Get the free Spyware Doctor. The trial only safeguards against possible issues and doesn't clean, but if it detects possible spyware, it will let you know. I love it.

I can tell you that according to Spyware Doctor, there are no hazards to this site. Clean as a whistle.

Yeah, VideoSift is most certainly clean. I suggest downloading adaware and running it. A solid virus scan is not a bad idea either.

Im forced to run at least two virus and spyware scans every time i turn in the computer, and it always comes up with items from pop-ups, but as far as i can tell, they havn't popped up.

If that's the case, darksun, then your problems run much deeper than the 'sift!

yeah .... this site is pretty 'clean'! nary a problem here!

Hey darksun, try running your AdAware in safe mode: You'll catch more crap that loads on startup under normal mode. And use Firefox instead of IE.

Oh wait...I transferred out of the Systems Room three years ago...that's decades in the digital era...might not trust my pc advice anymore...anyway, good luck!

ds, you probably have malware. I got it just by clicking on a web page. They are veeeery sneaky, those bastards. Check in your "Add/Remove programs" (in Control Panel) to see if you have any unidentifiable programs. These are almost impossible to remove. This is what killed my computer last month.

I highly recommend installing the free "WinPatrol" which allows you easy access to all the information about what's running, starting, etc. on your computer and requires you to approve new "installations."

I had to reformat after my bout because the malware I got was so bad. Adaware and Spybot didn't detect it because it slips in...somehow. Not a computer genius, me.

However, after reformatting my son got it. My research brought me to Spyware Doctor, and the full version cleans most malware programs. However, it is $29.95 USD *cough*(torrent)*cough* Spyware Doctor cleaned it and his computer is all better now.

Do an online virus scan at Housecall. It checks for malware as well as viruses.

Those buggers are a bitch to get rid of. I hope it's simpler than what I described.

Luck!

(If you do Housecall, post any malware it finds.)

you don't need to pay for any programs, adaware does fine by itself. If you have any friends who know what they are doing, get them to take a look at msconfig and the registry. Also i second running it in safe mode.

Adaware and Spybot didn't detect mine, but I hope his is a simpler solution. :-)

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My instructions:
1. Pull the power cord our of the wall.
2. Drop PC off of balcony (preferably 2nd floor or greater)
3. Go buy snifty new Apple iBook (black)

[/mac bigot]

Bragging about being a Mac owner is like bragging about your new Betamax VCR.

*grabs popcorn*

adaware is seldom enough on its own, I recommend making a USB drive-key with adaware, your favorite virus scanner, CWSshredder, Spyware S&D, hijack this, etc. etc.

New Mac ad about spyware:

"Trust Mac"

http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/

and then install bootcamp and run windows on it, because you really only bought it for the shiny.

You mean I can run all my PC games and apps on a Mac EMULATED? I bet that would involve a massive performance boost!

Or... not.

The new macs will run windows just fine, and not an emulated version. You can just boot them in xp. Which again, means that people only buy them for the shiny.

Check out the following features on the upcoming operating system Leopard:

"Time Machine" (far left)

"iChat"

"Spaces"

"Core Animation" (far right)

http://www.apple.com/macosx/leopard/

i highly recommend NoScript as a FF extension. it disables all javascript unless you specifically state that some are allowed. it's a simple toolbar and it's saved me many headaches. the only 'questionable' thing on the 'sift is the google-analytics. i leave that disabled, but enable vimeo, sift, google, etc. and everything works fine. this should prevent a lot of the malware out nowadays, since they come through JS calls more often than not. drive-by downloads...

go into safe mode (tap F8 as the pc boots up) and run ad-aware, windows defender, spybot s&d, or your favorite malware scanner.
although hijackthis! is a great tool, it will devastate the PC if not used correctly. i also recommend not fooling around in the registry unless you know what you're doing.

(FF extension link: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/722/ )

So now that they can boot Windows, I wonder which will be the most used OS on Macs ten years from now...

I have a hunch it'll be the one that offers a far wider choice of software.

No no no no... all you need is Spybot Search and Destroy, it's freeware and it's the best out there.

Also stop using internet explorer, 90% of all spam bots/spyware/malware is built for IE. So let that sucker out and get Mozilla Firefox.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

Cool, we've finally spawned the obligatory Mac vs. Windows thread. ;-)

Snake: So now that they can boot Windows, I wonder which will be the most used OS on Macs ten years from now...

I can't think of any applications that run on Windows that I'm missing and would want to boot Windows for ... sure there are more games, but something like a wii would do such a better job than a Windows box.

if you only use 1 spyware app, then you're probably missing 30%ish of spyware apps. if you use S&D and Ad-Aware in conjunction with one another, you'll pick up most everything out there. also make sure to keep both apps updated with the latest definitions, same as you would with an antivirus app.

the FF link i posted *prevents* spyware from being installed in the first place though.

the good news for IE advocates is that Mozilla has lit a fire under Microsoft's ass and IE7 is a much better product than IE6. in my opinion, too little too late, but at least they're doing work now to improve the security of the browser.
FF still seems to be more on-top of things when it comes to security patches and updates though.

"I can't think of any applications that run on Windows that I'm missing and would want to boot Windows for ... sure there are more games, but something like a wii would do such a better job than a Windows box."

At certain games, but definitely not at RTS, TBS, MMORPG or FPS.

I'm just goofin' around with you anyway, Dag. I've always built my PCs so the performance to cost ratio would never justify buying a pre-built system, and as you can tell from my previous comments I really know very little about Macs. I do know they run Civ IV though so that's enough to ensure they rock.

@darksun... Brush regularly with adaware and spybot as prescribed by Phoenix.

Also, Housecall is a decent (but slow) free web-based virus scanner which I run occasionally instead of bloating my system with unneeded processes.

http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

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Aww, come on Snake, I was hoping for a bit of jousting. oh well. ;-)

*puts down pom-poms*

Use FIREFOX! Problem solved. But really, I have been noticing some viruses making their way into .wmv videos that get played with WMP inside a browser window. So this doesn't affect YouTUbe, but some other sites that have a flash wrapper around a .asx type link.

If you can have install Media Player Classic and get that to be default media player especially for browsers, you'll be doing ok. So, use Firefox already.

To check for any viruses talking over the internet go to a command prompt and type 'netstat -ab' YOu're looking for anything "Listening" or "Established" that isn't a windows svchost or System

Another time, Dag...... Another time.

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I .. will ... look forward to it. [cracks knuckles menacingly]

Is the show over already?

You all know that both Mac OS and Windows XP sucks compared to the might of Linux. Yes! Am throwing down on a 3 way OS battle!!!

Actually in purely economic terms the fact that Apple has allowed dual booting on their latest boxes clearly signifies that they want to capture a larger market. Which they will because no beige box or Dell black box can compare to the pearly goodness of a Apple.

I used MacOS for graphical design and I absolutely hated it. I mean one mouse button? What? I felt like I was handicapped.

Wow, alot of comments, but i wonder how many actually apply to me.