IE popup/browser problem.

This problem just started happening today..

IE problem with popups.

I'm sitting at the desktop, no browser open. I use FF mainly, but occasionally IE.

All of a sudden, a popup opens under IE, the source varies, but most often it's a site called snorgtees.com.

I've set IE to block all popups. It still happens. This seems to be like a browser session being launched or something weird.

I've run AVG and Spybot till they are error free.

How can I stop this from happening?

Thanks

Well, the most obvious thing you can do is to not use IE! Alas, some web apps etc. only work on IE. So...there is an addon you can download for Firefox that will allow you to switch your tabs to emulate IE. I think that will fix your popup problem. Below is the link.

addons.mozilla.org...

reply to post by iceofspades


Thanks, but I'm not even using IE at the time the popups occur. They just popup on my desktop at no particular time.

I just did a full run of ad-aware, and at the end of the run --- popup!

Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to show the task manager and see if you have any process called "iexplore.exe" running.

If you have then you have a hidden IE running.

What Operating System are you using?

reply to post by ArMaP


I'm running XP with latest SP.

Looked at task manager, sure enough, there's an iexplorer running.

Next is to 'end process'? I wonder what spawned it..

Edit: went back and checked, there were 2 other iexplorers running. Killed them also. An aside, I got a message yesterday that Windows was running low on virtual memory. I take it these were the cause...?

Edit...it keeps respawning ie..

[edit on 18-1-2009 by jsobecky]

[edit on 18-1-2009 by jsobecky]

reply to post by jsobecky


It looks like you have something spawning those hidden IE processes.

You can download this program and it will show you all things that are registered to start when Windows starts.

Look for things without a Publisher name or any other thing that looks suspicious.

You can also download and use Process Explorer to see what processes are running and look for suspicious things.

While watching task manager for iexplore.exe to spawn, I saw a process named 'cxKuy4U2.exe' running. What's this? I killed the job. Then I searched for it, found 3 occasions, one an exe.A_A, one a registry entry, and one an application. I deleted one, renamed the other, and left the registry entry alone.

I used that program you supplied, and found a ton of Atx.jobs set to spawn every minute. And they were to run - cxKuy4U2.exe. I would bet that they would spawn iexplorer.

I restarted. So far, no iexplorer.exe is spawning. So, with your help and my hacking, it seems we 'fixed' the problem (one hour and counting!).

Thanks for your help. If it reoccurs, I'll post here.

What antivirus program are you running?

What antispy/malware programs are you running?

What cookie removal program(s) are you running?

Originally posted by iceofspades
Well, the most obvious thing you can do is to not use IE! .
rl]

Or Windows.....Get a Mac and stop killing yourself using windowz.......

reply to post by mrmonsoon


AVG, Ad-Aware, Spybot S&D, McAfee Suite.

Originally posted by jsobecky
This problem just started happening today..

IE problem with popups.

I'm sitting at the desktop, no browser open. I use FF mainly, but occasionally IE.

All of a sudden, a popup opens under IE, the source varies, but most often it's a site called snorgtees.com.

I've set IE to block all popups. It still happens. This seems to be like a browser session being launched or something weird.

I've run AVG and Spybot till they are error free.

How can I stop this from happening?

Thanks

You have spyware. Could be SmitFraud but without seeing a HiJackTHis log I can't say.

Go to the following website and request help

whatthetech.com...

I am a member there and they are very professional and helpful.

They will instruct you what to download and where to download it from.

reply to post by gonzo610


Hi gonzo

Thanks for your offer, but I fixed the problem, as noted a couple of posts above this one. I can almost pinpoint what happened - allowing a nephew to use the computer!

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is a great program for things like this. If you start having problems again.

Sounds like you have it under control.

Troy

Lots of things can put viruses on your computer besides IE, like videos, photos and music (especially porn or gambling). Old programs can be exploited to take control of your computer, especially programs that use the Internet. Try to update all of the programs on your computer on a regular basis.

Make sure you have all of the hotfixes. Microsoft only releases a new service pack maybe once a year.

AVG and Spybot alone won't do much. Go to Sourceforge.com and search for ClamWin. Install it, update it and set it to scan for "broken executables" (you will have to use the command line options). Look for anything besides a system file that is marked as a "broken executable."

Go to Control Panel > Adminstrative Tools > Services and search for any weird services.

Create a new admin account and change your current account to limited. DON'T use your admin account for ANYTHING except installing programs and fixing problems.