alrighty - here we go:

DLLCompare Log:

* DLLCompare Log version(1.0.0.125)
Files Found that Windows does not See or cannot Access
*Not everything listed here means you are infected!...

Ok - so I tried CA's PestPatrol free online scan - and it found the following:

ISTbar - Hijacker
C:\WINNT\alchem.ini

Ezula - Adware
C:\WINNT\preinsln.exe
C:\WINNT\conscorr.ini
...

(the below was written when I assumed all was fixed - but just a minute ago, the problem showed up again! the message has been edited to reflect what seemed to be the fix, but now shows it was not)
...

alrighty - well, first things first.

navigating the program files folder - i found a folder that screams Spyware

c:\programfiles\MyWebSearch

now - the most recent, updated version of AdAware...

I rechecked every box within msconfig, and reset the PC. Here is the logfile afterwards:

Logfile of HijackThis v1.98.2
Scan saved at 9:05:13 AM, on 10/12/2004
Platform: Windows 2000 SP4 (WinNT...

nope - it was ran in normal mode ... i may of unchecked some things from msconfig - which i now see is unrecommended - but if they aren't loaded, i dont see how they could be the cause of the problem.

Ok, so i've ran both the most current version of adaware - and trendmicro's housecall - both in safe mode - and despite these efforts, as well as checking the registry for any odd entrys in /run - i...