Expert: Lorry - 6/23/2005

Question
When I open IE and try to do a search or save something ,my dialog box starts typing in the letter Q .It just keeps on adding them. I don't know if it is a virus or spyware. any suggestions?

Answer
Hi Butch,

With Internet Explorer opened, go to Tools, Internet Options, under the Content tab, click AutoComplete, uncheck the boxes under "Use AutoComplete for", click Clear Forms, OK, Apply, and then OK.

If that doesn't solve the problem, go to: http://sarc.com/  Scroll down and click on,"Free Online Virus and Security Check"  Write down exactly anything it finds, then return to: http://sarc.com/  and do a search for what was found. Symantec usually has a removal tool and/or directions for removing manually.

You might want to check for spywarealso. Download Ad-AwareŽ SE Personal Edition, a free program that you can download at:

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/

Check for updates before running program. Then follow the directions here to do a full scan:

1. In the 'General' window make sure the following are selected with a checkmark and are green:

ˇ Automatically save log-file
ˇ Automatically quarantine objects prior to removal
ˇ Safe Mode (always request confirmation)

2. Click on the 'Scanning' button on the left and select :

ˇ Scan Within Archives
ˇ Scan Active Processes
ˇ Scan Registry
ˇ Deep Scan Registry
ˇ Scan my IE favorites for banned URL's
ˇ Scan my Hosts file
ˇ Under 'Click here to select drives + folders, choose: All of your hard drives.

3. Click on the 'Advanced' button on the left and select:

ˇ Include additional file information
ˇ Include additional object details
ˇ Include environment information

4. Click the 'Tweak' button and select:

Under the 'Scanning Engine' be sure a checkmark is beside:

ˇ Unload recognized processes & modules during scanning
ˇ Scan registry for all users instead of current user only
ˇ Obtain command line of scanned processes

Under the 'Cleaning Engine' be sure a checkmark is beside:

ˇ Automatically try to unregister objects prior to deletion
ˇ Let Windows remove files in use at next reboot
ˇ Always try to unload modules before deletion
ˇ During removal, unload explorer and IE if necessary
ˇ Delete quarantined objects after restoring

5. Click on 'Safety Settings' and select "Write-protect system files after repair (Hosts file, etc)"

6. Click on 'Proceed' to save the settings.

7. Click 'Start' and on the next screen choose 'Activate in-depth Scan' at the bottom of the page and then choose:

ˇ Perform full system scan

8. Close all programs except Ad-Aware.

Click on "Next" in the bottom right corner to start the scan.

Run the Ad-Aware scan and allow it to remove everything it finds and then REBOOT - Even if not prompted.

After you log back in, Ad-Aware may run to finalize the scan and remove any locked files that it may of found. Allow it to finish.

Hope this helps!
Lorry