Light grey Pop-Ups
Apr 21st, 2003, 08:46 AM
#1
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Light grey Pop-Ups
I know this isn't travel related, but I've had a terrific problem with these for the past couple of weeks. I'll get 9 or 10 of them one right after another, and it makes working on something next to impossible. My Norton suite, which catches all other pop-ups, can't pick these up. Yesterday I installed a program called PopNot, and unfortunately it can't catch them either.
I visit only 3 internet locations on a daily basis and though I don't understand the concept behind this new phenomena, feel one of these 3 boards is responsible for this nuisance. I'm wondering if others here are bothered by the light grey pop-ups too? I suppose I could find the source by not visiting one of those boards on a given day and try that until the things stop, but thought I could perhaps learn something from anyone else's experiences here.
I visit only 3 internet locations on a daily basis and though I don't understand the concept behind this new phenomena, feel one of these 3 boards is responsible for this nuisance. I'm wondering if others here are bothered by the light grey pop-ups too? I suppose I could find the source by not visiting one of those boards on a given day and try that until the things stop, but thought I could perhaps learn something from anyone else's experiences here.
Apr 21st, 2003, 08:52 AM
#3
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ME TOO, we had our computer looked at and the repairman stated we had thousand of spy cams in our computer, which watched where we went and shared the info with others like a mailing list, we had other computer wiped free of these which also wiped out our memory and we had to reload everything. But it saved us from our 14y/o getting pop up info on how to make his sex life better!
Apr 21st, 2003, 08:58 AM
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I don't think it's this site. Sounds like spyware. Get a program called adaware and it should get it. Get it here:
http://www.lavasoft.de/
http://www.lavasoft.de/
Apr 21st, 2003, 09:00 AM
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Paul, looking at Morningstar got to be too depressing, so that isn't one of the sites I frequent now. Just to see though after reading your note, I went over there and within seconds, PopNot was notifying me they had killed 3 Pop-ups. I'll say they are bad!
Does anyone know the mechanics behind this, especially the grey ones that elude other programs? Is it an internet cookie that allows these to appear on our screens? Once they start for the day, they continue off and on all day long. I've dumped internet cookies, (just in case that's how they get started), but of course as soon as you visit a site you pick up more, and some sites don't seem to allow your visit unless you have cookies enabled.
Does anyone know the mechanics behind this, especially the grey ones that elude other programs? Is it an internet cookie that allows these to appear on our screens? Once they start for the day, they continue off and on all day long. I've dumped internet cookies, (just in case that's how they get started), but of course as soon as you visit a site you pick up more, and some sites don't seem to allow your visit unless you have cookies enabled.
Apr 21st, 2003, 09:06 AM
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Loki...a friend of mine also mentioned adaware, so I'll try that. I'd hoped PopNot would do the trick.
Another friend locally who also gets these light grey pop ups uses MSN as an ISP. I don't, but one of my 3 normal sites is an MSN address. That's another possibility, but I thought I'd ask around as well. My 3rd site is BFT which I monitor for our hotel (and have found and corrected errors), but things are such there that there's no way I could even ask the question.
gt; (Does anyone here also getting grey pop-ups do much with BFT?)
Another friend locally who also gets these light grey pop ups uses MSN as an ISP. I don't, but one of my 3 normal sites is an MSN address. That's another possibility, but I thought I'd ask around as well. My 3rd site is BFT which I monitor for our hotel (and have found and corrected errors), but things are such there that there's no way I could even ask the question.
gt; (Does anyone here also getting grey pop-ups do much with BFT?)
Apr 21st, 2003, 09:29 AM
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IF it is spyware, the way it works is it installs an application on your PC which runs constantly though you won't see it. It monitors everything you do online and even which applications you run offline. It then sends a constant stream back to it's home base and let's them know what you're doing. When it sees you go to ESPN.com, it may throw up a popup ad for a sporting goods store, etc.
I'm not familiar with the grey popup you describe but if it's spyware, you most likely got it while installing another seemingly legitimate application which comes piggybacked with spyware. If you downloaded anything for "FREE" on the net, chances are it may contain spyware, especially any file sharing software, almost all of them have it (i.e. Kazaa, etc.). Even the latest version of Turbo Tax was heavily criticized for having some piggybacked software but Intuit claims it's not spyware, many dispute that claim...
I'm not familiar with the grey popup you describe but if it's spyware, you most likely got it while installing another seemingly legitimate application which comes piggybacked with spyware. If you downloaded anything for "FREE" on the net, chances are it may contain spyware, especially any file sharing software, almost all of them have it (i.e. Kazaa, etc.). Even the latest version of Turbo Tax was heavily criticized for having some piggybacked software but Intuit claims it's not spyware, many dispute that claim...
Apr 21st, 2003, 10:02 AM
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I just downloaded the "adaware" from Lavasoft and it located 132 pices of tracking software on my PC. Hopefully this will at least cut down on the ever increasing amout of pop-up ads I'm always getting.
Apr 21st, 2003, 10:51 AM
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You got me beat Harry. I only found 131, BUT I ran it a 2nd time and it found 24 more!? I'm using the free version for now, may pay for the real time version later.
I do use Kazaa Loki (thank you for your description of how the process works...rather unsettling!) and we of course just finished with Turbo Tax. That is just about the same time these things got so much worse, coincidentally~~ Interesting.
Harry you might try PopNot too. That did kill the 3 Morningstar PopUps that attempted to make an appearance the second I got into that site. If you got through the step-by-step on AdAware by the way, you'll find PopNot to be a snap! I'm always afraid I'll come out of an installation such as these and find my puter permanently frozen.gt; So far, all is well.
I do use Kazaa Loki (thank you for your description of how the process works...rather unsettling!) and we of course just finished with Turbo Tax. That is just about the same time these things got so much worse, coincidentally~~ Interesting.
Harry you might try PopNot too. That did kill the 3 Morningstar PopUps that attempted to make an appearance the second I got into that site. If you got through the step-by-step on AdAware by the way, you'll find PopNot to be a snap! I'm always afraid I'll come out of an installation such as these and find my puter permanently frozen.
gt; So far, all is well.
Apr 22nd, 2003, 03:56 AM
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This post really has my interest. We have the famous pop-ups constantly, and I too have wondered how to get rid of them. We do not have popnot or adaware. Can someone tell me if I should do both or one before the other. Also, how do I obtain them, through the internet or is it a program that you purchase?
Apr 22nd, 2003, 04:11 AM
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I would be very interested in the answers to SR's questions. I don't know too much about computers and am afraid to load anything unless I'm very , very sure about it, incase I somehow 'ruin' my computer. But these popups have me worried, and even more so, the spyware. So I'd like to look after it.
Thanks for any help....
Thanks for any help....
Apr 22nd, 2003, 05:00 AM
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It would be best to have both--they do different things. I've had no problems with my 'puter since installing them. Ad-Aware took more time to set up for the initial scan, but once done, it's set and you can tweak it as you become more comfortable with it's operation. I'm not computer literate, but have already felt comfortable enough to change some of the original settings and scan other drives than the original scan..then set it back again. Loki gave the address for AdAware, and here's an address where you can find the download for PopNot: http://www.hdsoft.com/?0.1.
Now, that said, neither of them fixed my "grey" Pop-up problem, but these are the only ones I get. I have a guru friend who was helping me yesterday...gave me the advice for both PopNot and AdAware, but then he tracked down the source of the grey pop-up problem, which is not the same as the full color version which PopNot will stop.
Here's a cut and paste of what he said for those who are interested: "Click here for a good description of this new type of "IP" popup ads...they send their ad directly to your computer's IP address (such as 64.107.346.783, for example, not email addresses), which may be known, or just random shots in the dark. The IP addressing technique bypasses your browser and email. Every visit you make to a web page includes your IP address, so there's nothing you can do about hiding it from these scumbags". When he said "click here", here is the link that he had embedded: http://61.129.75.229/~antimessage.co...cker/index.htm If you look at that, you'll see an example of what I mean by the "grey pop-up" as well as another description of what they are. Evidently there is something you can buy to block these but I'm not sure that's how I'll deal with them. The IP address by the way, is like your 'puter's fingerprint, identifying your particular 'puter.
Guru also said in another email that with DSL connections you have dynamic IP addresses which change all the time and you have to pay extra to have a static IP address. The dynamic address would limit this sort of attack to the period you have a particular address. He suggested I contact my IP and see if I could have a dynamic, rather than a static address I evidently have. I've got a dial-up connection and have no alternative but that in the hotel, unfortunately. Cable won't come onto the hotel grounds and DSL will not do anything on commercial property so I'm stuck with this dial-up, which evidently gives me a static address.
Now, that said, neither of them fixed my "grey" Pop-up problem, but these are the only ones I get. I have a guru friend who was helping me yesterday...gave me the advice for both PopNot and AdAware, but then he tracked down the source of the grey pop-up problem, which is not the same as the full color version which PopNot will stop.
Here's a cut and paste of what he said for those who are interested: "Click here for a good description of this new type of "IP" popup ads...they send their ad directly to your computer's IP address (such as 64.107.346.783, for example, not email addresses), which may be known, or just random shots in the dark. The IP addressing technique bypasses your browser and email. Every visit you make to a web page includes your IP address, so there's nothing you can do about hiding it from these scumbags". When he said "click here", here is the link that he had embedded: http://61.129.75.229/~antimessage.co...cker/index.htm If you look at that, you'll see an example of what I mean by the "grey pop-up" as well as another description of what they are. Evidently there is something you can buy to block these but I'm not sure that's how I'll deal with them. The IP address by the way, is like your 'puter's fingerprint, identifying your particular 'puter.
Guru also said in another email that with DSL connections you have dynamic IP addresses which change all the time and you have to pay extra to have a static IP address. The dynamic address would limit this sort of attack to the period you have a particular address. He suggested I contact my IP and see if I could have a dynamic, rather than a static address I evidently have. I've got a dial-up connection and have no alternative but that in the hotel, unfortunately. Cable won't come onto the hotel grounds and DSL will not do anything on commercial property so I'm stuck with this dial-up, which evidently gives me a static address.
Apr 22nd, 2003, 05:09 AM
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Thanks Olive . I'll have to sit down and really concentrate on this later today. Are both these programs free? I believe you said one was a free tril, so I'll go with it. Boy, it's time like this that I wish I know a whole lot more!!!
Apr 22nd, 2003, 05:38 AM
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soccr, I have XP too (with all updates), as well as Norton Suite which includes Ad Blocker and kills all pop-ups but these. My Personal Firewall segment of Norton is set at "medium", which "protects my computer during ordinary internet use with occasional alerts". Any higher and I can't go anywhere in the internet without, Norton interfering with it's "allow this blah blah to access your computer" over and over and over again--hit yes and the message keeps on coming up, 5 maybe 6 times befor finally allowing a page to load! I tried setting it at high, and returned it to the middle setting within 2 minutes--at most! It was impossible.
Kodi, PopNot is free. The version of Ad Aware I'm using is free, but you have to manually run the scan with that version, as opposed to its operating real time with the pay version. The version I'm using is good enough for my needs I figure.
Kodi, PopNot is free. The version of Ad Aware I'm using is free, but you have to manually run the scan with that version, as opposed to its operating real time with the pay version. The version I'm using is good enough for my needs I figure.
Apr 22nd, 2003, 04:58 PM
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Thanks OliveOyl for the info. I'll have to download PopNot and Ad Aware and I'm also willing to run it manually.
BTW I did really enjoy my visit to Savannah, after all the help you provided. I did write a trip report when we got back, but it sunk to the bottom very quickly and I'm not sure if anyone saw it.
Thanks again.
BTW I did really enjoy my visit to Savannah, after all the help you provided. I did write a trip report when we got back, but it sunk to the bottom very quickly and I'm not sure if anyone saw it.
Thanks again.
Apr 22nd, 2003, 05:06 PM
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POP-UP STOPPER IS FREE AND CAN BE DOWNLOADED FROM WWW.PANICWARE.COM
Apr 22nd, 2003, 05:10 PM
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Olive,
Being that you have dialup you should definitely have a dynamic IP. Statics are usually only with "always on" connection. You can find out by connecting to your ISP, the goto Start-All Programs-Accessories-MSDOS Promt
Then type "ipconfig" <enter>
It will tell you your IP address. Write it down. The next time you log on do the same and see if the 2 are the same. If not you are dynamic, your IP not your personality...
Being that you have dialup you should definitely have a dynamic IP. Statics are usually only with "always on" connection. You can find out by connecting to your ISP, the goto Start-All Programs-Accessories-MSDOS Promt
Then type "ipconfig" <enter>
It will tell you your IP address. Write it down. The next time you log on do the same and see if the 2 are the same. If not you are dynamic, your IP not your personality...
Apr 22nd, 2003, 06:56 PM
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Just tested that Loki. Thanks! The IP address did change between log-ins, as did the default gateway (?). Subnet mask stayed the same. I'm clueless as to what any of that but the IP address means. So if this is a dynamic address, why am I getting these daily??
kodi...Thanks for writing a trip report--I'll look for it. I was out of town for a week and it may have appeared during that period. I'm glad you enjoyed your visit!
kodi...Thanks for writing a trip report--I'll look for it. I was out of town for a week and it may have appeared during that period. I'm glad you enjoyed your visit!
