What to do about browser difficulties?

Question

just about every time i access a new page, an intruding java pop up shows on my desktop, and won't go away unless i press ok or close the browser. just started happening today. is this a virus?

Answer 1

Hi there,



That is caused by addware or some other form of malware,



Sometimes they "sneak in" when you download a free program or click a link on a webpage.



You can usually find and remove using Malwarebytes or superAntispyware.



You also can find them in windows' "Add/Remove Programs" where you can uninstall.

Another place to find them is in your browser's extensions or add-ins.



I would look at the browser extensions and disable or remove whatever seems to be causing the pop-up.

Second I would look in "Add/Remove Programs" for an app that is unfamiliar.

If in doubdt you can do a search for the program name to find out if it is legitimate.



After that I would download and run Malwarebytes and see what it finds.

If the above does not help then download and run SUPERAntispyware to find the problem.



Anytime you download a free program it is a good idea to save to the desktop and do a virus scan before opening it. Also when installing watch carefully and uncheck any toolbars or search engines offered. Only install the program you want.



There are other addware removers you can find by doing a search but those two seem to work for me..



Hope this helps,

Al

Answer 2

you have adware.. not a virus really.. fairly easy to get rid of it..



please follow my mini-malware-removal guide.. for the most part, all you'lll need to do is run the adwcleaner, junkware removal tool and malwarebytes.. the other stuff you should keep in mind for the future





run adwcleaner and junkware removal tool .. you can get them here

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/windows/security-utilities/



and then do additional cleanup with MBAM

https://www.malwarebytes.org



then go check your browsers for any "bad" extensions.. remove if possible.. if none are seen, and you still have adware in your browsers, then you'll need to reset your browsers.. (google on how to reset them)..and also set homepage and search engine defaults



for virus / trojan detection that you can use in conjunction with any real time AV you have. these scan tools don't offer real time protection but are good removal tools

online scanner from eset

http://www.eset.com/us/online-scanner

and / or kaspersky's avptool

http://www.kaspersky.com/antivirus-removal-tool?form=1



after it's cleaned out... install (into firefox) a popup blocker adblock plus, adblock edge and another addon called noscript. also while at malwarebytes, look at it's free anti-exploit as another form of protection



check out Baidu http://antivirus.baidu.com/en/



top rated.... extremely fast install and scans... very low on cpu usage



http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/baidu-antivirus-ranks-first-place-av-comparatives-performance-test-receives-advanced-nasdaq-bidu-1921386.htm

test results http://antivirus.baidu.com/news/2014-06-16/1409402461.html

Answer 3

Failing a check for adware/spyware, you should also scan your system for malware/viruses.



My version of the instructions:

Run the free version of two of the following: Spybot Search & Destroy, Adaware anti-spy, SuperAntiSpyware, AdwCleaner.



Next install and run malwarebytes free version.



Now, run one of the following:

CCleaner, Glary Utilities, Tweaking.com Windows All In One tool.



How to remove a virus - by Tumbleweed_Biff at Yahoo.com



Top free AV products

Qihoo 360 Internet (arguably the best), ZoneAlarm Free, Adaware Free, Commodo Free, Avast, Avira, AVG



Best Paid:

Kaspersky, eSET, and BitDefender are the top paid AV products.



(Links to four rescue disks are at the bottom, but there are many, many more out there. Most AV providers have one, usually free.)



I) The best solution is to back up your data and perform a factory restore. Install a reputable AV program after the restore and download the latest updates for Windows and your computer before restoring your data.



II) That not being practical for many, try either of the next two methods:

(Please note that it is important to use one of these two methods as you need to boot and scan knowing that no viruses are already in memory. If you try and install an AV product on a machine already infected then there is a decent chance that the virus will be able to hide/relocate from the scanner.)



A.

1) On a clean computer, download 1 or more free bootable AV products. Five I know of are Avira, AVG, Avast, Kaspersky, and G Data but most AV providers offer them, most of them for free. These are often referred to as a Rescue Disc.



(There is a handy product called sardu (www.sarducd.it) which will create a flash drive/Cd capable of having multiple AV products built into it. It isn't perfect yet, but it does do the job pretty well. I keep a copy on a flash drive for whenever I go to someone's house to help with computer problems and I have a number of other diagnostic tools included as well.)



2) Create the bootable media and include the latest virus definitions

3) Boot the infected/suspect computer by using the bootable media and run a full/complete/deep scan of the computer using preferably at least two different ones. No AV product gets them all, but 2 different products should find and remove just about anything.



B. Alternative method:

1) remove the hard drive from the infected computer

2) slave the drive to a clean computer which already has at least one AV product already installed with the most current definitions. You can do this by installing it into the case (for a desktop) or by putting the drive in an external drive case which you can get for the low teens $. These can come with USB (get at least USB 2.0), eSata, or Thunderbolt connections.



3) From the clean machine, run a full/complete scan of the slaved HDD. The computer should already be booted when you connect the external drive, with the AV product already resident in memory (it will have an icon down next to the clock). Then open the AV and run it on the drive. In an ideal world, you should really use two different AV products. MalwareBytes Free is an excellent choice (and my preferred) for on-demand scans like this.



III) If you are unable to do the above, then download and install an AV product and then run it at its deepest level scan. This is not the ideal method as many viruses can hide from AV products if they are already in memory and running before the AV software is executed. There are numerous free AV programs. I strongly recommend two different AV products and one Adware/Spyware product. For free AV, I would typically recommend Qihoo 360 Internet, ZoneAlarm Free, Avira, AVG, or Avast as the installed resident (always running) AV solution and Malwarebytes as a secondary, on demand AV product which I run on a weekly basis. For Spyware and Adware, the two top performers there are AdAware (Lavasoft.com) and Spybot Search and Destroy (safer-networking.org) Both offer a free and paid version. The free version is good, the paid version offers more bells and whistles, just like with the AV products.



Once the virus(es) is/are removed, change any and all passwords having to do with anything important like e-mail, financial-banking logins, etc. as those have probably been captured and sent to the author of the virus.



http://support.kaspersky.com/us/viruses/rescuedisk/

http://www.bitdefender.com/support/how-to-create-a-bitdefender-rescue-cd-627.html

https://www.zonealarm.com/forums/showthread.php/72117-boot-disc-zone-alarm-scan

http://www.lavasoft.com/mylavasoft/support/supportcenter/how-to-create-a-rescue-cd



Separate from the others I will offer to you is Kaspersky's TDSSKiller. Not an actual Rescue Disk by itself, it is at the very top of the list of root-kit finders/eliminators. You should run this in addition to at least one of the others:

http://usa.kaspersky.com/downloads/TDSSKiller