Hey guys, i got this program called "pup" thats always running (you can see it in the task manager) but i can't seem to remove it, i dont even know what it is. i tried virus scan and a spyware remover (could've been an old version) but noting seems to work. Thanks in advance for the help...

You may have a virus or trojan or worm or adware or some other sort of malware. You say you've used spyware remover. If you haven't used these, do. Run an AV scan, and download AdAware and Spybot, install them, update them, and run them. Delete anything that looks suspicious. Some advise deleting everything because it's all reversible. Also get Spyblaster which keeps a list of bad stuff on your computer and blocks them from being installed (theoretically). Be sure your independent (not MS’s) firewall is enabled. Spybot AdAware

Hey, Likely you have a program on your system which is often refered to as being 'malware/adware'. I have seen this earlier today on a computer that had the same issues you speak of. (DO Only IF you cannot see your desktop items after entering in your logon credentials) Quick fix is to enter (control/alt/delete) after logging on and select Task Manager. Then select the processes tab and kill (yup, kill) the explore.exe process. Now, go to the Application Tab, and select "new Task" and enter 'explorer.exe'. (Once log on normally or doing the above steps) You will now be into windows and be able to do all you want to, but you are only halfway there to fixing the issue. Open up the registry editor, (start|run and enter 'regedit') Goto HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run & HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run Make sure that there are no weird program references. pup.exe or numbered programs like 281617.exe etc... I tried unsuccesfully to remove them with mcafee 7.1 (Which can detect some adware/malware) or even with the most current adaware. Once these references were removed, windows started normally again. I was also able to remove the files. that were being refernced. Good luck. P.S. Adaware and the others will likely have a fix for this adware in a future definition file.