glassdave

iTrader: (1)

fixed it!!!!

used these steps
1. Scan with HijackThis
2. Stop the dllhelp.exe process in task manager.
3. Delete the file dllhelp.exe (Note - Chech the prefetch folder for an associated prefetch file).
4. Use HijackThis to correct HKCU related to the browser (R0 & R1) and the HKCU Run C:\windows\dllhelp.exe (04).
5. Restart the computer.


thanks for all the help guys. had a friend of mine come over and help. (Curious G here on the board) we used the suggestions above and did some poke'n around on our own. seems to be OK now.

NJgr8ful

Glad to hear Dave ... now you just have to quit accidently visiting 'those' sites!! LoL

glassdave

iTrader: (1)

nahhh . . .i'll just hafta start using some "protection"

Philip

My Computer was so bogged down, ran all of the suggested fixes, spybot S&D, Adware, Etc. couldn't clean it up, I will try again in a few days, that I went out and bought a new one. I did the set up, and logged on to Aol to set up my account, (didn't even go to OSO) logged off, and ran Aol's Spyware search and fix, and there was (1) threat, deleted it, ran again, (1) threat, I think it was called Alexis,,,,, on the third spyware delete it came back (0),, can you get spyware from only loging onto your ISP???? do you have to download something, or open up e-mails?? I delete anything with an attachment,, and I will never even open anything I don't recognize,, how does spyware travel?

Philip

David

Alexis is also the name of a file in Windows. I believe Ad-Aware 6 does a workaround because of this.

Reed Jensen

A lot of times these "exe" files get inserted into your "start-up" menu.... Whenever you download a program.. or install a program... they insert themselves into the start-up menu... any time you open a file over the internet that has an "exe" ending.. it is an "execution" file and can reconfigure your computer to any way the program wants... there is a free program called "Start-up mechanic".. it looks at your start-up program and tells you what is useful and what is worthless.. all those things in your start-up menu begin running as soon as you boot up your computer.. Installed from the factory are going to be programs for games... do you really want to have a game program running all the time?... Just taking it out of the start-up menu doesn't remove or delete the program.. it just frees up resources that can be used elsewhere. Download and run "Start-up Mechanic" and see how bogged down your computer really is... If you are running windows 98 or newer... Click "Start" ... click "run" type in "msconfig"... this will open a system utility and you can click on the start-up tab and see how much is running... good luck... Do a google search for Start-up Mechanic.. it's easy to find and install.

blue thunder

I had that :about blank: crap for months. Ran everything I could to get rid of it. Would be ok for a few logons then suddenly back again. Finally I had the brilliant idea to erase the desktop internet explorer icon which I always used to launch the internet and then saved a new icon manually. Haven't had the problem since... This "bug" was actually resident in my shortcut icon.

BT

Philip

I am going to try all of your suggestions, it is just going to take me some time,, I am not that Savvy,, Blue thunder, that is a good Idea,, I am going to try deleting the Icon also,, I run Spybot, and Aol's spyware program,, and spybot seems to identify more threats,, the only thing I don't understand,, is downloading spybot, or any of these anti spyware programs, is like inviting the enemy into your computer????? am I right???

Philip

Keith

The "about:Blank" is the default Windows Internet Explorer setting, nothing abnormal about that whatsoever. Use TOOLS - INTERNET OPTIONS - to change it to whatever homepage you want. If the setting isn't accepted when you relaunch, then you have a little bugger to deal with. That's where all these utilities come into play. Most of the utilities do more harm than good. It's easier not to get infected in the first place.

I could write you a full "war and peace" about spyware, worms, viruses, etc. but the info is already out there. All the major e-Mags in the PC business have the information if you really want to learn what all these programs do. My only advice is never go surfing or open email without something like Norton's full anti-virus software. If you don't recognize the sender or subject in an email, delete it. Stay clear of clicking on popup ads, close them using taskbar or better yet, get a popup blocker and only use it when surfing unfamiliar sites. You need to be diligent about your surfing habits, and the software programs you load on your computer, pure and simple. You're not going to catch something from logging into your ISP unless it's a fly by night.

Don't freak out about Spyware, it's not all bad. You need to find out what it's doing or reporting back to the server layer it's sending info to. Most of it comes from sites with porn, gambling, file sharing, etc. Almost all mp3 music share programs like Kazaa and others contain spyware with hooks to the program. If you delete the spyware, it will render the program inoperable until you reinstall it. A real alternative is to start buying the singles you want from somebody like Walmart.com or Buy.com and pay the 88 cents for the song. Or only swap MP3's with people you know and can trust.

Finally, be very careful downloading and install "free" software packages like search bars, icons generators, avatar generators, etc. In almost every case, they're loaded with the stuff causing these problems. Nothing is free.

Keith

Google Searchbar and Alexis Searchbar have what some consider to be "spyware" loaded. They report your surfing info back to the engines. This type of spyware actually helps when you're shopping or searching for something in particular. It can help narrow search results and filter some of the nonsense you might normally see. Personally I'd rather sift through the search results than have them decide what I want to see and what I don't want to see. In otherwords, I'll filter it.