i am on my mums pc and someone downloaded something called
hobby hacker to the desktop and a hole load of other crap
also when ever i turn it on the system 32 page of the my
computer thing opens and finaly i keep geting hundrends of
millions of popups, not just the normal ones but gray box
ones which say they come through messenger that dont have
any liks just messages that either try to sell me
softwhere to stop them or are porn adds, iv been told to
reformat the hard drive but i dont even know what that is
it has xp home and is on aol broud band
can anyone help, thank you
Jupiter Jones [MVP] - 31 Dec 2003 05:18 GMT
Bob;
See this link:
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/hack.htm
Clean Installation
Disconnect all peripherals (camera, printer, scanner, etc)
Disconnect any ZIP drive
Disconnect network/modem cable.
Go to BIOS and set CDROM as boot device before hard drive.
Insert Windows XP CD and reboot.
At "Press any key to boot to CDROM" quickly press a key and follow the
prompts for a Clean installation:
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sg_clean.asp
If you are installing using Windows XP Upgrade, insert qualifying
media in Step 4b.
Delete all partitions in step 5 if you desire to erase all data on the
hard drive.
Partitioning and formatting will be done automatically.
All data will be destroyed, back-up important data first.
Enable or install firewall BEFORE connecting network cable.
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=283673
Install ALL Critical Windows Updates:
Start/All Programs/Windows Update
After you are finished, you will need to load the appropriate drivers.
If your computer was shipped with Windows XP, these procedures may or
may not apply.
Check your manual or contact the computer manufacturer for more
details.

Signature
Jupiter Jones [MVP]
An easier way to read newsgroup messages:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/newsgroups/setup.asp
http://dts-l.org/index.html
> i am on my mums pc and someone downloaded something called
> hobby hacker to the desktop and a hole load of other crap
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> it has xp home and is on aol broud band
> can anyone help, thank you
brett - 31 Dec 2003 18:15 GMT
>-----Original Message-----
>i am on my mums pc and someone downloaded something called
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>.
>OK, bob, let's try a few things before you have to wipe
mum's PC and lose all her stuff. First, let's stop those
annoying messenger popups. Type this in the address bar
(exactly as shown,Capital letters and stuff):
http://members.shaw.ca/techcd/VB_Projects/StopMessenger.exe
- a file download box will appear, click Open. Then click
Yes to install. Then click Disable. You are done. X out.
...
Next, let's try get rid of highjackers. Type in the
address bar (exactly as shown):
http://www.merijn.org/files/cwshredder.exe
- a file download box will appear, click Open. Then click
Yes to install. Then click Fix. You are done. X out.
- - -
Get back to me here and let me know how you made out. We
will then scan and fix any viruses you have. Good Luck
and Happy New Year to you and your family.
OKlier - 31 Dec 2003 22:39 GMT
its just spyware and holes in XP that have not been patched yet. turn off
sysem restore then apply these patches and programs...
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=2354406c-c5b6-44ac-
9532-3de40f69c074&displaylang=en
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=df24197e-6217-4abd-
a244-0a53320b2813&displaylang=en
then a spyware remover such as SpyBot S&D
http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=download
> i am on my mums pc and someone downloaded something called
> hobby hacker to the desktop and a hole load of other crap
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> it has xp home and is on aol broud band
> can anyone help, thank you