Phantom Favorites from Nowhere

[porquat]

Looks like I've stepped in some doo-doo somewhere while surfing. Suddenly a bunch of favorites I never placed there have appeared from out of nowhere. I can't get rid of them by any of the usual means either...they keep coming back whenever I click on "Favorites." Is there anyone who can tell me HOW to get rid of this junk, instead of just what I should have been doing to prevent it from happening?
Thanx....

[Catweazle]

I've moved this to our Viruses and Nasties section, where you will get the appropriate help. I'd suggest you read some of the stickied topics in this section and try the spyware removal tools suggested in them.

[DMR]

I've moved this to our Viruses and Nasties section, where you will get the appropriate help.

Thanks CatWeazle. :)

porquat,

Let's start with the following so that we can get an initial idea of exactly which infections have invaded your computer:

Download the (free) HijackThis utility:

http://www.stevewolfonline.com/Downloads/DMR/Spyware%20Tools/HJT/HijackThis.exe

Once downloaded, follow these instructions to install and run the program:

Create a folder outside of any Temp/Temporary folders for HJT and move it there now. A folder such such as C:\HijackThis or C:\Spyware Tools\HijackThis will do.

Run HijackThis, but do not have HJT fix anything yet; only have it scan your system! Once the scan is complete, the "Scan" button will turn into an option to "Save log...". Save the log in the folder you created for HiajckThis, open the log in Windows Notepad, and cut-n-paste the entire contents of the log here.

The log contents will tell us a lot about what "nasties" have crept into your system, and once we analyse the log we can tell you what to do from there.