Massive Spyware problem. Anyone able to help?

I was looking at a whole lot of GT4 shit before and all of a sudden, there's this thing blocking my desktop picture and it's all black and like has a section in the middle where you click and it takes you to a whole list of crap anti-spyware sites (As well as having some dumb message)

Anyway, that's not the worst part, the worst part is there's something in my browser that takes me to a retarded site (doasearch.com) and instead of taking me to where I'm supposed to go, it takes me to doasearch with a keyword from the title I clicked on (E.g. AF's Cars in General forum, if I click on that, I get taken to doasearch.com with the keyword cars).


I tried adaware, useless. I tried Spybot S&D useless. I tried Norton, not working for some reason. Anyone able to help me out or had a similar problem?

I was using Internet Explorer at the time, NEVER AGAIN. I'm using Firefox now, but it's too little too late.


Mods- DO NOT move this to Computers/Electronics, as I am unable to access that forum as everytime I attempt to, I get taken to doasearch, with the keyword "electronics"

Oh and if anyone actually creates these things as a job, please kill yourself now. Or just get a new job.

Iv email this to you as well, just incase you can't get back in here.

It sounds like you have a variation of a program called CoolWWWSearch.

I got it on my machine last month.

There are two ways of getting rid of it.

Find a forum that deals in PC surport, that has a spyware section. Post your troubles. They will run you through a series of programs to run, things to edit in the registry etc.
It might take a few days, and it might not work.

Or,

Back up everything you want, EXCEPT anything windows, and then do a format and reinstall.


I choose the later.


THEN, get Firefox.
Its immune to the bug, and when used with Norton and Spybot makes your machine pretty damn safe.


If you have lots of trouble, you might get away with just installing firefox and using that instead of IE, but you need to goto www.getfirefox.com to get it.
If you have real trouble I can email you a copy of firefox to install.
But you might want to get an email address you can access with outlook, just incase the bug won’t let you get into your email.


If you want to know more about it, then press ctrl, Alt Del, and look for odd looking file names running in proccess.
So a search for them in google and you will soon find out if they are good or bad programs.
You might then get away with deleting them, if you can find them, but they usual rename themselves, and make copys everytime you delete one.

Good luck.

I just did a search in google, and found this:

http://forums.techguy.org/archive/t-340154.html

Theres your problem :D

(google is your friend)
And Firefox with the google search bar is your lover :D :D

I have the same problem and I use Firefox. At first, it was only affecting IE, but now something has been atomatically downloaded and even Firefox is working strangely. It's not a spyware but a addware I have. So, Firefox is not completely immuned to all spy/add ware. Just for your info :)

if you are running windows xp, go to microsoft.com and download thier free santi spyware software,

I had nothing but trouble for awhile and after getting that it found everything that adaware and spybot and Norton kept missing. I haven't had any problems since I got the microsoft anti spyware, its at least worth a try.

if it is the coolwebsearch go online and do a serch for cwshredder, it should work I had that shit on my computer a few weeks back....btw stop downloading porn and you wouldn't run into these problems :D

Download a program called Hijack This, found here:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download3155.html and post a log so we can see exactly what you are dealing with, once we know for sure Ill help you delete the unwanted programs

try also using adware SE it works really good for removing programs. hope you fix your computer soon.

i'm telling you the microsoft one! just download, run, and remove all threats. easy as that and it will remove threats that all those listed will miss.

I've had at least 7 or 8 computers of mine and friends with all this spyware crap and the microsoft one fixed them all. My girlfriend even took her laptop to the help desk at our college they installed: adaware, spybot, cwshredder and ran everything and none of them fixed her problem, after she got home we installed the microsoft one and bingo found like 2 spyware threats that all the others missed. Now it runs great, the Microsoft updates every couple of days and runs a full system scan every night at like 2 or 3 in the morning to make sure there are no new threats.

I used to get around 10 infections every week, most of which could be cleared with Spybod S&D.

After useing Firefox for a little over a month, combined with good Virus protection and Spybot, I have exactly ZERO.

I run Adaware SE, SpyBot S&D and Antivir and the only spywear I ever get is tracing cookies (most of which are from AF) I run Hijack this once a month just to make sure. Ive heard nothing good about the mircosoft spywear program, its probably just another way for Mircosoft to keep tabs on us :uhoh:

I have the same problem and I use Firefox. At first, it was only affecting IE, but now something has been atomatically downloaded and even Firefox is working strangely. It's not a spyware but a addware I have. So, Firefox is not completely immuned to all spy/add ware. Just for your info :)
Mozilla has just released Firefox v 1.0.1 which has some updates to fix some problems that have cropped up since it's release. For more info-->http://www.mozillazine.org/talkback.html?article=6129
I run Adawre SE, the new Microsoft AntiSpyware, Spybot, and AVG. A computer repair shop told me to save my money and use AVG instead of Norton, which I had been using for 3 years. I let my subscription expire and now use AVG instead. Funny thing is when I had a Trojan Horse Dialer on my computer, and ran a scan of Norton, when it came across the Trojan Horse, it gave me a message that it had been detected and I should run AVG to remove. Doesn't that sound odd to have one program that is supposed to take care of something like that recommend the use of another competing program instead?

One more suggestion. All of those programs are excellent to keep the bad stuff off your computer, but you have to make sure you UPDATE the definitions on a regular basis. The programs are only as good as their current definitions. It's not a "set it and forget it" thing, you have to keep upon keeping ahead of the spyware , adware , viruses and such. Most programs have a feature that let you set a certain time and day to check and install updates to each program. That is useful so you don't forget to do it.

Try running www.pandasoftware.com online virus scan. It works great.

Try running www.pandasoftware.com online virus scan. It works great.
If you run that with another virus scan running youll notice that the script you have to install to run the panda scan contains traces of a virus :screwy: I cant remember which one though

I have Ad - Aware (Lavasoft) Professional edition and it works like a champ - I cleaned all the shit off my computer with it, and now it's kept everything new off of it ever since.

I use Webroot SPYSWEEPER, great program $30, Circuit City, Best Buy!

i believe spyware/adware companies create some of the viruses secretly. every time mine hits its like *flash* DOWNLOAD SPYWARE PROTECTION NOW!!*flash* you know like arthritis, advil companies make a fortune off them. it only happens when i don't used my dial up. Only whaen i used my wireless network ir comast/always connected services. I have webroot and they still pop up sometimes. I almost couldn't use this site because everytime i logged on, all kinds of pop ups came in like "GET AN AUTO LOAN", "BUY A (whatever car model is on the page) NOW!!"

Shoplift Penthouse magazines from the petrol station, it'll stop you looking at so much porn on the Internet, hence reduce your spyware risk.

Just use a firewall so that shit cant get in, problem solved.

Shoplift Penthouse magazines from the petrol station, it'll stop you looking at so much porn on the Internet, hence reduce your spyware risk.
Wish i had an older brother that could have given me such sage advice :grinno: