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Q: Internet connection troubles ( Answered,   0 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Internet connection troubles
Category: Computers > Internet
Asked by: yellowsub-ga
List Price: $10.00
Posted: 17 Feb 2004 03:04 PST
Expires: 18 Mar 2004 03:04 PST
Question ID: 307576
PLEASE PLEASE help me as my lil' prob is driving me mad!!

I have a 56k modem connection using a company called Freeserve.
Lately, the connection has been so dreadfully slow its almost
unusable.

The little computer on the bottom right of my screen never seems to
stay a solid blue anymore. It flickers black constantly as if
something is interrupting the connection.

Equally annoying, after a period of waiting a lot of ie windows seem
to default to a useless website called Perfectnav.com and this really
winds me up!

If anyone could be of any help whatsoever I will be eternally in their debt!
Answer  
Subject: Re: Internet connection troubles
Answered By: feilong-ga on 17 Feb 2004 09:11 PST
 
Hi Yellowsub,

Your problem is becoming more and more common nowadays. You obviously
have unwanted software running in the background without you knowing
it. From your descriptions, "It flickers black constantly as if
something is interrupting the connection" and "Equally annoying, after
a period of waiting a lot of ie windows seem to default to a useless
website called Perfectnav.com and this really winds me up", something
is tapping into the Internet in the background. You have spyware
and/or adware in your system.

What is spyware?

"A technology that assists in gathering information about a person or
organization without their knowledge. On the Internet, "spyware is
programming that is put in someone's computer to secretly gather
information about the user and relay it to advertisers or other
interested parties." As such, spyware is cause for public concern
about privacy on the Internet."
http://reach.ucf.edu/~coursdev/cdrom/html/help/glossary.html

What is adware?
"while not necessarily malware, adware is considered to go beyond the
reasonable advertising that one might expect from freeware or
shareware. Typically a separate program that is installed at the same
time as a shareware or similar program, adware will usually continue
to generate advertising even when the user is not running the
originally desired program. See also cookies, spyware, and web bugs."
http://sun.soci.niu.edu/~rslade/secgloss.htm


Perfectnav is an adware that comes with Kazaa Media Desktop. You can
remove it by following the instruction in the link below. Simply press
the "Shift" key before clicking on the link so it will open a new
window or right-click on the link and choose "Open in New Window" for
your convenience.

Kephyr.com
PerfectNav Description and Removal
http://www.kephyr.com/spywarescanner/library/perfectnav/index.phtml

To prevent this from happening again, please follow the instructions
described in this link:

PestPatrol, Inc.
How To Clear a Hijack
http://www.pestpatrol.com/Support/HowTo/How_To_Clear_a_Hijack.asp#DisablingScripting

To make it easy for you and to remove other spy or adware programs,
download and install following programs but don't forget to update
them first before running them one after the other:

Spybot - Search & Destroy 1.2
Application to scan for spyware, adware, hijackers and other malicious software.
http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=mirrors

To update Spybot, click on Search for updates.

Ad-Aware:
http://www.lavasoft.de/support/download/

To update Ad-Aware, click on the globe icon with a magnifying glass
called Open WebUpdate.

Make sure to keep these programs updated and run them once or twice a
week. Also, make sure to have an antivirus program for further
protection.


Search strategy:

Personal knowledge
Search for spware/adware definitions via Google Web Search


I hope this helps you. Should you have any comments/questions, please
feel free to post your clarification before rating this and I'll
attend to you as soon as possible. Thanks for asking.

Best regards,
Feilong

Request for Answer Clarification by yellowsub-ga on 19 Feb 2004 08:41 PST
Hi Feilong

Thanks for the answer. However, I've installed and run Spybot a few
times and uninstalled Kazaa and any other rubbish I could find and the
problem is still there. Loads less adds popup which is great but the
connection seems to have the same problem. Any help much appreciated.

Best regards,

Yellowsub

Clarification of Answer by feilong-ga on 19 Feb 2004 17:27 PST
Hi Yellowsub,

Thanks for your clarification. You only mentioned using Spybot but did
you also use Ad-Aware? The reason for the two programs is that one
program can detect other spy or adware that the other can not and
vice-versa. As much as possible, please use these two programs.

Did you carefully follow the instructions on PerfectNav Removal? How
about the instructions from PestPatrol on How To Clear a Hijack? Also,
delete your Internet cache and history just to make sure that it's
clean.

If the connection is still slow, it is then more likely that there is
a problem with the line. The signal may be fluctuating and it might
help if you also contact your ISP regarding the problem. They may have
some specific instructions for your situation.

Best regards,
Feilong
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