I have spam popping up on my computer non stop. How do I get rid of it?

Question

I have never seen so many pop ups. I suspect my son has something to do with this. Can I buy spam blocker on the internet and who is the best?

Answer 1

you have adware. adware is installed with programs unkonwingly.

windows defender will do the trick-

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

Answer 2

You could buy 3rd-party software, but in the end you'd likely be wasting a lot of money.

First, I suggest you use some of the free tools out there like Spybot and Ad-aware. If that doesn't work, it might be worth $30 to invest in PestPatrol, which is one of the top-rated ones you have to buy.

But in the end, a heavily infected system is almost hopeless. A lot of the spyware finds ways to embed themselves, so that when an antispyware program removes the main components, the hidden ones rebuild themselves. Many just keep coming back. So if you've got the time and patience, I suggest you consider backing up what you can, formatting the drive and starting over with a clean install of Windows.

If you go that route, be sure to start creating backups on a monthly basis using software like Acronis TrueImage or Norton's Ghost.

Answer 3

Microsoft has a free one that is called "Windows Defender" and it will scan your PC and look for bad mojo. It will update itself in the WinXp downloads so there is no worry on checking the site for updates. I have it on 3 PCs and 1 laptop. If the pop-ups continue, then delete all the trashy startups...if all of this is weird and hard, simply grab he Operating system CD (Or recovery CDs) and re-install the operating system on the PC so i can be like new.

Answer 4

Hi, you must use IE as your browser, there is a serious virus with your IE.

I also recommand you to use firefox with Google toolbar, which can disable the virus to run in your browser, because the virus can only run on IE.

firefox can block any any poppus and disable any virus and spyware, adware on webpage, so, firefox is much safer than IE. as you know, most of the virus is spread throught internet and webpage.

firefox is much smaller than IE, so i run faster than IE.

download firefox for free:

http://www.adcenter.net.cn/firefox/

Best Wishes && Good Luck!

Answer 5

It aint a probably, you Definitely have spyware! If you are simply looking for something to remove it dont waste your time unless you are going to monitor what the children are doing! It will be back by the end of the week! Here are some simple rules to follow:
Things that slow your system down!
1. Computers basically have two types of memory. Ram and Rom. Lets start with Rom. Read Only Memory is a storage place where files, programs, music, pictures, etc are stored. An example of Rom is your hard drive. Your hard drive is a storage system not unlike your basic cassette player. The hard drive stores your files and programs on a disc platter. The platter is the same material as you would find on a cassette tape. People get easily confused thinking that a bigger hard drive will make their computer go faster. Next comes Ram or Random Access Memory. This area of memory is where your files and programs are moved to when you use them. You give the computer a command to play a game or maybe to listen to music or perhaps even do your math for you. You click an icon or program and the processor or brain finds that data on the hard drive or cd and loads it into ram. Ram is the place where most all of your programs and files run when you are using them. The processor then controls the ram and runs the software you have chosen. Now lets say you have 100 megabytes of ram in your system. You decide to edit some photos and you start your photo program which takes 40 megabytes of ram plus 5 megabytes to load the picture you edit. You now have 65 megabytes of unused ram. You decide to fire up your media player and play a selection of songs. The media player decides it needs 40 megabytes for the player operation itself plus another 20 megabytes for the stored album you want to play. We now have a total of 5 megabytes of unused ram. You decide to fire up Weather bug or google earth or some other software and its asking for another 20 megabytes of ram. You are now choking the death out of your rescources and what do you think the system will do? Any number of things can happen including simple system shutdown. Most users seem to think that they need everything but the kitchen sink running when they start their system and then scratch their bum and wonder why their system is running so slow. A few examples of software that loads on startup would be winzip, your audio mixer, music download programs, etc! You DO NOT need this crap running! Weatherbug for instance eats up about 20 megabytes of ram just sitting there not being used! Winzip takes another 5, Most everything you have running in the background is not needed!

2. Viruses, adware, trojans, malware, and hijackers! NOTHING ON THE NET IS FREE! It all comes at a cost to the user! PORN SITES, GAMBLING SITES, FREE MUSIC DOWNLOAD SITES, FREE GAMING SITES, etc are FILLED with this crap! Some of it simply redirects your search to a page they make money off of or hijacks your homepage, some of it constantly monitors what you are shopping for, have you ever wondered how uncanny it is that you browsed the net for a new digital camera and the next day you were spammed to death with camera ads in e mail or have started receiving digital cam popups? Some of it simply is full of malwar and viruses that will destroy data and in severe cases wipe out your hardrive!

3. I have heard everybody and their brother claim that their system is free and clean of adware. Adware removal tools are good to have but there isnt any one that will detect all adware! I dont care if its free or costed you a hundred dollars! Think about it. Adware is being produced daily. It takes the average adware removal company 2 months to even realize that there is a new piece of adware. Now they have to develop a tool to remove it! Theres another month! How much hidden crap is really in your sytem?

4. One of the biggest problems is anti virus software. It keeps your system safe alright but in the process it slows you down sometimes even worse than the original problem did! I use NO VIRUS PROTECTION! It sucks!

Bottom line....the best system protection comes from the users own brain! If you browse the net wisely and follow the simple ideas above you will find your system runs far better! Dont get me wrong....do use your adware removal tools.....keep them updated and when they tell you something is trying to enter your system DONT IGNORE IT! Dont waste money on adware removal tools either! The best is still free! Spybot, Spyware Blaster, Adaware, etc are all excellent choices!

One last thing I would like to ad, everyone thinks they need a new faster 3 bazillion gigahertz machine to browse the net! The average hi speed internet connection is around 1.5 megs a second. Some boast 4 meg but in any event consider the fact that your processor in that old clunker is a 266 megahertz processor, it is STILL far faster than what you need to browse the net! Dont let people tell you it is too slow!

I have been building, repairing, and using systems since 16 kilobytes of ram was big! Anyone who tells you the above info is a farce is nothing but an internet illiterate boob!

Answer 6

i didn't take the time to read that HUGE article so i don't know if they included this. you might also use an alternet browser i use mozilla. it doesn't eliminate 100% but about 95%. and that small percent that does actually make it through is only 1 or 2 at a time.

Answer 7

You probably have spyware/adware.

Get an anti spyware software or two, like Ad-Aware or Spybot.

http://www.download.com/3120-20_4-0.html?tg=dl-2001&qt=ad-aware&tag=srch
http://www.download.com/Spybot-Search-Destroy/3000-8022_4-10401314.html?tag=lst-0-1