Comp help needed

self ^ | 12.27/06 | self

[Graybeard58]

When I turn on my comp I get a big display that says "Spy Marshal"

I try to uninstall it and I get a window that tells me I must exit the program before I can uninstall it. There's the problem, there's no way to exit it. The only option is to purchase it.

It covers most of the icons on my screen including the fire fox one I usually use. I went into "my documents" where Netscape is stored and got here with it.

Yes, I'm logged on.

[jdm]

My only "gripe" about Firefox 2.0 is that there's no extension for vertical tabs....yet. The guy who made it for 1.5 hasn't logged on in over a year. I edited the content of UserChrome.css to get vertical tabs, but without a scrollbar for the vertical tabs, such a hack is pointless, as I have 80 tabs open and can only see about 35 without a scrollbar! LOL.

[ADemocratNoMore]

> If the problem comes back in 24-48 hours, let me know, maybe I can help. Below is a sample fix for Spy sherrif at Geeks To Go forum. It can be a rather nasty, stubborn infection:

I got hit by Spy sherrif a year or so ago and its VERY nasty. Don't assume that its gone just because you don't see it running in the task manager, it could be masquerading as some other benign process - you could look all day and never find it. Somebody else here posted a link to the free scan from Trend Micro, thats what I used to get rid of it, however, this thing is so nasty I would suggest running several different software scans just to be sure you caught it all.

Oh, don't blame your daughter, I caught mine just by accessing a website that came up in Google as having information on a pinball machine I was looking for.

Good luck!.

[jdm]

Oh, don't blame your daughter, I caught mine just by accessing a website that came up in Google as having information on a pinball machine I was looking for.

I love pinball. That gives me an idea too. How about a pinball game with a spyware theme? :O)

[jdm]

I don't know if Trend Micro cleans the PC for free, though. I think only the detection is free; not the removal. Whereas with Superantispyware the scan and removal is free.

[ADemocratNoMore]

> I don't know if Trend Micro cleans the PC for free

Yes, both the scanning and cleaning were 100 % free, at least as of the last time I used it, which was around a year ago.

> How about a pinball game with a spyware theme? :O)

How about a little Voodoo doll of the ^&$#*&%*#s that put out the Spyware\Malware & you get to use him as a target for the balls to hit?.

[jdm]

How about a little Voodoo doll of the ^&$#*&%*#s that put out the Spyware\Malware & you get to use him as a target for the balls to hit?.

LOL!

[kenth]

Don't you think you're overreacting? That's crazy... murder.



It'd be considered self-defense, wouldn't it?

[rzeznikj at stout]

LOL...

[ThePythonicCow]

but I got sick of having to constantly re-install it whenever a new version came out.

They fixed that in Firefox 2.0 - now it reinstalls itself automatically the next time you happen to start it up.

[lesser_satan]

Reboot and browse the internet a couple times over the next couple days to make sure it's gone. Also, if you have multiple user accounts set up, log on as a different user and make sure everything functions normally under those accounts. These things can be very insidious.

[lesser_satan]

It'd be considered self-defense, wouldn't it?

I'd certainly hope so. It'd be great fun regardless.

[Swordmaker]

Then, after Graybeard58 gets his spyware problem resolved, I say we track down and murder all of the people who inflict spyware, adware, malware, virii, and spam on humanity, and roast marshmallows over their burning corpses.

Redmond Washington would be a ghost town... and there would be a lot of air pollution.

[Swordmaker]

When I uninstalled Spy Marshal I did it from the "add or remove programs" The icon is gone from the desk top and I can't find anything related to it in my program files.

Spy Bot Search and Destroy. Also use Ad-Aware. Then run your latest update anti-virus to see if there is a trojan lurking about to re-install it.

If those fail, run RegEdit from the Start/Run... command and search the registry for any entries names "Spy" "Marshal" or "Spy Marshal" especially in anything that says "Start up" and delete them. This is not for the faint hearted...

[Swordmaker]

Gray... stop now and make a Restore Point... that way, if the nasty bugger reappears, you can go back to this point and start looking without it doing more damage. Good luck.

[Echo Talon]

"Best Anti-Spyware Software of 2006"

- Computer Shopper Magazine November 2006

[zeugma]

I noted in a later reply that my daughter was here over the holidays and most likely used IE on my comp, for which I will throughly castigate her, the next time I talk to her.

In addition to the justifiable castigation, I'd recommend removing all the IE icons and "start menu" links you can find. Maybe leave one buried deep down the 4^th level of some program group for that rare occasion where IE is actually useful. For the most part, if folks can't click on it, they can't run it. (unless they know how to run it from a DOS prompt or where the exe is located) :-)

 

[zeugma]

She might have downloaded something which had Spy sheriff bundled with it. If that's the case, the infection would have been installed with the file, regardless of your browser.

Good point.

  So don't go too hard on her! :O)

oh, I don't know about that. I figure stern words are justified for installing the program that had the infection bundled with it. :-) 

 

[Turbopilot]

Oh, don't blame your daughter, I caught mine just by accessing a website that came up in Google as having information on a pinball machine I was looking for.

You may want to check out McAfee Site Advisor. It's a free extension for Firefox or IE that adds an icon on the bottom of your browser screen showing you whether there are potential dangers on the site you're on. It also adds a little icon next to each link you get in a Google search to let you know whether the site is safe before you click on the link. You can click on the icon on your status bar or in your Google search page to get more specific details on the site.

[Still Thinking]

I remove them totally, and have to run it from Start/Run/ieexplore if and when I need it. How's that for security through obscurity?

[Still Thinking]

Course, I also wouldn't let a visitor log in to an administrator session, either.