RLGaming.com

I need some advice on how to keep pop-up ads/windows from plaguing me. I don't even have to be surfing the net or have my browser open - probably because i am on a cable modem and always connected. All my ports are open because I am DMZ hosting on this computer and i have to have the ports open to play our games. i am on a router (but obviously I have disabled the hardware firewall by DMZ hosting) and i am running McAfee's software firewall. I religiously use SpyBot to remove stuff and i keep on getting these pop-ups. Several times recently i have been in Ravenshield or Falcon and my game window minimizes to the task bar when these pop-ups occur. Before i can maximize the game window - i am blown away or crash my plane. There has got to be a way. I guess i am looking for a setting or a software program that will stop the pop-ups without interfering with my other uses or screwing up or slowing my computer down.

Any suggestions?

BTW, free also!

Madrus,

Try running Ad-Aware 6 along with Spybot. There are things that each program will miss, and vice versa.

What site are the pop-ups taking you to? I had one nightmare of a program called Xupiter that would not go away, caused popups, and everytime you uninstall it it would re-install itself. I had to manually search the registry to remove it (Using removal instructions from the web).

Spybot has a setting that will scan your computer during boot up and clean up and catch stuff that loads automatically with Windows. Try running Spybot using that setting (scan on boot up) and see if that finds anything.

Kodiak had an annoying WinXP messenger pop-up the other day, and I helped him with that. Does one of your pop-up windows happen to be Windows Messenger? If so, I can tell you how Disable that.

So, run both AdAware 6 AND Spybot and see if that helps.

SB,
Have to say thanx on that!! Haven't seen one pop-up since, and it really is peace of mind, not having to worry when it will happen next.

if you do have pop ups, you have inadvertantly downloaded something that causes them to keep coming - probably something via javascript.

ad-aware may not get such a beast, so make sure you use spybot search and destroy as well...

i used AdAware up until a couple of months ago - it did not stop the popups. When SB suggested SpyBot, i switched and found that Spybot found and killed more stuff, but it still did not stop these popups. i run spybot at least twice a week. i run it occasionally at bootup, but usually only when Spybot prompts me to.

these popups are usually a small tan colored window that directs me to a site like www.messagekiller.com (or something like that) that GUARANTEES TO REMOVE POPUPS!

it is an ad that causes a problem and provides a solution in return for money. sort of like something that causes a disease and BTW here is the cure for the disease in return for some money. EXTORTION! really pisses me off.

try this...

http://www.pchell.com/support/ipmessaging.shtml

This should fix it ... i think this is what Softball was talking about...

Madrus,

Yep, that's it. That is the Windows Messenger popping up.


Dale

thx gator. sounds like a winna.

my fingers are crossed now.