About JT Expertise Able to answer all questions about WINTEL PC viruses, spyware, adware and the various utilities paid/free to help erradicate them. Knowledgeable in security concerns and settings for Windows 9x/NT/ME/XP.
Experience 15 years as a system support manager for a large corporation supporting a worldwide service force. I also collect viruses as a hobby and have over 400 original strains (printed assembly code, I do not archive the actual virus) of some of the best viruses from the last 15 years.
Question I purchased the program 'Spyhunter v1.5.81' to get rid of the spyware on my computer, but even after running and removing the spyware several times, I still have spyware issues. Some website links won't work, I have extra toolbars on my browser, and I still get pop-up ads. Is there something else I can try to get rid of this problem for good?
Thanks
Answer The easiest way that I've found to clean out "Adware", "Spyware" and “Malware” is to load a copy of Lavasofts' Ad-Aware and allow it to scan your system at startup. There is a free version available, but if you do a lot of surfing I would advise buying the professional version after trying the free version for awhile. Lavasofts' home page (http://www.lavasoft.de/ ) describes what some of these types of programs can do, and the free scanner can be downloaded from http://www.tucows.com/preview/236049.html . Install the program and run it. Don't freak the first time you run it because it comes up with hundreds of hits, it is finding cookies and cached web pages from any recent surfing activities. It is a very stable and safe program that allows you to backup every time it is going to delete something. I've used it for over 5 years and have never had to restore anything that it deleted.
The program gives you total control over everything action that it performs if the out-of-the-box configuration doesn't suit you needs. It also features auto-update and not only has good support but a large user support group community.
Also I recommend using on-line scans at “Pestscan”. http://www.pestscan.com This is an on-line scanner that should run and if not will tell you what settings have been changed in your internet options that will not allow it to run. It's free and will give you not only Adware/Spyware/Malware infections that you have, but will detect some virus infections also.
I recommend that you also have a resident virus scanner, a resident Adware scanner and supplement with on-line scans.
Hope this answers your question, and thanks for your patience with me.
