180 Search Assistant: anyone know what this is?

[babylonsister]

I apparently don't have it, or deleted it. Do I need it?

[hippiechick]

1. I think it's a Trojan downloader

... or some kind of crappy hijacker.

I seem to recall having to practically nuke my computer to get rid of it and everything it invited in.

[mcscajun]

2. If you're getting an error message looking for it,

then you have somehow gotten the spyware that looks for it as part of its operations.

Get thee to www.download.com and get hold of Spybot Search & Destroy, Ad-Aware SE Personal, and Spyware Blaster. Time to clean house.

[babylonsister]

3. Hey, thanks! I AM fighting the

evil pop-ups. Sadly, it all started from something I opened from DU. I already have and just ran Spybot and Ad-Aware, but not Spyware Blaster, so that's my next step. I'm fed up, though, and may even get rid of Explorer for whatever everyone is always recommending on here. I go from no probs to tons of pop-ups daily. My spam blocker isn't blocking! And yes, I'm a confuzer dimwit, so all help is appreciated!:)

[dolo amber]

4. You might also want to get

the Microsoft Anti-spyware tool...BUT...only run it AFTER you've run Spybot and AdAware. We've been using it at work (I work for a computer repair business) and it's really effective at getting the few things Spybot and AdAware can't totally remove. If you run it first though, it tends to pick up stuff you don't necessarily want gone (which will hopefully be fixed when the non-beta version is released.)

Hope this helps...good luck! :hi:

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

[babylonsister]

5. Thanks kindly, Dolo. I will accept and use

any and all recommendations!:toast:

[mcscajun]

6. Yes...dump Internet Explorer as your browser and use Mozilla or Firefox

Firefox is leaner and has an array of extensions highly touted 'round these parts. :)

Either is safer than IE.

[Renew Deal]

7. Spyware

BTW, Microsoft's free anti-spyware program works well.