ok, gang...this one is a stumper, at least to me. pop-up blockers do NOT stop it (maybe because my service pak 2 is made by microsoft?)..it has ALL the answers for me..no matter what it is i'm looking for. it's a full size window, and the banner at the top reads "brought to you by the 180 search assistant-microsoft internet explorer". i have a hard time believing that microsoft would actually annoy it's customers so badly..i mean, there ARE other browsers out there..and some are becoming quite popular, i've noticed.

i've run spybot s&d, and adaware..emptied the temp files and deleted the cookies..it's still there. help? thanx, guys.

h&k to all,

damgud

Download the latest version of HijackThis (HJT), from here.

Put HijackThis in a Permanent folder:
Click My Computer / C: / File / New / Folder / name the folder; HijackThis
Put HijackThis.exe, in this folder.
This is a mandatory step, for the backup and restore functions, of HijackThis, to be able to work.

Read the pinned post in the HJT forum, here
Follow the directions, EXACTLY! This is important!

Then, run a log, and post it in the HJT forum here. Do not, fix anything, yet.
A member, of the HJT Team, will help you out.
Please, be patient, these people are volunteers. They will help you out, as soon as possible.

It has nothing to do with Microsoft (oddly enough), and your computer is now infested. If you want to block popups, don't rely on second party solutions most of which cause more problems than they solve and are spyware.
These best solution, after you have cleaned up your computer, is to download and use an alternate browser like either from Mozilla, that eliminates pop ups and does not rely on activeX and other exploitable MS code.
Cheers,
John