Is anyone having trouble with spyware on their computer?
I just started using a friends home computer, which has never been used to access these philosophy forums before, and as soon as I logged in ILP, a window appeared informing that there is spyware in this system.
I am going to get to the bottom of this if I gotta hire a goddamn hacker.
Somebody needs to speak up and grow some balls. This sneaking around shit is pathetic.
Not sure what you mean here. Explain fully and I might be able to assist you with your computer problem. 
I’ll give you the whole story.
About a year ago I recieved an e-mail with various porn pictures that I had been browsing through at a porn site. What this meant was that someone had infected my computer with spyware and was monitoring my activity. The e-mail was for no other reason that to announce this, and shorty after this, my computer went haywire.
Now, a year later, I move into an apartment with a room-mate, and as my computer is fucked, he gave me permission to use his. I installed the AOL software and went to my favorite philosophy forums, as usual. Not fifteen minutes after I’m logged in, a window pops up informing me of the spyware.
This is what I have deduced.
Someone has tagged my member address at either/or website, and has planted the virus. Upon logging in, the spyware is activated.
First, there was no spyware on Matt’s computer before I used it. Secondly, the only place I have been on this computer is the philosophy forum. Now, you tell me.
How has this spyware suddenly infected this computer? I haven’t been to any shady porn sites yet on this computer.
I hate to drawn these corelations, but I also noted that last years events followed a few heated debates between myself and other members. Does this mean someone is mad at me and is doing this? Not necessarily, but the coincidence is very strange.
I leave this matter with you.
Not necessarily. Did the email say anything? Websites can send you their pictures if you gave them your email address at some point. Anyway, let’s assume you have some spyware on your own computer.
What was the window that pops up? Did he have some sort of anti virus program that alerted you to the presence of some sort of spyware? The problem here is that there are thousands of different types of ‘spyware’ and you dont show that it was the ‘same type’. if it’s the same type I have other explanations.
What you’re suggesting here ( I think ) is that someone has been able to transmit a virus to you via your ILP.com account? Please confirm. This is actually not possible without you doing something like clicking a link in a PM.
Matt has likely infected his own computer at an earlier date through some other means, I can say more when you tell me what this window that alerted you to the presence of spyware was all about. It could just have been a popup website that pretended to be alerting you to spyware but was actually a link to spyware.
Yea, I find this unlikely because 1) It’s not really possible and 2) There are many better and more likely explanations.
Hope that helps.
Yes, the email was a package with an attachment. When I opened the attachment, it had countless pornographic pictures in it, some of which I had previously looked at, others were pictures of women my room-mate was coresponding with by some online dating service. The point is that the email was sent to me by someone who had invaded my computer and was sending the pictures back to me as a sort of “I’m watching and I got you, you dirty bastard” if you get the idea. Very strange.
Various windows. Porn links, spyware removal software, weather reports from other countries, so on and so forth.
Yes, that’s the strange part. These windows only started popping up directly after I logged in at my favorite forums.
If you are sure about this, then I thank you. It is a relief. No, I haven’t ever recieved any links in a PM.
I thought you just said it was possible in the event that I open a link in a PM.
I would like to know if anyone else is having these problems. If this is common, I can safely rule out the possiblity that someone has tagged me specifically.
Thanks for your time, OBW.
What!? Now its back.
Arghhhhh!!!
[pulls hair out of head]
hi, i also have spyware pop ups on my pc. i have downloaded and used a spyware search and destroy thing, and it find some, then deletes them, however the pop ups keep on coming.
i havent been on any porn sites tho, so maybe you can rule that one out?
There is spyware that will cause windows to pop up on your computer and tempt you to click on them, so that you then download more spyware.
There is no way I can think of that a person could infect your pc with any kind of ware simply by use of the ILP.com forums, no. Only if they got you to click to an off site link could you then be unwittingly downloading something.
Get yourself an anti spyware prog and check your computer. Often these things are made not to do anything for a long while and then start misbehaving, so that you have less idea s to which program or website is at fault.
You need SpyBot (free downloable spyware remover software), and LavaSoft’s “Ad-Aware”. Both are very effective at removing thousands of known spyware. A google search should help you find a site where you can download these to programs.
Be sure; however, you are getting the real stuff. There is/are a lot of imatation programs that are really, in fact, spyware, themselves.
Also, you may want to switch to Mozilla’s FireFox browser. It’s virtually bullitetproof to the stuff (i.e. spyware, bugs, etc,) that Internet Explorer is prone to. you can get it for free here: mozilla.org
It also effectively blocks all kinds of pop-ups. It’s really the best invention since the BMW…