Browser test, if you can't pass the test, your at high risk! http://www.jasons-toolbox.com/BrowserSecurity/ To late? http://www.spywareinfo.com/articles/hijacked/ So how did I get infected in the first place? Dealing with Unwanted Spyware and Parasites What spyware removal tools can't fix The CoolWebSearch Chronicles The story of a thousand hijacks Another tip, because it will not get better. How To Disable Active Scripting in Internet Explorer Many worms and viruses take advantage of flaws in Internet Explorer Active Scripting to execute malicious code on your computer. Some sites require active scripting to function and you may want it on for some. Those sites should be added to your Trusted Sites zone. Follow these steps to disable Active Scripting for untrusted sites. Difficulty: Average Time Required: 10 Minutes Here's How: 1. Click on Tools on the menu bar at the top of Internet Explorer 2. Click on Internet Options from the Tools drop-down menu 3. When Internet Options opens up, click on the Security tab 4. Select the Security Zone you wish to disable Active Scripting for- Internet, Local Intranet or Restricted. 5. Selecting the default level High will automatically disable Active Scripting but may be too restrictive. 6. You may opt to use Medium as a baseline and customize it. Select the Custom Level button. 7. Set Reset Custom Settings to Medium and click the Reset button. 8. Set the options under ActiveX Controls and Plug-ins to Disable. 9. If you encounter sites that require Active Scripting to function you can add them to the Trusted Sites zone. 10. If you encounter sites that contain malicious code you can add them to the Restricted Sites zone. Tips: 1. Restricted Sites security zone should be set to High 2. Trusted Sites security zone can be set to Medium or Low 3. Local Intranet security zone includes only those sites from your own Intranet so should be safe on Medium or Low 4. Internet security zone should be set to High or Medium with Active Scripting turned off. Prevention tool, if you missed it. http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html Abnormal

YES YES YES. This info should be required reading for every computer user!!! I will save this post & send it to all my friends! TY Abnormal

Congratulations Abnormal, you've done it. This is what i meant in response 6, thread 7637.Now,the only thing we need is a link to this wonderfull page I've done most of these things but it took almost 2 months to filter them out of this forum and now it's all in one page. What a help

G'day, Abnormal, you should be congratulated... I've only ploughed through the first two links and have learned so much. It's a real "eye opener" (or "heads up" as the current saying is), and V useful. OK, so Justin: can we get this on to a HOWTO page or something? It would be a shame to lose these links to viewers who arrive when it has dropped off the main page. Well done, Elric

Thank you, I do not see many posts like this around, about prevention. This is somthing I put together with links I saved. Not the final version, but it's a start. Fancy, yes it's a wake up call!

StartupMonitor is a small utility that runs transparently (it doesn't even use a tray icon) and notifies you when any program registers itself to run at system startup. It prevents those utterly useless tray applications from registering themselves behind your back, and it acts as a security tool against trojans like BackOrifice or Netbus. StartupMonitor does not require Startup Control Panel, but it complements it nicely. When you choose not to allow a program to register itself, the program's entry becomes disabled in Startup Control Panel, so you can go back and enable it later if necessary. StartupMonitor watches the Start Menu's Startup folders and the Run entries in the registry. StartupMonitor has been tested on Windows 98, Windows 98SE, Windows ME, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows XP; unfortunately, it does not function correctly under Windows 95 because of some unimplemented routines in the operating system. http://www.mlin.net/StartupMonitor.shtml

Browser Hijack Blaster http://www.wilderssecurity.com/bhblaster.html