h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

hello people
first off i know zilch about computers so please forgive the basic terminology.i was on the bandcontacts.co.uk site yesterday when up popped a window offering mea dial-up connection to a porn website at £1.50 per minute.i closed the window by clicking on the x in the top right-hand corner of the box.....then a minute later up came another window saying 'installation is almost complete,just click to proceed'or something like that.i closed this window in the same way but i am a bit worried as i had closed the initial window and apparently a set-up procedure had begun.does this mean i have subscribed to this offer...its not something i want..can anyone advise or give me peace of mind?
thanks....david

No you've not subscribed to anything, there's jsut some nasty people out there that write programs purely to ittitate and annoy people, and to create paranoia in those who don't know much about computers. Don't worry. Simply restart your computer, then run a spyware killer such as AdAware or Spybot Search and Destroy. If you've not got a spyware killer, I suggest you get one. Adaware can be downloaded for free from http://download.com.com/3000-2144-10214379.html and Spybot Search and Destroy from http://download.com.com/3000-2144-10194058.html (you only need one, not both).

that's so ittitating...

I was told that when those windows pop up it is better to close them by right-clicking on the thingy (tool bar?) at the bottom of the page - on the what's it that has the name of the pop-up window on it (sorry to be getting all technical on you ) - and then click on 'close' since many of these pop-ups do exactly what yours did if you click directly on them.

I recently got a Pop-up Swatter with a smiley program I downloaded - it just came with it - and it's been great. No more annoying pop-ups!

az

We have a popup killer, HK? and a history kill thing... don't get bothered with popups no more, and its nice and easy to use to get a popup to appear if its one you want (say, the 'who's online' popup)

I can recommend adaware. I used it when i had problems with h2g2 running very slow. The first time i used adaware I was amazed at the amount of spyware that had downloaded on my computer without my permission. When I finally deleted the last of the spy programs, h2g2 was running smoothly again.

use tipex to cover the offending pop-up add

It's sometimes not a good idea in trying to close the pop-ups as some sites are designed to create more pop-ups everytime you close them. I was on the net a few days ago when i had this pop-up saying my computer was at risk unless i downloaded this program so i closed the pop-up n up popped a further 2! Then i tried to close them down n it a further 4 popped up! ! My advice is going to Task Manager n highlighting each one n click on 'End Program'. That usually works for me but if that fails just switch off n stay away from the offending sites!

Hope that helps

hi Croz,

Now I'm thinking of downloading Adaware. They mention something about CNET users - what is CNET?

az

I don't Know what cnet is but I will find out for you.I use a browser called firebird that based on linux and so most most viruses cant 'see' it and it blockes most popup's automaticaly its also free.
Just search for the word 'FIREBIRD' on the net to find a download site.

If you want to get rid of pop-ups altogether, consider using a different browser. Mozilla is free, and is the basis for Netscape Navigator. It can be found at mozilla.org. Within its preferences menu you can disable all popups, or disable them with some exceptions.

Yet another example of a better-than-Microsoft product.

And free.

Admittedly, you occasionally find a site that doesn't work on Mozilla, but you can always open up Internet Explorer at times like that.

Azahar, Cnet is a website that has news and reviews on computers, gadgets, technology and internet gubbins. Download.com is one of their websites where you can download freeware and shareware programs. Cnet users are people who have registered (for free) with them to receive a newsletter on a regular basis, and can also comment on programs they have downloaded from their site. There are probably other things they can do, but as it's not compulsory to register I haven't so I don't know.

hi Croz,

It was (I think) that CNET users might have to disconnect from Adaware to download stuff (?) Not sure, but there was some effect Adaware could have on CNET users and I wasn't sure if I was one of them.

Thanks for the info!

az

Wow! I just downloaded and ran Ad-aware and it found 166 files! So I deleted them all (I guess that's what I'm supposed to do, right?)

How weird. I have an anti-virus, a firewall and a pop-up swatter and I had no idea until today that I had 166 spy files in my computer! How annoying that there are so many people out there trying to disrupt other people's lives like that. Oh well.



az

I have the google tool bar installed and it has blocked all pop ups since.

Adaware is good, it's amazing how many cookies it finds! I must get spy ware installed too though.

Umm, what exactly are cookies?

az

thanks for all the replies people...you have set my mind at rest.everyone have aon me

A cookie is a little file that is saved to your computer from a website which tells the website that you have visited before. H2G2 uses two cookie files, one to store your login settings so you don't have to login every time (a persistent cookie) and one to remember who you are during your current visit (a session cookie). Other websites use them too like Amazon (to remember what is in your shopping basket). Unfortunately there's some places that use cookies to track what websites you visit (tracking cookies) in order to target you with adverts, which is part of what Adaware can get rid of when you run it.