i have a problem with internet explorer when i start my computer up?

Question

I know that most people hate explorer and i'm one of them. every time i start my computer, i get a window that pops up from internet explorer. note- i use firefox to browse the web. when this window pops up, it is the browser and it has a web page on it. each time the site is different, but sometimes it is very *cough* adult. most of the sites are the kind that would spam your computer, and send you popups, and annoying viruses, etc. well, stupid microsoft doesn't want to let me delete explorer, and i've searched my whole hard drive to find the source of this problem. i can't stop these windows from popping up upon startup, and i can't just get rid of explorer all together. ugh. (i want to get a mac) anyway, internet explorer has a folder in "program files" but if i try to delete it or its contents it won't let me. also, it doesn't show up at al in the start-controll panel- add or remove programs window. so i can't tell windows to uninstall it. please help! thanks.

Answer 1

Uh oh! You got spyware! And if i had to suggest something, get some anti-spyware programs quick!

Although the pop ups probably aren't that harmful [damn annoying though] they might lead to other little worms that might eventually take apart your computer and even steal your passwords [phising]



Is your internet explorer updated? The new ones tend to have pop up blockers, but sometimes even they fail to block anything, i suggest trying the program ' Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE personal' which can be downloaded from www.download.com . If that still doesn't solve your problems try an extra anti-spyware program or too [but be careful when downloading].



If your ad problems are still there, it could be a virus, scan your computer with some anti-virus stuff, and see if you can find anything.



Finally, if the ads are still going crazy, and you've tried everything, re-format your computer, but be careful when backing up some files, as they may be spyware infested.



Anyways, in the future, always be careful of what sites you visit, and of what you download. Mozilla is the favoured browser, so try to avoid IE.



Hope it helps at all!

Answer 2

Your browser has been hijacked! It may be easy or tough to fix so be prepared to spend some quality time working on its removal. First you can do the easy attempt stuff. Download, install, run, and update Ad-Aware and Spybot from www.download.com This should give you some results to delete. Download "Hijack this" from download.com in preparation for questions that will be asked you later. DO NOT USE HIJACK THIS WITHOUT PROPER GUIDANCE! You can really muck things up for your computer with that program without help. Go to www.geekstogo.com and post your question on their malware forum. They can help you if your problem still remains. Afterwards you should download, run, and update spywareblaster and spywareguard to help keep your computer free of some spyware.



In some cases you can buy a virus scanner that detects and deletes spyware such as Kaspersky Antivirus 6.0.

Answer 3

It's probably spyware/adware. There are lots of programs to get rid of those. Just make sure you do enough research to get the right one, and not one that might make things worse.

Answer 4

Get a pop-up blocker. You could get yahoo's toolbar which has a free pop-up blocker. Also browse ie, tools > pop up > enable pop up blocker.

Answer 5

Stop visiting porn sites, you wont get these problems :)

Download/install "unlocker" it will delete amlost anything from your "Program files" heres a link. Deleting the corect files, it will put a stop to the popups.

Answer 6

It sounds like a virus. Get some anti-virus software, pronto!