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[Kleegamefan]

So I visited an adult website yesterday and it somehow embedded a whole bunch of porn, gambling and viagra shortcuts on my desktop and I can't get rid of it....

I ran Ad Aware and Microsoft antispyware scans but they dont help..

I tried to set the computer to a restore point before this happned but before I could get the chance these "things" restarted my computer so the settings are now saved!!!

Worse, system restore doesn't seem to work anymore.....no matter what day I try to get a restore point at, it says I can't do a restore point there..WTF?!?!?!

It reset my home page to some adult site, I have tried to clear my stuff out via the internet settings in the control panel (clear cookies, delete files, clear history) but nothing works

My desktop is now full of these blasted shortcuts because the more I try to delete them, the more they copy themselves

BTW, I am running the google pop-up blocker (won't work against this stuff) and I have Windows XP Service Pack one......I never upgraded to SP2 because I want to fileshare MP3 via SoulSeek or Exeem but I am now having second thoughts (BTW, I never got any of the free MP3 services to work for me....are there any working ones out there that you know of so I can get some music before I upgrade to SP2?)

Is there anything I can do to get rid of this stuff or any software that I can d/l to purge this shit??

Am I fuxxord or what?

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

Have your run Hi-Jack This? That program can really help find and delete some of these hard to get at Spyware crap. Also, Spy-Bot Search and Destroy is a good alternative as well. Have you downloaded the lastest updates for Ad-Aware? Make sure it's completely up to date as well. Good luck man.

 

[ElyrionX]

Just curious, were you using Internet Explorer or Firefox?

 

[Jeffahn]

Oh, the wonders of da in ta net!

...

 

[Zaptruder]

From the sounds of it, obviously IE.

 

[Anthropic]

Anyone still using SP1 is crazy. There's basically no issue with P2P programs and SP2.

Try booting into safe mode and then running all of the anti-spyware programs.

 

[Diablos]

Mine is too. Ever since I was using IE after a windows install and at a certain search site, ISTSvc installed on my machine and I CANNOT get rid of it. I've resorted to Ad Aware, Spybot, Hijack This, Trend Micro, and self-removal (of both the files and registry keys) three times now, but every time I restart it fucking comes back.

 

[Hooker]

http://www.hitmanpro.nl/


And get SP2

 

[Orin GA]

Just a heads up. Do not attempt to use Hijack This on your own. Find a Hijack support forum and get help from people who know what they are doing.

Secondly I reccomend spywareblaster. Good prevention tool.

 

[Jill Sandwich]

"It's the only way to be sure."

 

[shuri]

Sadly, for some extreme case, it's quicker to just format. Please upgrade your Windows installation next time.

 

[Diablos]

Well, if anyone gets the dreaded ISTSvc, here's how to remove it in XP:

Make sure you have ad-aware with the latest definitions.
Restart in command prompt mode.

cd\program files\istsvc
del *.*
cd..
rd istsvc
cd\windows\prefetch
dir /p
look for a file with ISTSVC-(a bunch of numbers)
del [name of ISTSVC file]
cd..
press ctrl+alt+del
Open the task manager and go to run
Go to the ad-aware folder
Run the executable
Do a full system scan
You also might want to delete any suspicious looking favorites for Internet Exploder.

Believe me you do NOT want this. It randomly brings up IE popups (even if you aren't using IP) displaying ads for porn sites.

Finally, restart.

 

[Zaptruder]

There's a low tech measure you can use against some spyware...

look in Windows Task Manager > Processes; google every item that you're unsure of (simply type its name into google).

Most of the good files will be explained by some site like liutilies.com, while the offending files might be explained as spyware or have no explanation.

Simply search your comp for the offending files; you might have to goto folder options and turn on view hidden files, view system files. For the ones that google didn't return an explanation on, cut and paste the offending file in a quarantine folder and rename it something else (like name.bak).

Alternatively you can try typing msconfig in the run box; and goto the startup tab and similarly google the stuff in there. Maybe even try the services tab, and repeat the same procedure.

 

[Apharmd Battler]

"It's the only way to be sure."

LMAO!! :lol

But you're absilutely right. I re-format my PC every 6 months. It's the ONLY way to be sure!! This is why I have data backed up on my home network and constantly dump stuff onto DVD-R.

 

[Kleegamefan]

Thanks guys for the advice....I will try it later today..

So will mp3 P2P programs work well with SP2 because I was under the impression there are changes within SP2 to encourage NOT to use P2P programs....so no problem using Exeem or SoulSeek???

Again, every once in a while I try to get some music from a P2P but they never work for me??

Is there something out there like SoulSeek or Exeem that just works???

 

[xsarien]

Just curious, were you using Internet Explorer or Firefox?

Oh, I think the answer's pretty obvious.