how do i remove annoying adware/spyware that norton doesn't pick up?

Question

I recently downloaded a free smiles pack called 'message skinner' for my msn messenger and since then i have been having problems, i removed the programme because it was giving me loas of annoying advertising but after that the problem seems to have got worse, every time i'm browsing the web i get things popping up in my taskbar and its driving me nuts. I've tried 'ad aware', 'spybot', 'windows defender' and running checks with my norton anti virus but the problem just remains and the checks say all clear??!! As a last resort i'm regretably considering losing all my music and files etc by wiping the hard drive and starting again, although i can't seem to find my windows instilation disc either, i guess i'm gonna need that aye? lol

Answer 1

The best way to get rid of spywares,adwares,trojans and is using a best anti-spyware to protect your computer.You must have 1 or 2 antispyware on your computer to protect your computer.Of course there are many solutions exist, all of them with their own strengths and weaknesses.So which anti-spyware is the most suited for your system? You can find out by reading in-depth reviews and comparisons of TOP 5 anti-spywares... some really great tips and links to Spyware removal programs.

Top 5 anti-spywares reviews,comparisons and download links on

http://www.************************

Good luck!

Answer 2

I had a similar problem. Lots of popups and hazard warnings of dire things about to happen and potential Martian invasions and whatever.Norton cleared some of it but the worst persisted. My son who is in I.T downloaded an adwareaway programme and this did the trick. I've not had any trouble since. Sounds like your download was contaminated but whether my solution is the right one I don't know. By the way the cost of the programme to license it was about £21.

Answer 3

Switch off System Restore as back up files may be hiding in there, and it will just restore itself. Go to Start - programs - accessories - system tools - system restore.
Run your anti spyware in Safe Mode. To get into Safe Mode repeatedly press the F8 key after the bios screen loads but before Windows loads. You'll know if you made it because the screen will be at 800 x 600 and your pc will be slow.

Its easier to prevent malware getting on to your sytem in the first place rather than trying to remove it. All the following programs are free for home use;

You need to install one firewall and one anti virus, you have Norton.p/doc/2/ -AVG anti virus or

You need all these anti spyware programs;
http://www.ewido.net - AVG(Ewido) anti trojan.
http://www.safer-networking.org - Spybot Search and Destroy anti spyware. Use the Teatimer settings to protect Internet Explorer, and the Immuniser to stop malware getting on your pc.
Spywareblaster works with Internet Explorer and Firefox. It won't uninstall spyware that is already on your pc, but it will prevent hijacks and other malicious changes to your browser.
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com
Plus;
http://www.lavasoft.com - Ad-Aware SE Personal anti adware

And these are useful utilities;
http://www.mozilla.com/ - Firefox web browser.
https://addons.mozilla.org/search.php?q=ad+block&type=A&app=firefox - Adblock Plus
http://www.ccleaner.com - Cr*pcleaner Registry cleaner and privacy tool
Winpatrol is a handy utility that manages cookies on your pc and stops unwanted changes to your startup folder.
http://www.winpatrol.com
http://www.siteadvisor.com -MacAffee Site Advisor warns about malware on sites you are about to visit.

http://spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm - The Spyware Warrior site identifies fake anti spyware programs.

Answer 4

Downloading that smiles pack was a mistake, that itself is spyware. I would run a scan again with windows defender and make sure you are running a full system scan and not a quick scan. A quick scan only scan part of the computer and not the whole thing.

Answer 5

List for Free Anti-Spy ware Tools:
http://www.cleancomputerhelp.com/free-computer-tools/cat_view-3

Answer 6

Get a few spyware downloaded,I have four,I run them while messing around on here. Someone advised me to turn off my
system restore if I had an infection I couldn't shift,then run my spyware destryers. This is a good site for info on downloads
http://cgi3.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=cuddly-hippo#System%20Restore

and this site,you can put an addy in before downloading to see if there have been problems reported http://www.siteadvisor.com/

Answer 7

Try the free program Spybot - Search and Destroy. Search for it on Yahoo!

Answer 8

You don't say if you are prepared to use a paid for solution, but if you are then i would totally recommend you use Webroot spysweeper-http://www.webroot.com/uk/products/
This program has made adaware and spybot redundant on my system and i'm sure it will sort your problem out. Good luck.

Answer 9

use a program called SpyBot Search & Destroy and run it..it will help clean your computer.. be sure to download the updates first..

Answer 10

try spybot and ad aware se,both r free downloads and will do the job