Computer question

[Droopy]

I hope I can explain this right. I'm pretty clueless on a computer.

When I boot up my computer some things open up that I don't want to. The "My Documents" folder opens up and a search engine opens up in the task bar. Is there any way I can stop these two features from opening? I'm running Windows XP.

[Tempest]

1. Check your Startup folder

I'm not familiar with XP, but in 2000 go to START, SETTINGS, TASK BAR & START MENU.

Click on the ADVANCED tab and click on the ADVANCED button.

Go down to START MENU, Programs, Startup.

Check and see if they are in there. If so, delete them.

[Droopy]

5. Thank you. I will give it a go. n/t

[ET Awful]

2. Sounds like spyware to me.

Download Ad-Aware from www.lavasoft.de and install and run it.

IF that doesn't do the trick, try Spybot Search and Destroy (do a Google search, I forget their website).

These two combined should fix the problem, if not, you might need to do some more intrusive fixes.

[Droopy]

4. I've tried Ad-Aware. That didn't fix the problem.

I will try Spybot.

[NYC Liberal]

14. Also, one word: FIREFOX.

[sam sarrha]

3. go to................................................

www.pcmech.com the forum

[SlavesandBulldozers]

6. sounds like

"My Search". go into your control panel and "add/remove programs" and type into a new post everything that says "search" in the title. ill tell you what to remove. it's one of the Search browser hijacks i can almost guarantee it.

[Droopy]

12. Okay here you go

IEsearchbar- Toolbar

That's it.

[BlueJazz]

7. look here>>>

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x2087181#2087205

Also: Some programs are really "pricks" about putting their programs in the start-up files....
Real player and quick time are terrible about this...

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

8. Well, first...

It sounds like you have some things running that you don't want to run.

Go here: http://www.snapfiles.com

Get "CodeStuff Starter". Install it and check what is starting up. Do not remove anything yet.

Also, get "Spyware Search&Destroy", "AdAware" and "Spyware Blaster". Install them and follow the instructions. Be sure to update their definition files during installations.

Run Spyware S&D. Go through the wizard. Make sure TeaTimer is running at all times. Stop.

Install AdAware. Update it. Stop.

Install SpywareBlaster. Update it and set it to protect against all things nasty. Quit.

Back to Spyware. Run Immunization. Run the cleaner. Kill off everything EXCEPT New.Net, if it is in there. Leave New.Net in there and PM me if you find it. There is a tool that you MUST have if you remove New.Net and want to ever connect to the net again. N.N is way nasty. Clean out the spyware.

AdAware: Run it as a second look.

Reboot.

Run Codestuff Starter again. Turn off MSMGS.exe and any other thing in there you just don't want to run. Do not turn off explorer.exe. ;-)

That should be a big help for you. PM me if you need anymore help.

[BlueJazz]

10. also: "Hijackthis" is a good program too. n/t

[Droopy]

13. Well, I did all that and the problem persists

I'm not sure what I'm looking at in CodeStuff Starter so I didn't turn off anything in there. I didn't see MSMGS.exe. Spybot caught 230 items but it doesn't seem to have affected my computer in any way.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

9. adaware and spybot will typically not locate certain browser hijacks

like coolwebsearch and My Search and Home Search. that's why i posted my previous post, so that you check for programs with search in the title in your add/remove program list.

[Tempest]

11. Spybot locates my search and home search every time

Spybot catches it all the time for me.

Perhaps you didn't download the updates before running it.