Strange highlighted green words

[Zakalwe]

Is anyone else getting an effect where certain words are underlined, green and a link to an advertising board? I am and it's a little strange. For example of the Index page the word about and out is highlighted.

Is there some reason for this?

It'll be a regular session, the way tabletop games are.

 

[Wes]

It's not my website.

I think I know what the problem is: spyware. Here's some info I found:

http://boards.cexx.org/viewtopic.php?t=10608
http://boards.cexx.org/viewtopic.php?t=10029

You should download, update, and run Spybot Search and Destroy, a free anti-spyware utility I recommend for all internet users. I also suggest you switch to the Mozilla Firefox browser. Internet Explorer sucks. If your Windows isn't up to date, you need to do that, too.

Edit: HijackThis is available here.I've never used it though.

CoolWWWSearch removal tool is here:
http://www.safer-networking.org/files/delcwssk.zip

Related Article on Cool Web Search

 

[Zakalwe]

OK, I'm trying, It's really bothering me and needs to begone. highlighted green words is really anoying.

 

[Zakalwe]

Alright this might be a little harder than I expected. I've hit my computer with repreated scans from that search and destroy thing, have restarted my computer, immunatised it, and still the highlights won't go. Strongly considering hitting screen with hammer. :x I'll probably persavere though and hopefully I'll get rid of this annoying, pathetic and utterly pointless excuse of an infection once and for all.

 

[Zakalwe]

Oh Brilliant, all of a sudden and with no warning the words have stopped. Yay. May they never return again. *Begins a long and complex exorcism for the computer*

 

[Wes]

It appears to be enhancemyseach.com...

Looking for answers, I got it, too. Clearing my firefox cache seemed to kill it, though.

 

[Yangfan]

I use Ad-aware 6.0 and AVG Antivirus. Both are freeware. It seems that our computers can't go online without full plate armor anymore. What's the Internet coming to? :?

 

[Zakalwe]

I don't know. But all the virus' and worms going around, their are just some very sad people with serious personality defects and far too much free time, that don't seem to care about the stress and damage they cause.

And this adware and spyware, whose soul purpose apears to be to annoiy you and slow down your computer, how pathetic is that?

 

[Wes]

But all the virus' and worms going around, their are just some very sad people with serious personality defects and far too much free time, that don't seem to care about the stress and damage they cause.

I disagree. First of all, no one has too much free time. There's no so such thing; and, just becaus a person wrote a virus doesn't mean that person has "personality defects" or doesn't care about the damage. That just means the person has different goals than you. The Welchia worm, for instance, forced computers to download the Windows update that would keep them from getting the Blaster worm (but it also opened its own back door, lol). Other want your passwords so they can buy themselves new gear--I guess those types sort of think of you the same way you think of them--as a faceless screenname.

When your computer gets a virus, all you see is that it's not working right. Sometimes to understand why you got it, you've got to look at it from other perspectives, too. Some of them might be trying to get enough outrage over a hole in Windows that Microsoft will get off its ass and fix it before a much worse virus uses it.

whose soul purpose apears to be to annoiy you and slow down your computer

No, their purpose is to advertise.

 

[Zakalwe]

Points taken. I was a little frustrated at the time and not realy thinking it through. However even though the words where gone for a good three hours, their now back and repeated scans do nothing to help, my parents insist I don't download anything else since they think it'll be a scam or I'll actualy be downloading a virus (my mum had a bad experiance). So it apears I'm stuck with little green words for the moment, ah well I geuss it's not that bad.

 

[Wes]

It's a shame I'm not there to fix your box. ~,~ *Has become somewhat skilled in spyware removal because of all the stuff he's done for the Army computers, and neighbors*

 

[Tyler]

Adware and Spyware are the products of sadists with nothing better to do than harass innocen tpeople. *Laughs at Yang's comment* Computer Full plate mail+5!

sidenote: if it wasn't for the fact I need my comp to talk to ...somone...I've have taken a steelbat to it a long time ago to rid myself of the hassle of Ad/Spyware forever.

 

[Zakalwe]

Worse my computer seems to have gone insane for a completely differant reason meaning it freezes whenever I try to go on the internet. I've left it to cool down and gone onto our other computer, but it's anoying since I only have Yahoo on that computer.

 

[Wes]

Yeah, you need to get rid of that adware badly. What have you tried so far?

 

[Tyler]

Spybot S&D

 

[Zakalwe]

I used the Spybot Search and Destroy from the link you gave.

 

[Wes]

The following are some step I always use when working on comps with spyware; it is basic troubleshooting that may be able to help you.

Empty your browser's cache, for one.

I assume you're using Internet Explorer (Again, I recommend that you switch to Firefox 1.0.2 when this is done).

Tools > Internet Options > Click "Delete Files" button.
It may take a minute for it to delete all the saved stuff.

Click the "Settings" button next to it, then "View Objects."
Delete any unfamiliar objects from the C:\WINDOWS\Downloaded Program Files window that comes up. If you don't know what it is, delete it. You don't need anything in that directory (though you'd have to re-download Flash, for instance, if you deleted the Shockwave Flash object).

Exit out of that.

Use the "Run" thing in the start menu.

Type msconfig and click okay.
Look under the "Services" tab for any unfamiliar services that aren't made by Microsoft Corporation. If you find any, post them here. Look under "Startup" for any suspicious programs set to run at startup. Let me know what you find.

Anything you uncheck in msconfig won't run the next time your computer starts up. This is useful because you often can't delete running programs. You may have to restart your computer if you find and uncheck any enhancemysearch stuff.

Look for anything suspicious under program files. If you have a question, ask me. I can tell you what most things are. You can also use Google to search for them. You don't want to delete any "good guy" software by accident.

BelArc advisor (click to download) is another little program I keep in my toolkit disks that will build a local webpage with a complete profile of your computer, with all your info and all programs installed (plus versions). It'll also have links to each program's location. Very useful. Check out what's installed there, and also at add/remove programs in your control panel.

 

[Zakalwe]

Alright I'll try that as soon as I get on my other computer

 

[Wes]

You ever get this fixed?

 

[Zakalwe]

You know strangely it just disapeared. I didn't really do anything but it went. Now however I have another, more serious problem. I can't open up my internet directly, I need to rightclick and open or the computer freezes, my computer can't follow hyperlinks or it freeses for five minutes, and even then it doesn't go there, and whenever I manage to open the internet, four non-responsive ones apear on my taskmanager which are impossible to get rib off without freezing the computer and slow my computer down. Great huh?