maybe i should stop downloading?

i'm starting to get paranoid now. in the past three days or so, this computer (not even mine) has had a surge of pop-ups and all sorts of shit that keeps downloading against my will... it's so bad now that every morning i have to go to the add/delete programs menu to delete all the shit that gets on here. is this the gov't trying to snoop around on me? or is it from too much downloading?

 

It's just basic Spyware, and Adware. Spyware is used by companies that send out all those Spam emails you've been getting.

 

That's just random spyware, addware, possibly trojans, viruses, and other crap from being on the internet, and downloading and such.... I suppose it just builds up, and it seems the more you have, the quicker you get more...... Another reason I use linux, it doesn't have that problem...

 

are there any good (free) anti-virus programs out there? i'm sorry, i know i could probably just google it, but i want to know what's better for you guys rather than just d/ling a random program.

 

Google spybot or adaware

 

I have the following things downloaded which keep me almost spyware free. Adaware, Spybot Search & Destroy, and the Mozilla Firefox browser. Search for all of these on google. They are all free. I know a lot of people still want to hold on to Internet Explorer, but Mozilla Firefox is a much better browser and I think anyone who uses it would agree. It doesn't use ActiveX controls, which Internet Explorer does. ActiveX controls make it possible for websites to install spyware on your computer without your knowledge. Since Firefox doesn't use ActiveX controls you have considerably less spyware. That's just one of the many many reasons I prefer Firefox over Internet Explorer. If you download thse three things. Make Firebird your default browser, and run your spyware detection programs about once a week you should be in fine shape.

 

Ditto everything shockw4ve recommended, plus I'd add the following:

AVG Antivirus. It's free, and you can set it for automatic scans and updates.

Zone Alarm- This is a free firewall. I've been using it for years, with no problems. The default setting causes a pop-up every time someone or something tries to access yoru computer. I turned that off, because I was getting hundreds of hits an hour. It's scary to think what's out there trying to get in, though.

 

Almost forgot about antivirus. I'm using AVG as well. I would have to recommend Sygate for your firewall however.

 

Two more very nice programs: HijackThis! & RegProt.
HijackThis! finds and deletes many browser 'helpers' and other programs like those kinds of things that change your startpage. It's very quick, it's definitely no replacement for AdAware, ZoneAlarm and an antivirus, but it's a good quick fix for some of those nasties.
Diamond CS RegProt (Registry Protection) does exactly what the name implies; it protects your Windows registry. Many of these programs write entries in the registry, so even if you delete them, they just re-install themselves the next time you boot up your computer. RegProt warns you when a program is trying to do that; simply click 'no'. Take note of the name of the program that tried this (RegProt will tell you), check your running processes to shut it down if necessary, and remove the offending program with HijackThis, AdAware or just by hand. It won't be back (well, unless you visit the infected website again... but not by itself!)

 

You should have mentioned that Hijack This is definately NOT a program for beginners and you should not even begin to use it unless you know exactly what you are doing. It clearly states this on the companies website. If you need help with a Hijack This logfile there are places you can go. The company has it's own forum. I prefer to use http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums They have a section on there forum dedicated to Hijack This with moderators who specialize in analyzing and giving advice about Hijack This logs.

 

use newsgroups for downloading everything.

 

it sounds like you've got it real bad. i find that at the point that you've gotten to, that you can run all the programs in the world to delete what's gotten on there but you'll still have lots of crap you don't want on your computer. At the point that you've gotten to, i would recommend burning all the files you want to keep onto CDs, wiping your hard drive (formatting your hard drive), and reinstalling windows (or whatever operating system you're using). If you don't know how to do this, either bring your computer to one of your more computer savvy friends and smoke him down as payment for doing it, or bring it to a professional computer fixer guy.

This will give you a fresh start. From this point, the first thing you should do is download the browser called Firefox (made by a company called Mozilla), and always use it instead of Internet Explorer. This is the most important thing you can do. You can download some nifty programs like adaware if you want, they're always good to have on your computer.

p.s. i'm not suggesting anything but if anyone is looking at porn on your computer, make sure that they use Firefox because porn is loaded with spyware, adaware, viruses and all that jazz