Adware

I cant seem to get rid of all the adware on my hard drive. Im looking on yahoo for the adware removers only to find out they themselves are loaded with adware. I even have symantec thats "supposed" to get rid of virus's and stuff not wanted on computers, but when it finishes the scans it tells me i have adware but theres no option to delete it, it just says "scan finished threats found: 3" and then it says finish and dosent remove it?? What a jip. Anyone know any free adware removers?

I don't know anything better than Norton. Try scanning in the safe mode and before you do, turn the "System Restore" OFF on all your drives.

I've found these helpful:
Ad-Aware
Spybot-Search & Destroy
Spyware Blaster
CWShredder

Also make sure you have auto-updating Virus protection enabled at all times, and consider using a safer browser such as Firefox rather than IE.

Mmm, Lavasoft's Ad-Aware is the best, I can attest, it is totally spyware free and is the #1 cleaner on the market. Plus, it's free.

In addition to what Geoff said, I recommend getting a decent firewall. I know my Norton Security Suite has a built in adware blocker and other tools that, with Firefox, virtually eliminate any spyware on my system.

Also, make sure to delete your temporary internet files/cache, this can get rid of many problems.

Thanks guys, I got ad-aware and it worked wonderfully. Appreciate the help.

Yeah, I always forget about firewalls because I have a router and don't need a software version.

This is unrelated to spyware, but it's also helpful...

To check your security from hackers, do the following:

1) Go to the Shields UP! site, scroll down a bit, and click on the "Proceed" button

2) Click the "File Sharing" button - you should see "Your Internet port 139 does not appear to exist!" and ideally also "Unable to connect with NetBIOS to your computer."

3) Scroll a bit, and then click on the "Common Ports" button -- ideally it should come back as PASSED, with all ports STEALTH.

4) If you feel ultra-paranoid, click on the "All Service Ports" button, but it'll take a while.

With my router, I'm fully invisible on the internet, and feel quite secure. If you have a bunch of holes, then read up on that site for advice... it explains things much better than I ever could.

Pope - You should also download and install "Spybot-Search & Destroy" -- including the TeaTimer option. It will monitor everything, and hopefully prevent any future problems to begin with....

Thanks! I'll definetaly get those. After I ran the scan it detected all the adware and I got rid of it, but I ran the scan about 2 hours later for the hell of it, and new ones popped up, so they must be coming from somwhere. I'll check those out. Thanks for the advice.