A rude hiss

[Missy D]

Ok can anyone help me with this computer? One minute i am just writing emails then i get a clicking sound followed by a constant hiss at the back of the computer! This is then followed by pictures of porn! This might be ok for many but not for my 11 year old daughter. I have AVG software and McAfee but still this does not keep it out. At one time the screen went dead for 2 days - not even the led lights lit up. This porn site then puts an icon of a naked blonde on the desktop. Help! before the computer get it!

[Dreadful Scathe]

Sounds like a pop-up to me or some delightful piece of spyware or quite possible a dialer. They are nasty. They go away if you download FIREFOX FROM WWW.MOZILLA.ORG and stop using Internet Explorer.

i would also go here
and download ad-aware which you will then run to find the 40 or so pieces of critical level spyware you have installed through your naive use of the evil Internet Explorer
Hopefully this finds dialers as well, but if you use normal dial-up I'd check your modem settings - or at the least phone BT and check your current phone bill

[David Franklin]

Sounds suspiciously like a dialler - can't think of anything other than an analogue modem that would (a) sound like that, and (b) come from the back of the machine.

I'm not sure, but I think it unlikely downloading Firefox will do anything about whatever malware has already managed to install itself. I'd second the suggestion to download AdAware; the other thing worth trying is Spybot - each misses some things that the other catches.

Let us know how you get on - if you don't get anywhere, you may have to consider saving all essential data and doing a clean reinstall. But then I'm a bit like Ripley on this - "nuke it all from high orbit - it's the only way to be sure".

One other thing - if you can work it out, it would probably be helpful to know what website it's directing you to. This is often one of the ways of identifying exactly what piece of mischief has got onto your machine.

Best of luck...

[Whitebeard]

..... if you use normal dial-up I'd check your modem settings .....

A naive user isn't going to know anything about these. (And, of course, DS is a well known hater of all things MS or AOL.)

But the advice regarding Ad-Aware is very sound as both AVG and McAfee are virus rather than spyware hunters. In my case Ad-Aware regularly picks up cookies (though nothing else) which are not highlighted by AOL's Spyware Protect - but no other badies appear to be getting through apart from the odd suspicious Email. Those few I do not open, I do report, and do kill without thought.

[Dreadful Scathe]

Sounds suspiciously like a dialler - can't think of anything other than an analogue modem that would (a) sound like that, and (b) come from the back of the machine.

quite right

I'm not sure, but I think it unlikely downloading Firefox will do anything about whatever malware has already managed to install itself.

You are sure, you're just too polite to say Im wrong But I was in a hurry when i wrote that - i realised it was a dialer after I finished going on about how evil Internet Explorer is and "filled in bits" which then makes it read as if firefox cures everything. I far too often type replies without checking they make sense first and edit them to make less sense . Plus I have other things on my mind just now, Fi is back home with baby tomorrow



Firefox will certainly help with future problems but once something is on a PC you need to scan for it then remove it (its not usually as simple as selecting "Add/Remove programs"). Adaware and AVG will sort out the viruses, trojans and spyware. As for diallers, Im not sure if ad-aware does scan for them but other programs from www.download.com are bound to. read about themhere