Internet Explorer SOCKS!

[ThePeterNetwork]

It's not often that I use Internet Explorer, but I keep it around because it's the only browser that works with AOL, and I don't know why, but sometimes when I open it, it opens a site that's not set to my homepage, and then all these popup windows and undeletable virus warnings show up on my screen. Is there something wrong with Internet Explorer that it keeps doing this? I'm afraid to install the Windows Updates that also pop up each time I turn on my computer. Do you think they have something to do with this unfortunate incident?

[The Falcon]

it's just spyware. but, i agree. it could be annoying as most pop ups are. this thread's title is weird though. "socks"? i thought you were advertising for the sale of white socks with the blue e on them. man...i could use those socks...

Hero

[HumanoidTyphoon]

http://img35.photobucket.com/albums/v106/Kingme/IEsocks.jpg
:D

This thread (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=95153) might help particularly the stuff Arxane posted.

[Sampo]

It's not often that I use Internet Explorer, but I keep it around because it's the only browser that works with AOL, and I don't know why, but sometimes when I open it, it opens a site that's not set to my homepage, and then all these popup windows and undeletable virus warnings show up on my screen. Is there something wrong with Internet Explorer that it keeps doing this? I'm afraid to install the Windows Updates that also pop up each time I turn on my computer. Do you think they have something to do with this unfortunate incident?

Try these following programs:

Google Toolbar. (http://toolbar.google.com/) This nuked all those dang pop ups from other sites.

Lavasoftware's Adaware. (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/) Its a pretty good program that looks for trojans, spyware, and data miners nestled in your computer.

Both programs are free. Also that thread HumanoidTyphoon linked has some very useful info as well.

Laters.

[Tienshin]

I like to run SpywareBlaster (http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html) its a good compliment to either ad aware or spybot, and captures some of the little nasties those programs can miss. If you harden your browser a bit and run these programs every so often, you should see your issues go away.

[ricktimus]

second the "download ad-aware" comment.

and instead of downloading google toolbar for the pop-ups and using IE overall, firefox was pointed out to me and is really an overall better browser (built in pop up blocker, themes, free, tabbed browsing instead of lots of windows).

so... you might want to consider that.

[Arxane]

It's not often that I use Internet Explorer, but I keep it around because it's the only browser that works with AOL, and I don't know why, but sometimes when I open it, it opens a site that's not set to my homepage, and then all these popup windows and undeletable virus warnings show up on my screen. Is there something wrong with Internet Explorer that it keeps doing this? I'm afraid to install the Windows Updates that also pop up each time I turn on my computer. Do you think they have something to do with this unfortunate incident?
Your computer definitely has spyware, and possibly even viruses. Internet Explorer is a horribly, buggy browser that has so many security holes that you need a lot of external protection just to keep you safe...and even then it's not guarnateed. What makes IE worse is that it's a system-level application, meaning spyware and adware can enter your computer directly and mess around with your settings.

The best thing to do is to stop using Internet Explorer altogether and use an alternative browser like Firefox. But since you said that it seems like only IE will work with AOL, then I recommend you get rid of AOL as well. It was recently discovered that AOL downloads a media player called Viewpoint Media Player to play ads on certain programs like AIM. This player is itself spyware, and AOL never asks for your permission to download it. (Side-note: The stand-alone AIM application also uses this player - check your add/removes programs list for it. The player can only be removed once all AOL-related programs are gone, so if you want an alternative to AIM, try Trillian).

But if you absolutely have to use Internet Explorer, then you have to protect yourself. First of all, get both Ad-Aware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/) and Spybot (http://www.safer-networking.org/). These will eliminate most all spyware on your computer. Do NOT download Spykiller (http://www.spykiller.com/); it's a horrible application that once used a Google keyword to look like Spybot. It takes several hours to scan your computer and finds very few actual pieces of spyware...and to actually remove the few things they do find, you have to pay for it.

SpywareBlaster, pointed out by Tienshen, is also a good tool, because not only does it block a good deal of spyware, but it also stops almost all of those annoying Yes/No security warnings you see on unsecure sites. You'll never be prompted to download a piece of crap software you'll never need again.

Download Browser Hjiack Blaster (http://www.wilderssecurity.com/bhblaster.html) so you can stop your homepage from being hijacked all the time. If your homepage is changed, this program will change it back to the original one and remove whatever caused it to change in the first place.

Now, very important: get anti-virus software and a firewall. If you can't afford software like McAfee or Norton, then try AVG Anti-Virus (http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_index.php). For the firewall, Zone Alarm (http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/home.jsp) does a very good job of keeping you safe from drive-by attacks.

Several months ago, a variant of the CoolWorldSearch virus began surfacing on the net. This virus made popups of search engines for porn sites pop up every time someone visited a site that it believed was related to porn. Therefore, a lot of animation sites had thes popups because it assumed animation = porn. If this happens, go to this site and get the CWS Shredder (http://www.doxdesk.com/parasite/CoolWebSearch.html). Ad-Aware and Spybot aren't able to remove this one.

If you are having trouble with spyware that cannot be answered here, then get the tool Hijack This! (http://s89223352.onlinehome.us/mirror/hjt/), save the log it creates, and go to the forums of Spywareinfo.com, where there are people who will analyze the log and help figure out what you need to do.

And yes, a lot of this information is repeated in my previous post, but some people need to read this, so I just had to rewrite it. Plus, I was extremely bored.

Happy surfing!

[Speedy Boris]

The only thing I use Internet Explorer for anymore is retrieving cached temporary internet files (movies). 99% of the rest of the time, I use Safari.