My IE has a bad pop-up problem and I've tried fixing it to no avail. Is it possible to delete internet explorer off of Windows?

No. Integral to the OS. Best to not use it; and download some good anti-spyware software.

I have been finding that somehow IE keeps re-applying itself as my defualt browser, though i only ever use it maybe 2 times a month.

Bill Gates is hacking my machine.

Please help.

Yeah it does that to me as well. I use Firefox. But for some reason, IE will have random windows pop up. I have SpyBot on my computer and run it weekly.

Spybot alone isn't going to save you.

You need more than Spybot, random pop ups need an popup blocker, that and depending on sites some can even bypass those. (Try Ad-Aware as well)

Also, some popups are packaged in spyware so if you are infected you will get numerous popups.

I wouldn't uninstall IE though, some websites don't function well or at all on alternate browsers. The Windows update site is one of them.

There are alternatives to IE that are based on the IE platform which have more features such as avant browser, or try something else entirely like Firefox or Opera.

If you want programs etc, to stop changing from your defaults a great application for that is winpatrol, the free version works well, anytime an application tries to change defaults on things it asks if you want to allow it.

That's found at www.winpatrol.com

Ubuntu, yea Ubuntu

http://www.ubuntu.com/

If you haven't, install IE7. A little less buggy than 6.

Then get some decent spyware/adware remover, clean your whole system.

Install Google toolbar for IE.

Masterbate.

Then finish off by downloading FF and using IE when it is absolutely necessary.

You can remove IE, just click on Start--> Settings --> Control Panel --> Add/Remove Programs then click on Add/Remove Windows Components then uncheck Internet Explorer and it will uninstall.

If you upgrade to Vista you can remove it. Vista has a new file manager than doesn't rely on IE.

The point I make is not to remove it, sure you can, it's just a silly idea though at this point, some sites need it, like the Windows update site, you can't download the updates otherwise (and don't start on manual install, this user obviously needs to use the windows updates site, he isn't comp savvy enough to do otherwise)

My workstation at the office (XP Pro) was having minor problems with IE6 (frequent crashes while browsing) and after telling our IT guy about it he decided to remove and reinstall it remotely. Horrible mistake. Even walking me through it over the phone was useless. The result was an emergency trip to Anaheim at 3:30 on a Friday afternoon to reinstall the default disc image set up by corporate.

It's integral to the system and removing it can really screw it up or at the very least be problematic. If using all the spyware and pop-up blocking software doesn't help then the only option is a reformat and re-install. Sometimes it's easier (and much more effective) to do that then to fight the bugs that have infected your machine if you have too many.

I use SpyBot, Adaware, and HiJackThis!. Sometimes AVG Anti-Spyware. Also I run WinSockXPFix.

If there's more than this, usually it gives specific evidence as to which version it is, and googling finds a specific way to remove it.

I have not had to reformat or reinstall Windows on any computer. I R GENIS!

I've never had to do my own because of this, but trying to fix someone elses' machine when it's infected with AIDS is a lost cause. One guy's machine was so bad that it was fine until he plugged in his ethernet cable to his cable modem. Instant AIDS. There was no choice in that situation but to wipe it clean.

Start clean and keep it clean. Windows Defender is nice as well. I do well using that at McAfee Enterprise. Never really needed anything else.

instant infection is hilarious. And yes once a machine has been compromised the only recourse is to reformat (not quick reformat) and reinstall windows.

prevention is the only way. Ultimate defense is the only way.

say it loud.

so here is what you do after the reformat and reinstall.

EDIT: (Always update the following as well)

Nat Router (go buy one. most routers today are Nat. I use a D-Link)
Kerio Personal FireWall (*Free* to watch programs from inside of your computer, that are trying to connect to the Internet. NAT takes care of everything else)
FireFox (free)
AVG anti-virus (free)
Spybot (free)
Adaware (free)

And my little secret. SSSSSSSSSHHHHHHH!

Populate your hosts file.

Quote:
"In many cases using a well designed HOSTS file can speed the loading of web pages by not having to wait for these ads, annoying banners, hit counters, etc. to load. This also helps to protect your Privacy and Security by blocking sites that may track your viewing habits, also known as "click-thru tracking" or Data Miners. Simply using a HOSTS file is not a cure-all against all the dangers on the Internet, but it does provide another very effective "Layer of Protection". Now includes (defense against) most major parasites, hijackers and unwanted Adware/Spyware programs!"



Go here download hosts.zip, unzip and then dbl click HOSTS.MVP

http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

DONE!






or skip all of the above and install LINUX

I'm gonna download Ad-Aware and see if that helps.

In addition to Spybot/Adaware, I sometimes use McAfee's Stinger which does a good job on very specific infections (52 types I believe in the last release) I've never really had anything here at home unless it was something I intentionally got to play with, and it never got outside my control. Like Cake, I've never had to reinstall any of my own PCs due to viruses/infections. However at work and at other's houses it is a different story.

Shoot, just yesterday someone at work put a Sony CD in. You'd think even the most sheltered people in the world would know you just don't do that anymore. It tried its install to hide $sys, but it failed due to Symantec watching for it.

Another thing you may need to run is Rootkit Revealer formerly from SysInternals which has been gobbled up by Microsoft.

The whole datastream idea is a great way to hide files on your system. You can hide whole data files, directories, movies, etc on the end of other types of files. I recommend reading up on them if you are using NTFS.

SysInternals has a good selection of utilities. Microsoft no longer lets the source be downloaded 'due to lack of demand for it' Ummm not sure I believe that. Anyway...

ah a veteran, huh doa

Or just old

Well first off, stop downloading random junk off the net! One time is all it takes and honestly, you're better off just reformatting than trying to fight off tons of spyware.

Personally if you're using Windows XP I wouldn't suggest uninstalling it. I use firefox as my default browser, but if you want to download windows updates from the microsoft site, you NEED to be using IE. There are some sites like Windiz that allow you to download updates with Firefox and other browsers, but it's just much easier to keep IE around for that.

Just my 2 cents

It depends on the infection types. You can cure many that seem impossible if you just take it methodically. It's not necessarily quick but its quicker than loading all your applications back up. Course, I guess that depends on what all you have on the PC in the first place. I really hate reregistering programs. When I moved applications from my old box to my new, I tried to make sure I got all the registration keys. Its a pain sometimes. I actually rebought winzip rather than trying to locate the keys for it. I do try and save all my keys as files to make it easier when shedding an old box that's too small/slow.

Actually you can get the updates without IE
All Patches in an ISO format

I thought people used this to create their slipstreams?

Anyway, every patch Tuesday they put out a new ISO with all the patches.

I still can't believe that anyone has come across a computer THAT infested.

I've run Ad-Aware and Spybot, and have come back with THOUSANDS of results. Popups every 5 seconds, Explorer locking up...everything, and there's a solution to it all.

The way I figure, is that the time I spend backing up a computer, reinstalling Windows, drivers, applications, etc, is going to be equal to the amount of time spent removing viruses/spyware...especially if I'm working on someone else's computer, and I'm going to get called back if I forget to reinstall something.

Cake, that depends on your install disk for windows. It is far easier for me to just reformat in extreme cases as my copies of windows will be finished installing in 10-15 minutes and I have a backup dvd of 180 odd popular programs that have all been converted to automated installation (in most cases silent).

The longest part to be honest is backing up their docs & settings and thats just a single blank dvd in most cases which I can leave with them.

You know, that really depends on what they have loaded. There was one web developer who of course felt they knew how to be safe. THey had over 3million files in their websphere development directory... and got infected. The websphere stuff was all ok, but they also had some asp and active-x plugins that were registered in hidden files. Of course this user insisted that everything be just the way it was.

It was fixable, removed IE, then reinstalled it from a full IE download (not the little stublet that runs from a control) and it worked afterwards. Beat backing up 3million files and reregistering all the components on a new PC.

Suse, yea Suse

http://en.opensuse.org/Welcome_to_openSUSE.org

Is this something you created for yourself, or did you happen accross it? I'd love to have something for myself like that.

Registration keys... yeah, I hear that!

I have 2 hard drives in my computer with 4 partitions total. Now what I do is only install windows into a 20gb partition for an easy clean or a re-install. So if I need to reformat it's just doing 20gb and not an entire drive. On top of that, I use the other 3 partitions for all my file storage, this way nothing gets affected in the process and I don't have to worry about making backups.

So do you export your registry to one of the other drives, then try to import the proper keys when you are done reloading? I used to keep Applications on other drives back in the INI days, when all the application's configurations were stored in the same directory as the application. But with the bad invention of the registry, everything gets popped into one file. I just re-exported, and my current registry is 108,910,558 bytes... 109meg just for the stupid registry. All the eggs in one inconvieniently slow, easy to break package.

This may be one of the reasons my system is more resistant to hacks, Microsoft Office is on my PC, but not in my registry, it's also not set as the default to open any file types. When I start Word, Excel, or any of the office package, it crabs it's missing registry keys and to reinstall. But... it works so why reinstall it? It was done as above, originally installed on an external drive before I moved to a new box. However Front Page never worked again after moving from one box to another, and I have no idea where my key or source cds are. Not that I really used it, but it was on one.

Anymore I export the registry once in a while to a drive that isn't my main one, in case I want to move. I've never had a primary drive go on me yet, but to be safe than sorry.

I wouldn't really rely on partitioning. I'd actually use separate drives unless you also back up your partition information with FIPS or something like that. While I do have partitioned drives, their purpose was to keep the partitions small enough and the right type for older OSs to be able to read the data.

I really miss the days when Applications were separate from the OS. In those days you could put a game (like Doom, or Populous) on a drive and share it, and have multiple PCs in the house run one copy of the game instead of needing the game installed on each PC. Course in those days my network was still using COAX which I don't miss at all.

Yeah, I do export the keys before I wipe the drive. I haven"t had any problems yet using partitions for backups. I've had a couple drives die on me in the past, but I've usually gone out and got a new drive, or used one I had laying around and then put the problematic drive into my external USB enclosure and ALWAYS recovered all the data. Maybe I'm just lucky, I don't know yet

I think what you need is a malware remover not removing IE (if that's even possible - I don't think it is).
Have you tried using Ad-Aware or Spybot Search&Destroy or something similar?