OT: advice on internet access

pantablo · October 20, 2003, 08:48:34 AM

Friday I had a computer meltdown. Accidentally clicked SEARCH button on my internet explorer browser window (which goes to Lycos) and Lycos ended up downloading a ton of shaZam! onto my computer-memory meeter, changed my home page, duplicated my AOL programs on my hard drive, set up AOL to automatically dial up when it's closed...etc.

I had to disable/remove AOL as best I could so I am internet-less at home (gettin' the shakes).

How do I prevent this sort of thing happening again? is there a way to prevent auto downloading of crap? Do I need a firewall? IS AOL to blame (in which case is there another provider I should consider, on a budget)?

GRRRR...

My next step is to wipe out my operating system and reinstall it (windows 98). I've saved my files and have most program CD's so I can reinstall it all, except AOL.

Part rant, part request for advice...

Zarathustra · October 20, 2003, 08:55:13 AM

aol is shitty shitty shitty. i wouldn't recommend aol to someone i hate. as for random downloads, lycos, nor any other site for that matter, will download anything onto your comp without you clicking accept. so, i'm not exactly sure how you got all this stuff downloaded. but anyway, you can try running ad-aware, and can download it here http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/. this program will get rid of all spyware, and junk like that. for your problems with aol being corrupted, if you really wanna keep aol, just uninstall it, then reinstall it, i'd imagine that would reset all settings and be alright. otherwise, just reset all settings by hand.
as for alternate isp's, i've been happy with roadrunner, and only costs around $40 a month. if you get cable through time warner you can get a decent deal too. but good luck.

Zarathustra · October 20, 2003, 08:56:11 AM

oh yeah, and as for your firewall question; if you get a cable service, you can buy a router to act as a firewall between your lan and the wan. it also divides the signal nicely for your house's systems.

Linh · October 20, 2003, 09:11:55 AM

I would also suggest you get Zone Alarm. They have a free version and it acts as a firewall and will let you know anytime someone/something tries to access your computer.

http://www.zonelabs.com

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JasonB · October 20, 2003, 09:29:44 AM

sounds like you typed the wrong page and came up a fake lycos and asked you to click something etc. You should choose no, cancel etc for anything that pops up on the screen. NEVER ok anything unless you are choosing to download something.

Common thing on websites that are spelled close to a major website or simular. And sometimes they get installed into the computer and randomly take you to that website.

rjsjr · October 20, 2003, 09:36:11 AM

All of those are good programs, but largely won't stop installs as a result of user actions. I use firebird as my web browser (a lightweight version of Mozilla) which stops all that crap dead and has nifty tabbed browsing, automatic ad/popup removal, google integration, etc. to boot. See Mozilla.org for free downloads and instructions. You can also stop a lot of this by turning your security level up in internet explorer. And refuse every popup that isn't something you specifically asked for and know what it does.

FWIW, I also use BlackICE as a firewall, Norton and McAfee for virus detection, and ad-aware for spyware/cookie sweeps but my OpenBSD custom firewall rules take out almost everything (that setup is not for the faint hearted, though). Don't trust the spyware sweep tools fully, a clean install is the only reliable way to get them all out (and will probably speed up your machine as well). I've had particular problems getting ad-aware to remove some of the gator components.

It helps to stay away from search engine and portal sites other than google, yahoo (but watch out for their toolbar/messenger), raging, and the other tech savvy sites, as they try all sorts of nefarious tricks to screw up your machine. Now if only I could get MSN Messenger to really stay off my machine (even if you deinstall it as a component Microsoft automatically starts it up with newer versions of office).

JasonB · October 20, 2003, 09:38:23 AM

To remove mesenger just delete the directory under program files. Cant run then!

pantablo · October 20, 2003, 10:11:56 AM

more info:
I currently have been runnign ad-aware and it has cleaned everything up but still managed to let this happen.

I think it may be virus based...

glenn9171 · October 20, 2003, 11:01:10 AM

AOL? Why man? Why?!?!? There is no excuse for AOL after there was a second ISP in service.

Moose · October 20, 2003, 11:13:18 AM

MWahahaha I am AOL I will take over your computer and then leave you stranded from the information super highway with my slow service, automatic updates, and busy signals. I have dealt with AOL before and it eats up all your resources on the computer, and when you have a slow computer anyways it just makes it worse. They have multiple things out there as far as firewalls that you could use. Blackice Defender is the one that I would recomend. Good luck in getting your system back up and running.

pizzleboy · October 20, 2003, 11:50:52 AM

I'd have to agree with glenn9171...Why AOHELL?

Uhg.

pantablo · October 20, 2003, 12:46:45 PM

we had AOL...dont know why. But AOL was duplicated on harddrive-wierd.

Anyone have experience with Mozilla?

powrful1 · October 20, 2003, 01:47:02 PM

pantablo lost cool points with aol hellllllll.

On a budget?

Aol costs more than any dial up service.

I have to agree with everyone so far.

1. Firewall
2. New ISP
3. Mozilla (Firebird) (Browser)
4. Virus Software
5. Dump everything and reinstall is a decent idea

I dump everything and reinstall about once every 6 months. It keeps things working smooth, I run pirated XP Pro, and cough cough other things. So I stay ahead of most things, but you can get dial up ISP for 9.99/mo and broadband for 23.99 to 39.99 in most places.

pantablo · October 20, 2003, 02:26:16 PM

mozilla cost?

We were thinking of going with Juno for 9.99/mo before this happened but want a better ISP now.

sunnar · October 20, 2003, 02:57:10 PM

Finally something I can answer on this forum...

I second the recommendation of Mozilla Firebird someone posted above. The Firebird is free, has tab-ed browsing and built in pop-up blocker, plus tons of plugins to choose from. And most of the recent vulnerebilities found in Windows are in IE....

For virus protection you can start by downloading a trial version of some anti-virus software. For example F-Prot Antivirus, which has a thirtyday trial version for Windows, and a FREE virus scanner for DOS and Linux/BSD. Their antivirus software is relatively small in size and does not interfere with you computer as many other antivirus software. ( I used to work for them, so take this with a pinch of sceptism) It's cheap too, $29 a year I think. ( If you've never heard of F-Prot, search google newsgroups for it )

Firewall, zonealarm (the free version, kinda hard to find on their web.

pantablo · October 20, 2003, 03:17:39 PM

I also have norton anti-virus too...should I ditch that as well and go with some of those recommendations?

Rashad · October 20, 2003, 03:25:13 PM

I dont really wanna read this whole post, but i DO wanna reccomend you download SPYBOT.. asap!!!! This program saved my computers life..

its gets rid of tons of garbage on your computer.. and has updates weekly.. its amazing.. and its FREE!!

try www.download.com or something similar and get the latest version.. its amazing!! Also try virus protection software.. but honestly, spybot has the ability to immunize your system, so its plenty..

oh yeah.. Take the aol cd, flip it upside down, and use it to hold your bottle of lager... its garbage.. i have it and hate it... were getting cable asap.... :nana:

sunnar · October 20, 2003, 03:26:50 PM

Don't ditch anything that you have already paid for... But if you have an antivirus software, keep it updated, at least once a week. An un-updated antivirus software gives you about the same protection from viruses as the Freecell cardgame.

Norton is a good antivirus software, but may be a bit heavy for some old machines, as it is quite big.

But if you are set on ditching something, ditch Internet Explorer

.

(This comment was written using Mozilla Firebird, the browser hackers don't care about)

pantablo · October 20, 2003, 03:35:39 PM

Quote from: RashadI dont really wanna read this whole post, but i DO wanna reccomend you download SPYBOT.. asap!!!! This program saved my computers life..

its gets rid of tons of garbage on your computer.. and has updates weekly.. its amazing.. and its FREE!!

try www.download.com or something similar and get the latest version.. its amazing!! Also try virus protection software.. but honestly, spybot has the ability to immunize your system, so its plenty..

oh yeah.. Take the aol cd, flip it upside down, and use it to hold your bottle of lager... its garbage.. i have it and hate it... were getting cable asap.... :nana:

Yeah, thanks rashad but if you HAD read the posts you'd have read that I already downloaded Ad-Aware which I found to be better than spybot from others recommendations. :nana: :nana:

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OT: advice on internet access