You didn't say whether you had tried to follow my instructions using
"Manage add-ons". Since disabling *all* third party extensions kills
the pop-up ad machine then that proves that it is a third party
extension. Your task is to find out which one it is and disable only
that one using "Manage add-ons". It shouldn't be difficult. Let's say
your find 10 there. Probably 1/2 dozen of the 10 are easily identified
by funtion name or name of the responsible company (Microsoft, Adobe,
etc). Ignore those 6 and disable 2 of the 4 remaining ones. If the
problem went away then turn one of the two back on and see if the
problem comes back. If it didn't go away you know it's one of the other
two. Just keep narrowing it down.
ps: I can't notice any significant difference between Firefox and IE in
page load times. Are you running Firefox 23.0.1?
Chuck Norcutt
On 9/2/2013 5:54 PM, r.burnette@xxxxxxx wrote:
> Chuck:
>
> Finally got it. IE > Tools > Internet Options > Advanced > Uncheck
> Enable third-party browser extensions. Unfortunately, that disables
> all third party extensions so you can't set up a custom browser bar.
> Manage Add-ons is locked out. That's a small price to pay for getting
> rid of that annoying pop-in ad and its pop-up companions. Btw--I
> downloaded Adobe's latest Flash Player and Firefox now loads
> correctly. Both browsers work well, but I have to say that in a speed
> loading contest, IE 10 wins by a long shot. It is a pleasure to work
> with after that cursed ad is gone.
>
> One day I'd like to discover how to disable that one pop-in script. I
> think that the pop-up blocker would handle most of the others.
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> Robert
>
>
>
>
> ---- Chuck Norcutt <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> Add-ons/plug-ins are not associated with the operating system but
>> with the browser.
>>
>> It sounds to me as though the problem may be an add-on/plug-in in
>> IE. To manage those things click on the IE Tools menu and click on
>> "Manage add-ons". This gives a further menu for add-on types.
>> You'll likely find what you're looking for under the first item
>> "Toolbars and Extensions" but check the other categories as well.
>> Since I don't use IE I can't tell you off the top of my head how to
>> delete add-ons but they are easily disabled or enabled. If you see
>> something you think may be suspicious just select it and then
>> disable it and then restart the browser to see what happens. If
>> the browser add-on has somehow installed that pop-up window outside
>> of the browser it may be necessary to reboot after disabling the
>> add-on.
>>
>> I also use Time Warner Cable but don't often visit their pages
>> since I don't use their email or other services. However, I have
>> never noticed any sort of performance problem with Firefox there or
>> anywhere else. "Shockwave" is the Adobe Flash Player. To
>> check/correct the installation within Firefox go to this page using
>> Firefox <http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html>
>>
>> Let me know what you discover on both browsers.
>>
>> Chuck Norcutt
>>
>>
>>
>> On 9/1/2013 12:40 AM, r.burnette@xxxxxxx wrote:
>>> Chuck,
>>>
>>> I tried to discover the problem by observing the running
>>> processes,
>> but I didn't see anything that looked as though it was related.
>> Nothing unusual showed up on the Task Manager window. I did learn
>> that it loads with Internet Explorer 10 and shows up on every
>> subsequent page loaded. At first I had wondered if it could be
>> associated with my Time-Warner Cable pages, but it isn't.
>>>
>>> I took your suggestion and installed Firefox. The pop-out did
>>> not load
>> with Firefox. It did not load with my Time-Warner Cable pages.
>> However, TWC pages were agonizingly s-l-o-w attempting to load in
>> Firefox and I kept getting a pop-up window on the log-in page
>> stating that a Shockwave plugin was failing to load. I don't know
>> whether that plug-in might be associated with the pop-out that I'm
>> trying to shed or merely something used by TWC in loading pages.
>> Where are the plug-ins located in Windows 7? I couldn't locate
>> them.
>>>
>>> The pop-out could very well have been associated with something
>>> I
>> downloaded. Many free downloads don't allow you to do custom
>> downloads anymore. You have to take the whole download and then try
>> to uninstall anything you don't want. This is a new computer with
>> little more that the operating system pre-installed. So I have had
>> to download Adobe Reader, Open Office, a Media player, and other
>> things just to make it usable. And pop-up blocker does not prevent
>> near incessant ads on Internet Explorer. It's hard not to
>> accidentally click on one.
>>>
>>> I had forgotten just how annoying Windows can be. When I stated
>> Windows 7 for the first time, I had 81 updates to download and
>> install. Like I said, I love my Macs.
>>>
>>> Thanks for your assistance.
>>>
>>> Robert
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ---- Chuck Norcutt <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>>> Yes, if you'd like some paranoia definitely install Ghostery.
>>>> But for your particular case there may be some more direct
>>>> discovery as well as treatment of the problem.
>>>>
>>>> Lets start with some simple diagnostics... let's find what is
>>>> starting this thing up. When does this ad window or black
>>>> sidebar first appear? Is it there immediately after you boot
>>>> and before you have started any application or browser? If so
>>>> the malware is installed as a "Windows service". Services are
>>>> started (mostly) automatically at boot time and provide mostly
>>>> essential underlying functions that will be needed by the
>>>> system and apps when they come up. But malware can get itself
>>>> installed there too such that it's always running.
>>>>
>>>> If not installed and started as a Windows service then it must
>>>> be being brought to life by some app (including the browser) or
>>>> activated in some way by a particular web page. The web page
>>>> ought not to be able to infect your system with malware but it
>>>> does happen. Whatever is there is something you most likely
>>>> willingly accepted to install. Win7 is much more secure than
>>>> earlier versions of Windows since it will ask for the admin's
>>>> permission to install an app. It shouldn't happen under your
>>>> nose.
>>>>
>>>> If it does start as a service we can locate the service and
>>>> (first) deactivate it by preventing any auto startup. It can
>>>> also be removed entirely but that's a bit more difficult.
>>>>
>>>> If it doesn't start as a service and you can identify which app
>>>> or web page appears to bring it to life then we can check the
>>>> list of processes that are running both before and after the
>>>> malware appears and identify the process that's responsible.
>>>> If you right click the taskbar at the bottom of the screen
>>>> you'll see an option "Start Task Manager". Clicking the
>>>> Applications tab will show all running apps (you're not likely
>>>> to find it there), clicking the Processes tab will show all
>>>> running processes. If it's running it's one of those things in
>>>> the list. The task is to figure out which one and kill it as
>>>> well as prevent it from starting again in the future.
>>>>
>>>> Let us know what you discover.
>>>>
>>>> Chuck Norcutt
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> On 31 August 2013 05:21, <r.burnette@xxxxxxx> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> I am working with a new HP computer running Windows 7
>>>>>> Premium (64 Bit) and Explorer 10. I have the pop-up blocker
>>>>>> enabled. Only one third party toolbar(AdAware)is enabled
>>>>>> But I am still getting a terribly annoying ad box at the
>>>>>> bottom left section of the window. It slides out to the
>>>>>> right displaying a rectangular pop-up ad window approx. 4"
>>>>>> W X 3" H displaying various ads. You can click on an X to
>>>>>> hide the ad, but a black sidebar approx. 1/2" W X 3" H
>>>>>> remains behind. It allows you to click the X and open the
>>>>>> ad. (Can't imagine who might want to do that.)
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I feel certain that it is a piggy-back program from
>>>>>> something inadvertently downloaded and left behind after
>>>>>> the host program was deleted. Has anyone else had this
>>>>>> annoying experience who was able to successfully delete it?
>>>>>> When it pops open, which it repeatedly does even while
>>>>>> reading email, it blocks the view of that portion of the
>>>>>> active screen. It is quite aggravating having to
>>>>>> continually click on the X to close this while trying to
>>>>>> work on anything.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Come on, computer gurus. Tell me how to fix this. Make it
>>>>>> simple. I am not very windows savvy.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> My experience trying to get this machine up and running has
>>>>>> made me want to hug and kiss my Macs.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Robert --
>>>>>> _________________________________________________________________
>>>>>>
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>>>>>>
>>>> --
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>>>>
>>>>
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>
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