RPGWW

yeah, every now and then i get this computer problems i know some of you might easily point out a solution for me, so once more i beg for help.

there is this (supposedly) spyware remover called "spy axe" which keeps installing itself over and over again.

i uninstalled it and ran adaware and spybot search & destroy, hoping to really remove it, but the bastard keeps installing itself.

has this happened to anybody else, or knows what to do?
thanks in advance. <p><div style="text-align:center"> <span style="color:fuchsia;font-family:comic sans ms;font-size:large;">LAMBO SWIMS LIKE A BRICK!!</span>

my deviant art thingy!
quote:
"I've been to heaven and hell and i still don't know if there is a god or a devil"
-Nny</div>
</p>

Do a control-alt-delete (presuming you are on one of the newer Windows operating systems), and check the running processes. Is there anything on there that looks like it is probably this thing? Write down the filename.

Do a search on your hard disk for the file, and take down the directory path where it's located. Take a look around inside that directory structure, see what's in there. Make sure you have the entire filename and path of the thing, and reboot.

While your computer is booting up, mash the F8 key until you see a boot list of options. Choose 'safe mode,' or 'safe mode with command prompt' depending on which interface you feel more comfortable with. Go into that directory and kill *everything.* Well, unless the thing got into, say, your \windows\system32 directory or something like most viruses do these days, in which case just delete the file that you identified as being the perp.

You can also google the filename; if it's a known virus then there is likely some literature around about it. Also, [url=http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx>Download]. <p><span style="font-size:xx-small;">"It's in the air, in the headlines in the newspapers, in the blurry images on television. It is a secret you have yet to grasp, although the first syllable has been spoken in a dream you cannot quite recall." --Unknown Armies</span></p>

Ok, so i tried to locate the evil task on task manager, but i couldn't quite locate them (after Googling, as you suggested) it seem like most people had listed some tasks as being the problem, but i didn't had any of them.

Also, the thing actually followed me to safe mode.

after some more googling, some other 'victims' pointed out a program called "SmitRem" which finally stopped it, its actually a quite effective anti spyware program.

Thank you very much for the advice! <p><div style="text-align:center"> <span style="color:fuchsia;font-family:comic sans ms;font-size:large;">LAMBO SWIMS LIKE A BRICK!!</span>

my deviant art thingy!
quote:
"I've been to heaven and hell and i still don't know if there is a god or a devil"
-Nny</div>
</p>

It seems that this Spy Axe is not just some piece of spyware or adware, but actually a legitimate virus--a trojan, to be specific. I'd link to this SmitRem for the benefit of anyone else who might find themselves infected, except it seems the main page for the thing is dead. Google, then, is your best option to find this thing when you need it, because I'm not going to link directly to an executable on the forums. Particularly when said executable is ONLY useful for combatting trojans that are very similar to this one specifically. <p><span style="font-size:xx-small;">"It's in the air, in the headlines in the newspapers, in the blurry images on television. It is a secret you have yet to grasp, although the first syllable has been spoken in a dream you cannot quite recall." --Unknown Armies</span></p>Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=priamnevhausten>PriamNevhausten</A]&nbsp; at: 1/5/06 2:44