
6. Update your AntiVirus Software - It is imperitive that you update your Antivirus software at least once a week (Even more if you wish). If you do not update your antivirus software then it will not be able to catch any of the new variants that may come out.
   
   
7. Use a Firewall - I can not stress how important it is that you use a Firewall on your computer. Without a firewall your computer is succeptible to being hacked and taken over. I am very serious about this and see it happen almost every day with my clients. Simply using a Firewall in its default configuration can lower your risk greatly.
   
   For a tutorial on Firewalls and a listing of some available ones see the link below:
   
   Understanding and Using Firewalls
   
   
8. Visit Microsoft's Windows Update Site Frequently - It is important that you visit http://www.windowsupdate.com regularly. This will ensure your computer has always the latest security updates available installed on your computer. If there are new updates to install, install them immediately, reboot your computer, and revisit the site until there are no more critical updates.
   
   
9. Install SpywareBlaster - SpywareBlaster will added a large list of programs and sites into your Internet Explorer settings that will protect you from running and downloading known malicious programs.
   
   A tutorial on installing & using this product can be found here:
   
   Using SpywareBlaster to protect your computer from Spyware and Malware
   
   
10. Update all these programs regularly - Make sure you update all the programs I have listed regularly. Without regular updates you WILL NOT be protected when new malicious programs are released.

Follow this list and your potential for being infected again will reduce dramatically.

Mr.Grimler,

It was this tutorial and another one on
"How I got infected" that helped me to restore my computer to a decent speed.
That's why I decided to get involved with BC.
It is my first discussion group of any kind.
Was squeamish. So many posts,so little time



many thanks,

Rhubarb

Words like this make it all worthwhile Thanks!

Thankyou so much for cutting through a whole lot of computer crap and giving some straight forward instructions. Very helpful.

Cheers mate

pete

(Moderator edit: deleted the quotation of the entire pinned post in the reply. jgw)

WOW!!! Thanks sooo much for this info!! I really appreciate it.

Awesome post

Hi, can you tell me which are are free to download, I have spybot, but adware shuts my computer down, I downloaded a add on from adware and its shuts my computer down everytime i try to use that adware program, ,, any ideas,,,

Hi anglwngs

All the programs that Grinler recommends above are free to download! Is there any reason for using this ad-aware add-on? Do you believe you are infected?

David

Hi, thanks for responding,, I had ad aware, i put the add on, thinking i could get rid of the winfixer 2005 problem, but then my computer shuts down every time i try to scan with ad aware,, not sure what to do ,, i want to get this winfixer thing off my computer,, also, i was told to update my windows, would i lose anything if i do, as in files and such,, ,,, thanks,, Heather,, any ideas,, i surely could use them,,

Hi There

I have read your post and I think it would be wise for you to post a HijackThis log for an expert to review. I bet you are wondering what HijackThis is. Well it's a program that is simply able to show others what's going on inside your computer, in terms of infection etc..

I recommend you follow the HijackThis preparation guide which can be found here. It is important that you follow the guide closely. A number of scans will be run which may well fix your problem.

As the guide says, after you have completed the scans that are recommended, please post your "HijackThis" log in a new topic in the forum found here. Please add your system infomation and also what problems you are having. Please wait for a few days and one of our experts will get onto fixing your computer for you.

Please be aware that this new year we have been swamped so it may take a week for a reply.

David

I use Windows XP
I just started to follow the steps suggested above by Grinler. Before that, my outlook Express was perfectly working but after and since, it doesn't want to send/receive emails anymore. When I click Send/Receive, I get the message sayng the server ended the connection and also
" Compte : 'pop.belgacom2.net', Serveur : 'pop.belgacom.net', Protocole : POP3, Port : 110, Sécurisé (SSL) : Non, Erreur de socket : 10053, Numéro d'erreur : 0x800CCC0F"
(It's in French but I'd think the few words are understandable)

I checked my email with Webmail and this works. So it's really Outlook Express which is concerned.

The steps I had done (before Outlook Express behaved badly) were
1) I installed Spybot
4) I "made my internet explorer more secure", following the advised steps

After this I did run Spybot
a. I scanned for problems, they were more than 50
b. They were all ticked (selected) and I asked for them to be fixed. It removed most of them and left a few unfixed, probably because the were involved in running programmes.

I don't know if it's connected but in case, after running Spybot I also got a small window (which is still there, it doesn't go away, whatever the current page) saying
"Spybot Search & Destroy has detected an important registry entry that has been change
Catetgory: User-specific browser toolbar
Change: Value deleted
Entry: {A798E2B4-B6A0-4B96-8C53-8EC7A3B0895 "(the rest is out of window and can't show)
Under this it's weird: there are 2 long buttons but half of them appear so they can't be read. One of them is covered by "Remeber this decision" which I can tick, and there's also a help button with a "?" but the help doesn't really help me.

Anybody knows if I did something wrong which could disable my Outlook Express?

Outlook Express — 0x800ccc0f

If you are using Norton Antivirus, you might also want to check this out:
A fix to the Norton Antivirus issue caused by a Dec 6th, 2004 update


That's a known bug, with Spybot's Tea Timer.
Here's a link to a thread that discusses it:
Spybot/Alert Dialog, Not complete

I want to try the things you suggested, tg1911, but after I rebooted my system, it was impossible to be internet connected, and stilll is. I'm writing this from work. At home, I'm cut off of the internet world!!!



Oh and I doubt the problem would be from Norton Antivirus. Yes, I've updated it several times since Dec 6th but I did run it each time and this Outlook Express/ Internet connection problem didn't occur. It only did yesterday after I used Spybot.

So guys if anybody can help, reading my previous post and adding to the symptom the fact that my internet connection is refused all together... When I try to connect, I get the Error 721

AAAAAAhhhhh! Guys, I'm so sorry!!! It seems I called for help for not much... I'm home and my internet connection works perfectly! I swear it didn't work at all yesterday night nor this morning... and this never never happened! Now i'm so relieved!

So TG 1911, thanks for letting me know about the thread which mentions the Spybot's teatimer bug, I'll have a look now.

Moderators, feel free to delete my unecessary posts here...

wow thank you so much sir ;)

What a comprehensive compilation! I believed that I was really secure and everything was safe and under control until I read the post. Thanks a lot Grinler, really good work.
Earlier I used to be active in some forums but I felt that they were useless and I slowly began to back off. Now after a long time I have decided to be an active participant here. I use this as an occasion to thank all the guys behind this forum for their great effort and valuable content.
You guys really rock!

Thanks for the compliment, but the thanks should really go to all the members who regularly contribute some of their time to share areas of expertise and experience in an effort to help others.
BC is really a great user community, and I am glad you want to participate in its growth.
Regards,
John

I found this on www-Spybot.com..


Spybot S&D software is overrated - but it is popular because it's free. However, there are other commercial shareware alternatives which are much better at spyware/adware detection and removal. Spybot is not the best, and is hardly worth the download.


I have spyware blaster, the grinler recommends this...i think....do i need it?? and why would they knock it on spybot.com??!!

Without a precise link to the text, it is difficult to evaluate any warrant for this assertion. Spybot is certainly recommended not just here at BC, but by many other sites and by many security experts, as a quick review of Google entries will certainly show.

The problem with spyware is that there is no commonly-agreed set of critieria against which to search; thus, each company's application will look for, and find, different---not necessarily "better" sets. In addition to a user knowing the kinds of actions to avoid while on the internet, employing several anti-spware applications so they overlap one another's criteria, is a sound practice.

Regards,
John

Sorry John, this is the link


However, on further examination it seems to be a competitors web site...

Bottom line: buy my product.

One reference is to a review of an ealier version of Spybot, the other reference provided disparages its real time protection (I am not sure if the bug in teatimer has been fixed). Either way, reading the full reviews gives a slightly different, and less reductive, conclusion than does Nils. Even the good review of HIS application by AdawareReport, notes there are "gaps" in its coverage and recommends using additional applications.

Again, as I wrote above, the criteria for determining performance, are not well enough defined to warrant any decisive conclusion from tests, which might well produce other results at other site's reviews and comparisons.

Regards,
John

Thanks again jogn. Ithought as much.


I down loaded Spybot and made it active.

I think that statement maybe a clue. They are promoting a paid version of software. No one antispyware program will protect your system that is why multilayer protection is recommended. I dismiss this comment are posion pen, and irresponsible. The fact are that Spybot is very effective.
Would you please post the proper link? I would very much like to see that site.

I was just reading thru and I believe the link is in post 20

yup its post 20..

its actuallly wvw..
i dont think its a spybot site at all!!

Thanks for the info

Excellent post many thanks

scotty

I found this quite useful - http://www.mypccenter.com/Antivirus_main.asp
you can scan your PC for viruses for free, without downloading anything. It's just an ActiveX scan.

I check my machine frequently here and this way I don't have to purchase the software if I don't need it.


J.

Fantastic post! Provides well document clear information!

I to have followed grinler steps and now have both spywareBlaster & spybot S&D I also now have Kerio firewall along with spywaredoctor (payed version) AdAware se and norton corporate and i think I have that bug for I also get this: there are 2 long buttons but One has nothing on it One of them is covered by "Remeber this decision" which I can click, and thats the only way I can close out the box if I dont click it I can't....also in the spywareBlaster in tools I checked the box to FLASH then I couldnt play in the web games lol so I unclicked it and rebooted but still nothing . I have been told to remove the micromedia Flash in add/remove and try downloading it again which I just did its in add/remove with no size or mb tho it said it was installed so I have no abobe flash and alot of whitebox's w/x's lol I think i did something wrong ? and dont know what to do so I'll ask before i leap again lol thx with much gratitude I do love this site tho dont understand much of it lol I read it alotttttttttttt "o} sry for long winding "o{

Grinler et al.,

I was wondering about the ewido anti-spyware tool used as part of disabling the icodec/virusburst malware. My 30-day trial is about to run out. Is it worth purchasing a full version? I ask because I already have a hardware firewall, McAfee Enterprise 7.1, plus updated versions of Spy-Bot and Ad-Aware SE Personal. I want to give props to Ewido for helping solve part of the problem, but I'm not sure I need another anti-spyware/malware program on my O/S (XP Service Pack 2). Your thoughts, and everyone else's, are appreciated.

Bloodyabo

bloodyabo,
Even after the trial of Ewido (now known as AVG Anti-Spyware) runs out, you can still use the program.
It won't have real time protection, and you'll have to update it manually, but it will still work.

Great info on IE. Just wondering if much has changed with these settings since 2004? With new versions coming out all the time plus all the IM updates- new one today. Seems more & more sites are using ActiveX. Don't know who to trust anymore- including MS? I am getting in the habit of just saying "yes" like I did with virusburst. (I'd like to know where those guys live to fertilize their lawns)

Thanks: Pup

Thanks tg1911!

Bloodyabo

You're quite welcome, bloodyabo.