My Zone Labs firewall detected a spyware that can NOT be removed. This is a HIGH RISK SECURITY. Go to FILE FIND and type in GATOR or GINST. URGENT: DELETE AS MANY FILES AS YOU CAN THAT FILE FIND LOCATES. YOU CAN NOT DELETE THE .EXE FILE. BUT DELETE THE REMAINING. Repeat these steps every other day as they can be installed without your knowing it. If you think this is a hoax, THINK AGAIN. Use your search engine and use Gator as the keyword. There are lawsuit pending over this software. Thank you
Zone Labs firewall
Do you mean ZoneAlarm?
Regardless "firewall" software does not remove spyware. It can block traffic, but not remove the software.
I would recommend Ad-aware. This product is free for home users. You can read up on it at http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/ or do searchs for it at wired.com or zdnet.com or download.com.
There are several software programs out there that will delete spyware. I have been using ad-aware for 2 years and love it. It runs well, they update it for free and the interface is easy to move thru.
For those interested in testing their firewall you can goto https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2
which will test your computer's firewall and give you writeups about what it sees or does not.
I suggest running some type of spyware search program every month. There are lots of applications out there that steal data from the computer or at the very least cause those nasty pop-ups.
Do you mean ZoneAlarm?
Regardless "firewall" software does not remove spyware. It can block traffic, but not remove the software.
I would recommend Ad-aware. This product is free for home users. You can read up on it at http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/ or do searchs for it at wired.com or zdnet.com or download.com.
There are several software programs out there that will delete spyware. I have been using ad-aware for 2 years and love it. It runs well, they update it for free and the interface is easy to move thru.
For those interested in testing their firewall you can goto https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2
which will test your computer's firewall and give you writeups about what it sees or does not.
I suggest running some type of spyware search program every month. There are lots of applications out there that steal data from the computer or at the very least cause those nasty pop-ups.
Many times Gator spyware gets added when you download Kazaa file sharing software. If you delete Gator, Kazaa won't run. Try adding k-lite if you want to use Kazaa. This is software that allows you to use Kazaa while deleting all Gator and Cydoor spyware when you open Kazaa.
I also highly recommend Ad-Aware.
I also highly recommend Ad-Aware.
Kazaa Lite is a great program. We've been using it for several months and it is 100 times better than Kazaa.
Ad-Aware is good and we also use Spy Bot. Both are free and sometimes they will detect ones that the others missed.
AVG is also a good free anti-virus program www.grisoft.com
Barry & Annabeth
Ad-Aware is good and we also use Spy Bot. Both are free and sometimes they will detect ones that the others missed.
AVG is also a good free anti-virus program www.grisoft.com
Barry & Annabeth
Actually there is a product called Pest Patrol that covers more spyware than ad aware and even has an active scanner much like a virus protection program. Only about $40. I admit I am a reseller of the product but only became so because I found myself fixing many computers with it. Anyways if spyware is your worry use this.
http://www.regnow.com/softsell/nph-softsell.cgi?item=5957-1&affiliate=28674
http://www.regnow.com/softsell/nph-softsell.cgi?item=5957-1&affiliate=28674
Thanks so much. We enjoyed the spaware topic. It was very helpful! We do have Z/A but this is great!!
Terry & Lisa
Martinsville, Va.
Terry & Lisa
Martinsville, Va.
For a great list of Spy and AdWare take a look at this link:
http://www.spywareguide.com
Also, there a couple more to avoid at all costs. Hotbar and New.net. I have seen these two rogue apps bring computers to their knees. Spybot was able to remove them both, though.
D
http://www.spywareguide.com
Also, there a couple more to avoid at all costs. Hotbar and New.net. I have seen these two rogue apps bring computers to their knees. Spybot was able to remove them both, though.
D
I've found the BEST way to avoid any of that shit! Buy a Mac! 
also try...
www.pccillin.com
www.pccillin.com
The New Norton AntiVirus 2004 has a built in Spy Ware & Ad Ware Killer in it. I bought & installed it just the other week & did a Full System scan. It found 19 Spy/Ad Wares & 1 Virus & killed every last one of them for me. It runs $40 bucks, & for that you get, what is to me the Second Best Anti-Virus Program, the Number 1 being Panda, which will run you like $200+, & also a good Spy/Ad Ware Program.
Do an internet search for Spybot Search and Destroy and download it. It will get rid of the spyware. We use it daily and you'd be amazed at how much it finds just from regular surfing.
Also check out Hijackthis.exe http://computercops.biz/downloads-cat-14.html It's the fifth one down, good program, here is the link to the tutorial, although the program isn't hard to understand
http://computercops.biz/HijackThis.html
http://computercops.biz/HijackThis.html
If you want complete instructions on how to effectively remove Gator (Which changed its name to Claria), go to http://pcpitstop.com/. They have a detailed published article on what to do. You can also download SPYBOT S&D (Search and Destroy) which does an effective job against Gator and just about all other spyware.
Among all the recomendations for "software" Firewalls and deterrents the only thing I did NOT see anyone recomend is a "hardware" firewall.... I use a router with a built in firewall and Also do a sweep on mt PC's with ad aware. Ive use norton antivirus for years and like the results (keeps my hubby from killing his PC) And of course to avoid all the critters on the net one person said buy a Mac.. I have 3 Mac's and 2 PC's and I am constantly doing some kind of maintenance on the PC's... Go figure!
Just my Texas 2 cents
Just my Texas 2 cents
Spybot Search and Destroy is very good at removing Spy and ad ware.
A buddy of mine works part time as a tech at Best Buy and gets probably 2 to 3 machines a day with viruses or spyware. He uses Spybot and Adaware among several other tools and the one program that finds the most spyware is SpySweeper. You do have to purchase it but it's well worth it as it stays resident in memory and catches anything new that tries to install on your computer and prevents it from doing so. Otherwise, Spybot and Adaware together on your machine are the best FREE programs.
If you can't remove anything from your computer using any of these programs, you've probably been what they call, HiJacked. You can download several tools to help you get rid of this type of software that Spyware can't remove. The main page is located here: http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html. Download Hijackthis, CWShredder and StartUpList.
If you can't remove anything from your computer using any of these programs, you've probably been what they call, HiJacked. You can download several tools to help you get rid of this type of software that Spyware can't remove. The main page is located here: http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html. Download Hijackthis, CWShredder and StartUpList.
We have found the "Webroot 's Spy Sweeper" works very well in removing spyware. Updates are always automatically done and you can schedule it to sweep your computer at anytime you desire. Highly recommend this software. The url to this site is www.webroot.com or you can find it at any Best Buy store.
Spybot is a good adware remover. It also recomends a program called SpywareBlaster which keeps spyware from getting on your computer.
So is ad-adware.
So is ad-adware.
Becareful also what you install people. You most likely got gator software from a popup asking you to install something. Also If you like to surf, get an anti virus program. Some webpages you go to will automaticly put a virus on your computer. Mostly porn sites will do this. Watch out for sites with a large number of forced popups and also a site that makes you install there software.
Also since a large number of spyware is modeled to look like windows files I wouldn't start randomly deleting things because you could delete a system file.
Also since a large number of spyware is modeled to look like windows files I wouldn't start randomly deleting things because you could delete a system file.