I went to 

www.mp3s4free.net

and pop-up appeared that said:

"Do you want to install and run
http://www.mp3s4free.net/…..distributed by:..."

In a moment of temporary insanity, I clicked on 'Yes', and now I have
this program which pops up a new menu whenever I connect to the net.

Also, it diverts my browser to a site which, I believe, keeps track of
where I go and perhaps what I type in. Not good for when I want to buy
something.

How do I get rid of it?

Hello Markabe ~

Spy-ware also referred to as "scumware" that takes over or changes
your system can not only be annoying, and in some cases becomes
costly, such as when it 'hijacks' links to other sites and prevents or
interferes with commerce.

You can read about such spyware, with a frequently updated list on
which programs use it (and often how it is used) on the scumware site:
   - http://www.scumware.com/

Fortunately, there are some programs which seeks this spyware out and
removes it.

As Arsenic mentioned below, Spybot Search and Destroy, developed by
PepiMK Software, ferrets out the spyware and allows you to quarantine
or remove it from your system. You can download it free from their
site here -
   - http://spybot.safer-networking.de/index.php?lang=en&page=download

In addition to Spybot Search & Destroy, there is also Lavasoft's
Ad-Adware, which does the same thing. Ad-Aware can be downloaded from
their site here:
   - http://www.lavasoft.nu/software/adaware/

It is often suggested one download and use both of the above, as one
may find files the other missed.

Hope this helps and that you are able to restore your system to your
preferences.

Search terms -
  - spyware
  - spyware removal
  - remove spyware


Regards,
Serenata

Good answer, but I was more impressed with the comprehensive comments
especially those by lri41.

Download the free Spybot Search and Destroy here:
http://spybot.eon.net.au/index.php?lang=en&page=download

Install, update, run a search; and hopefully the problem will be gone.

You can also try AdAware, but they have a bad record of not providing
updates.

adware / spyware question

There are a number of factors here.
First is that a lot of "freeware" packages won't work without the
spyware - pkzip for windows for example installs and won't run without
the timesync spyware (for which the fix is to redirect its update
server to localhost, of course :)
Second is that a lot of "spyware" found by AdAware is in fact things
like cookies in the IE cookie directory. yes, they are a privacy
threat, but they aren't spyware in any real sense, and in fact aren't
any sort of software at all.

Announcing The Release Of Ad-aware 6.0

http://www.lavasoftsupport.com/index.php?s=3ff89051cc1900f523dcfb20667b3485&act=ST&f=1&t=2669


Announcing The Release Of Ad-aware 6.0

To all our valued customers and users,

We are proud to announce the release of the all-new Ad-aware 6.0 Plus
and Professional Editions. You have been the source of our continued
growth and the reason we do what we do. All registered users will be
receiving a notification of the release that will include a download
link, username and password as they always have. Contrary to many
rumors that have been spread of late, you will NOT have to reregister
or pay any additional fees to get your upgrade from the current
version.

Here is a quick look at the differences between the Plus and
Professional versions:

Feature...................................................................Plus.....Professional

Enhanced Data Base...............................................Yes.....Yes
Basic command line parameters..............................Yes.....Yes
Standard version plugins and extensions...............Yes.....Yes
Automated scanning................................................Yes.....Yes
Automated Blocking.................................................Yes.....Yes
Plus version plugins and extensions.......................Yes.....Yes
Professional only plugins and extensions...............Yes.....Yes
Popup Blocking........................................................Yes.....Yes
Active X Blocking......................................................Yes.....Yes
Browser hijack and IE download Blocking...............Yes......Yes
Customizable scanning...........................................Yes.....Yes
Ad-watch 3.0 real-time
monitor...............................Yes.....Yes
Registry protection..................................................Yes.....Yes
Executable file extension
protection........................Yes.....Yes
Improved safety and redundant backups................Yes.....Yes
Improved logging capability.....................................Yes.....Yes
Free E-mail support..................................................Yes.....Yes
Advanced filtering....................................................Yes.....Yes
Full featured quarantine
support.............................Yes.....Yes
Printable reports................................................................Yes
Process Browser................................................................Yes
Additional command line parameters.................................Yes
Additional menu and export options for reports...... .........Yes
Professional only plugins and extensions..........................Yes
Mapped network and ram drive scanning..........................Yes


With the Professional edition we have included a powerful Process
Browser that offers more than an ordinary process monitor. It has been
designed to completely support our all-new Plugin and Extension
interface and the exporting features that are only available with the
Plus and Professional Editions. It allows using installed extensions
on, browsing, scanning and terminating of running processes.

We are also announcing an all-new website! It has been professionally
designed for ease of use and greater interactivity. We hope you enjoy
visiting it as much as we enjoyed watching it being made.

Please be patient as we are using staggered notification for more
efficient downloading and traffic control. If you do not receive your
notice within a few days of this announcement, please let us know and
we will get the situation rectified.

Standard (free) Edition users will be able to obtain a copy within a
week of this notification.

Ad-aware Standard Edition is THE award winning, free*, multicomponent
detection and removal utility that has consistently lead the industry
in safety, user satisfaction, support and reliability.

http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/


use the new Adware Professional, Spybot , and Pest Patrol


"SpyBot Search & Destroy" (It is freeware)

http://beam.to/spybotsd


PestPatrol 4.0 its not free:

http://www.zdnet.com/supercenter/stories/review/0,12070,563571,00.html


ZDNet Review
               
December 10, 2002

When you're on the Internet, you're vulnerable to all kinds of
malicious code. Your antivirus software will weed out some of the
Trojan horses, and your firewall will stop some malicious users from
getting inside your PC. But to rid your system of the other bad
stuff--poisoned Java and ActiveX Web scripts, for example--you'll need
a program that's dedicated to doing just that. PestPatrol stops
password crackers; keystroke logging; ad-serving software, cookies,
Trojan horses; and possible distributed denial-of-service attacks,
making it a crucial safeguard for your desktop or network server. If
you want to keep your computer and data


haven't tried the following one yet:

Lockergnome Windows Digest] Bullhead Graffiti and the Nucleus  
Date: 2/15/2003 11:52:54 AM Pacific Standard Time

Spyware-Guide.com

http://www.spywareguide.com/


{Guide to stopping spies} Spyware Guide provides information about
spyware and adware, something we all despise, right? OK, who
shouted, "No?" You must write spyware. If not, e-mail me; I've
gotta meet you. The site does clearly state that it does neither
agrees nor disagree with the makers of spyware or adware software,
and it is NOT a sounding board for debate. It's there as a
resource to serve the Internet community. Recently, two spyware
programs attacked me; one was from a program that I was testing
for you Gnomies (which I immediately removed it from the review
list), and another came out of nowhere. I looked them up and this
source listed one of them, explaining what it is and how to squash
it. I dropped a line to the folks behind the site telling them
about the second piece of spyware that I encountered, and maybe
it'll be posted soon. Especially nice is the Blocklist File
download [

http://www.spywareguide.com/blockfile.php

Spyware Block List File
What and Why?
Tired of all that Spyware and Adware crap being installed by ActiveX ?
But don't want to loose out on functionality?
We have created a system that blocks all known "bad" ActiveX controls
from running inside Internet Explorer by setting the "Kill bit".
When a page tries to install a component from our list, it will fail.
When a page tries to use a component from our list that was already
present on your system, it will fail too!
Other, "friendly" components are not affected.
Download and Installation
The best part of it is that we can pull this off without any programs
running on your Pc, without even having to run a program to install
the block list! All you need to down is download the -small- registry
file below (Right-Click, choose "Save As...") and then double click it
to enter it into the registry and activate the protection.
Download Now! 
Last Update: 2003-2-12 20:10:52 
Check back here often!

Spyware Blaster

BootLIST 088  
Date: 5/23/2003 9:59:18 PM Pacific Daylight Time

Prevent Spyware From Being Installed Utility

     Mary Adams writes - I take good care of my Computer and don't
     install any garbage or junk. But when my two teenage sons visit
     for the weekend they always leave my Computer running slow and I
     get errors I never had before their visits.

     I then have to run Ad-Adware to get rid of all the Spy Software
     they seem to install even though they never admit to installing
     any Spy Software it's always there after they leave mucking up my
     Computer. Is there a way to prevent them from installing Spy
     Software in the first place?

     *** Try the utility below, free of course:

     http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html



FREE PEST SCAN


PestPatrol News July/August 2003 issue 
Date:	8/11/2003 6:34:06 AM Pacific Daylight Time
From:	newsletter@pestpatrol.com
To:	 janles95@aol.com

Thanks to everyone who helped with the launch of PestScan last month -
and to all of you who've tried it since. If you haven't tried PestScan
yet, go to www.pestscan.com and see for yourself. Tens of thousands of
people have scanned their PCs for spyware since we launched PestScan
just two weeks ago, so we think we can chalk that one up as a
successful launch!

http://www.pestscan.com/

http://www.tomcoyote.org/hjt/

this link may be helpful if you have spyware that changes your
homepage and wont let you change it back or something

I recently used it to get rid of spyware that adaware and spybot S&D
couldn't get rid of

Thank You markabe-ga

I agree, Iri41 did give you a great deal of information.

I narrowed it down to the two most recommended free software choices
that are reliable and up to date without creating problems with your
operating system.

ZDNet, C|Net, InfoTech, and PCWorld all recommend Spybot and Ad-Aware.

And Fred Langa (of the Langa List) also recommends those two as being
the most affective and least intrusive to remove spyware. I sensed
from your question that you were eager for the best fix without all
the extraneous data.

Google Answers is super in that others can contribute as well in the
form of comments, isn't it?

Serenata