IE opens with ads

[teajay]

I'm running XP with service pack 3 and IE8. IE would open multiple time with ads from various sources. For 2 days I ran all the good stuff and was convinced I had a rootkit. I ran all the programs from safe mode with no results. At one point Abode Reader opened by itself, it was the second time that happened, and I immediately removed Reader8 as I was aware of problems with vulnerabilities. One of my fixes was to uninstall IE8 and now run IE7 and have not had a problem since. IT'S ONLY BEEN ABOUT 5 HRS. SO I'M HOLDING MY BREATH! But I'm thinking Adobe Reader was the problem and hope nothing has been left behind. Comments?

[dmcaarlson]

What Toolbars and other add-ins do you have installed? Do you open one tab or more than one (look in internet options for the default window)? Is your IE set to restore the last window on open or open default?

Yes, this can happen with rootkits, etc, but these other areas can also cause the issue.

Just for grins, while you are checking configurations, do you have anything you don't recognize in your startup (I like CCleaner/Tools/Startup rather than MSConfig because I can disable and re-enable line items easily)? Using the CCleaner ( www.ccleaner.com ) to address the startup and letting it do a good clean of your tempfiles, etc. might be a good additional step (on the theory that a tempfile may be re-launching when you open the browser).

[crunchie]

Hi and welcome to the Daniweb forums :).

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Read me before posting a request for assistance

[teajay]

I finally phoned Norton and they spent a lot of time with me while they remotely controled my computer. The first 2 sessions were about 1.5 hrs. each and they certaily did a lot but to no avail. They were getting a little snarky by the third session and suggested I pay my money and get the big boys in on it. But, they did run their Power Eraser again and it found two errand files which it disappeared. That seems to have fix the problem God bless all those techs spread around the globe.