BleepingComputer.com: Pop ups

I'm not really sure how to describe my problem except to use the term "pop ups". All of a sudden, it's as though I'm clicking on programs. My start menu will open and then other windows will open, as though someone is controlling my mouse. I use Windows XP pro. I've run Malwarebytes, avast antivirus and Adaware and nothing shows up. What else can I do?
Pat

Hello there sunshinepat, welcome to Bleeping Computer.

Please try a couple of these free online scanners to see if anything has slipped by your protection:
(Be advised that some of these scanners will pickup things in "quarantine" from other anti-virus programs - so review the results carefully)

http://www.pandasecurity.com/homeusers/solutions/activescan/
http://us.mcafee.com/root/mfs/default.asp
http://housecall.trendmicro.com
http://www.bitdefender.com/scan8/ie.html
http://support.f-secure.com/enu/home/ols.shtml
http://onlinescan.avast.com/
http://ca.com/us/securityadvisor/virusinfo/scan.aspx
http://www.eset.com/onlinescan/

http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner Scan Only - no removal
<links compiled on 02/14/2008>

If you find that you're infected (or the scan doesn't complete or closes unexpectedly), post in the Am I Infected forum located here: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/forum103.html

regards,
The weatherman

Dont forget to shut off system restore, Sometimes the bad boy is replicated in the restore files. By shutting that off, it empties the files. You run your scans and turn on Sys Restore after you find the problem.

As this problem is being handled in the Am I Infected? Forum. this thread is closed.
John

rosiesdad, on May 30 2009, 03:32 PM, said:

Disabling System Restore as the first step when attempting to clean a system or when scanning for malware is not advisable. Unfortunately, some anti-virus vendors still recommend doing this before attempting malware removal and many folks follow that advice. This is really not a good practice when dealing with infected computer systems. Turning System Restore off and then turning it back on has some risk associated with it since that feature does not always work as intended. Further, there is always a possibility of something going wrong during the malware removal process and you end up with more problems. If an incident renders your system problematic or unbootable, you can use System Restore to return it to a previous working state. Without a restore point to fall back on, you are left with a limited means of restoring your system to a usable condition. Disabling this feature could mean having to perform a repair install (or reformat in worst case scenarios) if you're unable to fix any problems which System Restore may be able to correct. Although System Restore is not always 100% guaranteed to work all the time, it at least gives you another option before resorting to more drastic measures.

"System Restore and malware removal - what is best practice?"
"Should I purge all my restore point BEFORE removing infection?"

Topic is reclosed for reason stated in prior post.

Orange Blossom

This post has been edited by Orange Blossom: 30 May 2009 - 04:25 PM
Reason for edit: Fix BB code. ~ OB