Pop-up Advertisements and Internet Connecting...
 

Hey all, I am asking for some help on what I consider a disturbing occurrance.

I just came to my computer to find a pop-up window advertising for a site http://ProtectMyConnection.com and all the BS it was schilling.

I remember disconnecting my internet (DSL) connection before leaving to see a few friends. When I returned, there was the pop-up that I mentioned and the computer connected to the internet. This happened to me a week ago and I thought I might have forgotten to disconnect. This time I am sure that I disconnected.

As some may remember in a previous post my HDD crapped out on me and I pretty much have a clean slate to work on with just MS Office and NAV 2003 on WinXP Pro.

I was away for a week and a dip$hit friend of the family loaded on Kazaa. I removed it and the computer went wonky where the monitor display had a magenta cast to everything as well as automatically connecting to the internet while uninstalling.

I downloaded Ad-Aware and found over 200 objects and promptly removed them.

In your experience, have I been "hacked"? What programs should I be looking for to prevent this from happening again?

Thanks in advance for your knowledge and help.

Most of the "free" P2P software out there has some sort of spyware in it. You might want to start using Kazaa Lite if you insist on using Kazaa. BitTorrent++ and eMule are excellent replacements. Otherwise, keeping your definitions in AdAware up to date and scanning regularly should keep the spyware to a minimum. The latest beta of the Google Toolbar also has a popup blocker for a more unobtrusive web-browsing experience.

You may want to try running a spyware removal program like Adaware or Spybot.

In addition to AdAware, I'd suggest getting Spybot Search & Destroy. It's a great program that picks up things that AdAware doesn't look for.

Thanks for your input. Another Q....would a firewall help my situation?

Thanks in advance again.

Yes, I am running Sygate Personal fire wall and it works great---and it is free..it keeps things out, and it lets you know if something is trying to call home...

---and run that spybot often---my brother in-law just had a $70 phone charge for an off shore 900 number that was made in the middle of the night.

I like Pop-up Stopper for pop-up ads. It does a great job.

And if you don't run Ad-aware and/or Spybot (I prefer Spybot as it picks up more, but can be a slight pain), may God have mercy on your computer's soul.