can someone help me wipe my hard drive free?

Question

i keep getting popups.they tell me to contact 5 different web sites to down load there clean up program and these popups will go away but they still have control of my computer.or they might just be blackmailing me to pat.they won,t let me get into anything that has microsoft in it. like downloading there security help.i heard i might have to wipe my hard drive to get rid of them they popup all the time like every min.i,m a senior and i love to play games but i,m on a fixed income so i can not afford much.pleaes help me thanks and god bless

Answer 1

You probably have spyware and/or adware. A couple of very good spyware / adware detection and removal utilities are Spybot and AdAware.

Spybot: http://www.download.com/Spybot-Search-Destroy/3000-8022_4-10401314.html?tag=lst-0-1

AdAware: http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-Personal-Edition/3000-8022_4-10399602.html?tag=lst-0-1

Download and install them, preferably both, update them, and then scan your computer with each one separately.

Also, when reviewing your computer for spyware, adware, and viruses, you should occassionally check that your "Hosts" file has not been corrupted. It can be found at either \\Winnt\System32\drivers\etc or \\Windows\System32\drivers\etc

You should most likely have nothing in the Host file below the "127.0.0.1 localhost" line. If there is a bunch of stuff in there, try to find another, uneditted version over or remove everything below the "127.0.0.1" line.

If that does not fix the problem, you may want to try an antivirus application and I would suggest you take a look at Avast Home Edition which has good ratings on Download.com. If you like it, download, install, update, and scan your system with it also.

http://www.download.com/Avast-Home-Edition/3000-2239_4-10533644.html?tag=lst-0-2

Answer 2

mrrwkn - First let's determine if the hard drive will need wiped.
Download the programs that I list, the list will match the download links, I am a Computer Technician, so let's get started.
WHEN YOU DOWNLOAD, RUN ONLY ONE AT A TIME,,,, NOT BOTH..

1. Spybot Search and Destroy - download, install, run the updates program that's built in so your files are updated, Scan the hard drive, and follow the prompts.

2. Adaware SE - Next Download this one, and do the same.

3. After these are Downloaded, updated, and Scanned, email me after awhile with the results: Better, Same, Worse.... Come Back to Yahoo Answers, Click on My Name, Click Contact, this will send me an email, I will respond within 24 Hours.. Free Service for you, and the downloads Are Also Free, and Virus Free.

Then if we need to, we can Format the hard drive and reinstall the OS, but only as a last resort. Good Luck

Answer 3

Uh huh.... besides basically format the desktops stressful force and reinstall living house windows. sturdy as new. in case you have the desire to make issues unrecoverable then you certainly will opt to ascertain DBAN ( Darik's Boot and Nuke ) living house windows isn't loose so in case you do not have it already this is recommended to look at linux. you additionally could make linux stay CD's in case you opt to get a experience for the OS in the previous you finally end up totaly.

Answer 4

Pop ups are a sign that your PC is infected with spyware.
You dont have to reformat your PC.
Goto www.ewido.net and run the free scan to find and remove the spyware.
Here is a list of other free ones that I use.
Spybots search and Destroy http://www.download.com/3000-8022-10122137.html?tag=pao
adaware se> http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-Personal-Edition/3000-8022_4-10399602.html?tag=lst-0-1
http://www.webroot.com/land/freescan.php
a-squared Free> http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/free/
http://housecall.antivirus.com/housecall/start_frame.asp
http://housecall65.trendmicro.com/
X -Cleaner Micro Edition scan http://www.spywareguide.com/onlinescan.php
http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner
http://www.windowsecurity.com/trojanscan/
http://www.bitdefender.com/scan8/ie.html
http://www.pandasoftware.com/products/activescan/com/activescan_principal.htm

http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/virusinfo/scan.aspx
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html
Spywareguard too.
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareguard.html
http://www.ewido.net/en/onlinescan/

Answer 5

Try any free antivirus. download a trial version and then run a virus and adware check on your PC.

you should be fine.

Answer 6

if you are using windows XP you can do a "system restore" and it will set up your computer like it was before...all you do is pick a day it was working....(If you have XP)
it is easy to do ...just click on the "help" and it will explain it

Answer 7

If you want to wipe your hard drive,try CCleaner (Crap Cleaner) available at http://www.ccleaner.com/ccdownload.asp