TheDarkKnight

Good afternoon aryama, Please download OTL.exe by OldTimer to your Desktop. Close all windows and double click OTL.exe. In the "Custom Scans/Fixes" window (under the light green bar) paste the following in bold: netsvcs drivers32 %SYSTEMDRIVE%\*.* %systemroot%\*. /mp /s CREATERESTOREPOINT HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update\Results\Install|LastSuccessTime /rs Click Run Scan and let the program run uninterrupted. When the scan completes, it will open two Notepad windows. OTL.txt and Extras.txt. These are saved in the same location as OTL. Post both logs in this thread. You may need to use two posts to get it all.

Good afternoon kingtaoist, Please do the following to re-run AdwCleaner: Please close all open programs and internet browsers. Double click on adwcleaner.exe to run the tool. Click on Delete. Confirm each time with OK. Your computer will be rebooted automatically. A text file will open after the restart. Please post the content of that logfile in your reply. You can find the logfile at C:\AdwCleaner[s1].txt as well. Note: If you get a message that you must reboot the computer before starting deletion, please do. At reboot, only AdwCleaner will run and you can only click on the Delete button. When the deletion is done, AdwCleaner will reboot the computer again and open the logfile. ===== Next, please re-run MBAM and delete anything it finds. Please post its log in your reply. ===== Finally, please follow these instructions to run ComboFix.exe. Please visit this webpage for download links and instructions for running this tool: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix * Ensure you have disabled all anti virus and anti malware programs so they do not interfere with the running of ComboFix (CF). Please go here to see a list of programs that need to be disabled. **Note: Do not mouseclick ComboFix's window while it's running. That may cause it to stall.** **Note 2: If you get a message saying "Illegal operation attempted on a registry key that has been marked for deletion", please restart your computer.** Please include the C:\ComboFix.txt in your next reply for further review. ===== I would like to see the contents of the following please: AdwCleaner[s1].txt. MBAM log. ComboFix.txt. How is the computer running?

Goo afternoon preconmanager, This is not uncommon with Windows and manufactured drivers. You can run them through VirusTotal if you wish. Please run a free online scan with the ESET Online Scanner. Note: You can use Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox for this scan. Tick the box next to YES, I accept the Terms of Use. Click Start. When asked, allow the ActiveX control to install. Click Start. Make sure that the option Remove found threats is unchecked and the option Scan unwanted applications is checked. Click Scan. Wait for the scan to finish. Use Notepad to open the logfile located at C:\Program Files\EsetOnlineScanner\log.txt. Copy and paste that log as a reply to this topic.

Good afternoon QubicComputers, Please try disabling CloudCare and then running ComboFix. Does the internet still get disabled?

Good afternoon camarograna2, That log looks good. Please download Security Check by screen317 from here or here. Save it to your Desktop. Double click SecurityCheck.exe and follow the onscreen instructions inside of the black box. A Notepad document should open automatically called checkup.txt; please post the contents of that document.

Hey kasper. A little housekeeping to uninstall ComboFix: Please click Start>Run and copy/paste the following text, including the space between "ComboFix and "/uninstall", into the Run box and click OK: ComboFix /uninstall Note: If any tool, file or folder (belonging to the program we have used) hasn't been deleted, please delete it manually. And AdwCleaner: Please double click on adwcleaner.exe to run the tool. Click on Uninstall. Confirm with Yes. Right-click the Recycle Bin and please select Empty Recycle Bin. ===== Please consider using these ideas to help secure your computer. While there is no way to guarantee safety when you use a computer, these steps will make it much less likely that you will need to endure another infection. While we really like to help people, we would rather help you protect yourself so that you won't need that help in the future. :thumbup: IMPORTANT: Please enable Automatic Updates under Start > Control Panel > Automatic Updates to ensure your Windows updates regularly. This is extremely important in ensuring you remain protected against vulnerabilities and infections. This is a crucial security measure. As a minimum, you need at least an antivirus, firewall and some type of anti-spyware program. Please consider installing and running the following program (there is a free version available): SpywareBlaster A tutorial on using SpywareBlaster to prevent malware from ever installing on your computer may be found here. Please keep these programs up-to-date and run them whenever you suspect a problem to prevent malware problems. A number of programs have resident protection and it is a good idea to run the resident protection of one of each type of program to maintain protection. However, it is important to run only one resident program of each type since they can conflict and become less effective. That means only one antivirus, firewall and scanning anti-spyware program at a time. Passive protectors, like SpywareBlaster, can be run with any of them. Note that there are a lot of rogue programs out there that want to scare you into giving them your money and some malware actually claims to be security programs. If you get a popup for a security program that you did not install yourself, do NOT click on it and ask for help immediately. It is very important to run an antivirus and firewall, but you can't always rely on reviews and ads for information. Ask in a security forum that you trust if you are not sure. If you are unsure and looking for anti-spyware programs, you may be able to find out if it is a rogue here: http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm A similar category of programs is now called "scareware." Scareware programs are active infections that will pop-up on your computer and tell you that you are infected. If you look closely, it will usually have a name that looks like it might be legitimate, but it is NOT one of the programs you installed. It tells you to click and install it right away. If you click on any part of it, including the 'X' to close it, you may actually help it infect your computer further. Keeping protection updated and running resident protection can help prevent these infections. If it happens anyway, get offline as quickly as you can. Pull the internet connection cable or shut down the computer if you have to. Contact someone to help by using another computer if possible. These programs are also sometimes called 'rogues', but they are different than the older version of rogues mentioned above. Please consider using an alternate browser. Mozilla's Firefox browser is a very good alternative. In addition to being generally more secure than Internet Explorer, it has a very good built-in popup blocker and Add-ons, like Adblock Plus and NoScript, can make it even more secure. To avoid dangerous sites Web of Trust or McAfee SiteAdvisor can be installed. Google Chrome or Opera are other good options. Two useful programs for keeping your programs up-to-date are FileHippo or Secunia PSI. Running one of these regularly will help you obtain the latest program updates. Please also read Tony Klein's excellent article: How did I get infected in the first place. Hopefully these steps will help to keep you error free. If you run into more difficulty, we will certainly do what we can to help.

Good morning kasper, I am well thank you. I trust things are safe on your end. Please run a free online scan with the ESET Online Scanner. Note: You can use Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox for this scan. Tick the box next to YES, I accept the Terms of Use. Click Start. When asked, allow the ActiveX control to install. Click Start. Make sure that the option Remove found threats is unchecked and the option Scan unwanted applications is checked. Click Scan. Wait for the scan to finish. Use Notepad to open the logfile located at C:\Program Files\EsetOnlineScanner\log.txt. Copy and paste that log as a reply to this topic. Are there any current issues on the computer?

Good morning majabber, A little housekeeping to uninstall ComboFix: Please click Start>Run and copy/paste the following text, including the space between "ComboFix and "/uninstall", into the Run box and click OK: ComboFix /uninstall Note: If any tool, file or folder (belonging to the program we have used) hasn't been deleted, please delete it manually. And AdwCleaner: Please double click on adwcleaner.exe to run the tool. Click on Uninstall. Confirm with Yes. To remove all of the tools we used and the files and folders they created do the following: Double click OTL.exe. Click the CleanUp button. Select Yes when the "Begin cleanup Process?" prompt appears. If you are prompted to reboot during the cleanup, select Yes. The tool will delete itself once it finishes. Note: If any tool, file or folder (belonging to the program we have used) hasn't been deleted, please delete it manually. Finally, please right-click the Recycle Bin and please select Empty Recycle Bin. ===== Please consider using these ideas to help secure your computer. While there is no way to guarantee safety when you use a computer, these steps will make it much less likely that you will need to endure another infection. While we really like to help people, we would rather help you protect yourself so that you won't need that help in the future. :thumbup: IMPORTANT: Please enable Automatic Updates under Start > Control Panel > Automatic Updates to ensure your Windows updates regularly. This is extremely important in ensuring you remain protected against vulnerabilities and infections. This is a crucial security measure. As a minimum, you need at least an antivirus, firewall and some type of anti-spyware program. Please consider installing and running the following program (there is a free version available): SpywareBlaster A tutorial on using SpywareBlaster to prevent malware from ever installing on your computer may be found here. Please keep these programs up-to-date and run them whenever you suspect a problem to prevent malware problems. A number of programs have resident protection and it is a good idea to run the resident protection of one of each type of program to maintain protection. However, it is important to run only one resident program of each type since they can conflict and become less effective. That means only one antivirus, firewall and scanning anti-spyware program at a time. Passive protectors, like SpywareBlaster, can be run with any of them. Note that there are a lot of rogue programs out there that want to scare you into giving them your money and some malware actually claims to be security programs. If you get a popup for a security program that you did not install yourself, do NOT click on it and ask for help immediately. It is very important to run an antivirus and firewall, but you can't always rely on reviews and ads for information. Ask in a security forum that you trust if you are not sure. If you are unsure and looking for anti-spyware programs, you may be able to find out if it is a rogue here: http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm A similar category of programs is now called "scareware." Scareware programs are active infections that will pop-up on your computer and tell you that you are infected. If you look closely, it will usually have a name that looks like it might be legitimate, but it is NOT one of the programs you installed. It tells you to click and install it right away. If you click on any part of it, including the 'X' to close it, you may actually help it infect your computer further. Keeping protection updated and running resident protection can help prevent these infections. If it happens anyway, get offline as quickly as you can. Pull the internet connection cable or shut down the computer if you have to. Contact someone to help by using another computer if possible. These programs are also sometimes called 'rogues', but they are different than the older version of rogues mentioned above. Please consider using an alternate browser. Mozilla's Firefox browser is a very good alternative. In addition to being generally more secure than Internet Explorer, it has a very good built-in popup blocker and Add-ons, like Adblock Plus and NoScript, can make it even more secure. To avoid dangerous sites Web of Trust or McAfee SiteAdvisor can be installed. Google Chrome or Opera are other good options. Two useful programs for keeping your programs up-to-date are FileHippo or Secunia PSI. Running one of these regularly will help you obtain the latest program updates. Please also read Tony Klein's excellent article: How did I get infected in the first place. Hopefully these steps will help to keep you error free. If you run into more difficulty, we will certainly do what we can to help.

Good morning camarograna2. Good to see! Please run a free online scan with the ESET Online Scanner. Note: You can use Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox for this scan. Tick the box next to YES, I accept the Terms of Use. Click Start. When asked, allow the ActiveX control to install. Click Start. Make sure that the option Remove found threats is unchecked and the option Scan unwanted applications is checked. Click Scan. Wait for the scan to finish. Use Notepad to open the logfile located at C:\Program Files\EsetOnlineScanner\log.txt. Copy and paste that log as a reply to this topic.

You may use ComboFix as it has been fixed. Please continue with my instructions.

Are you still with us? This topic will be closed in a few days if we do not hear back from you.

I am TheDarkKnight and will be assisting you. Please ask questions if anything is unclear. OK security programs first. You are running two antivirus programs: avast! CloudCare Running more than one antivirus program can cause conflicts and actually reduce your security. I strongly recommend removing one of those antivirus programs. avast! is a very good free antivirus program, so unless you really like CloudCare I recommend removing it. Alternatively you can disable one and just use it occasionally for offline scanning. You also have quite a few security programs running. Spybot is outdated, Windows Defender is considered okay, and then your two antivirus programs both offer other capabilities as well. I recommend removing Spybot, disabling Windows Defender and removing one of your antivirus programs. If you run avast! or CloudCare with MBAM you will have a very good security setup. ===== Your logs show signs of an IP address which could be causing issues, as well as browser changes I doubt you authorised. Please follow these instructions to run ComboFix.exe. Please visit this webpage for download links and instructions for running this tool: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix * Ensure you have disabled all anti virus and anti malware programs so they do not interfere with the running of ComboFix (CF). Please go here to see a list of programs that need to be disabled. **Note: Do not mouseclick ComboFix's window while it's running. That may cause it to stall.** **Note 2: If you get a message saying "Illegal operation attempted on a registry key that has been marked for deletion", please restart your computer.** Please include the C:\ComboFix.txt in your next reply for further review. ===== Also, please download AdwCleaner by Xplode onto your Desktop. Double click on AdwCleaner.exe to run the tool. Click on Search. A logfile will automatically open after the scan has finished. Please post the content of that logfile in your reply. You can find the logfile at C:\AdwCleaner[R1].txt as well. ===== In your reply please provide the contents of the following: ComboFix.txt. AdwCleaner[R1].txt. Do you need any help removing your security programs? How is the computer running?

I am TheDarkKnight and will be assisting you. Please ask questions if anything is unclear. Please follow these instructions to run ComboFix.exe. Please visit this webpage for download links and instructions for running this tool: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix * Ensure you have disabled all anti virus and anti malware programs so they do not interfere with the running of ComboFix (CF). Please go here to see a list of programs that need to be disabled. **Note: Do not mouseclick ComboFix's window while it's running. That may cause it to stall.** **Note 2: If you get a message saying "Illegal operation attempted on a registry key that has been marked for deletion", please restart your computer.** Please include the C:\ComboFix.txt in your next reply for further review. ===== Also, please download Malwarebytes Anti-Rootkit here. Unzip the contents to a folder on the Desktop. Open the folder where the contents were unzipped and run mbar.exe ( right-click and select Run as administrator for Vista and Windows 7). Follow the instructions in the wizard to update and allow the program to scan your computer for threats. Click on the Cleanup button to remove any threats and reboot if prompted to do so. Wait while the system shuts down and the cleanup process is performed. Please post the two logs produced. Please note: This tool is still in BETA mode, so please ensure you have backed up any important files. ===== In your reply please provide the contents of the following: ComboFix.txt. Both MBAR logs. How is your computer currently running?

I am TheDarkKnight and will be assisting you. Please ask questions if anything is unclear. Please download DDS by sUBs from one of the following links. Save it to your Desktop. DDS.com DDS.scr DDS.pif NOTE: Before scanning, make sure all other running programs are closed. There shouldn't be any scheduled antivirus scans running while the scan is being performed. Do not use your computer for anything else during the scan. [*]Double click on the DDS icon and allow it to run. [*]A small box will open, with an explanation about the tool. No input is needed, the scan is running. [*]Notepad will open with the results. [*]Follow the instructions that pop up for posting the results. ===== Next, please download AdwCleaner by Xplode onto your Desktop. Double click on AdwCleaner.exe to run the tool. Click on Search. A logfile will automatically open after the scan has finished. Please post the content of that logfile in your reply. You can find the logfile at C:\AdwCleaner[R1].txt as well. ===== Finally, please update MBAM. Then run a scan and post its new log in your reply. ===== I would like to see the contents of the following in your reply please: DDS.txt. AdwCleaner[R1].txt. MBAM log. How is your computer currently running?

Hello pgpav2003, OK good to hear. If you like, please PM me on how you did the BIOS. I am curious, as I don't know much about flashing other than it completely wipes it.

Hello preconmanager, Yes, give your CD a try. I think, given that your monitor plays up in the Windows Media Centre as well, that certain things must just trigger the weirdness. Maybe the old driver will fix it. Let me know how it goes.

Hello dykesc, These 3 lines: 2012/09/21 12:01:15 | 000,002,048 | -HS- | M] () -- C:\$RECYCLE.BIN\S-1-5-18\$71213cd9c34348feb47e474775353225\@ [2012/09/21 12:01:15 | 000,000,000 | -HSD | M] -- C:\$RECYCLE.BIN\S-1-5-18\$71213cd9c34348feb47e474775353225\L [2012/09/21 12:01:15 | 000,000,000 | -HSD | M] -- C:\$RECYCLE.BIN\S-1-5-18\$71213cd9c34348feb47e474775353225\U ZeroAccess has a few different variants. The one you had is one of the older ones, and tends to be removed more easily. As you can see above, OTL found a folder in the Recycle Bin with random characters and the symbols @, L and U. This is characteristic of this type of variant. Generally, and in your case particularly, removing these folders (and the original one without the symbols) removes the infection. OldTimer (the creator of OTL) recently updated OTL so that it has a section titled ZeroAccess, making it easier to find characteristics of ZA such as these folders. I should warn you that ZA can sometimes give a user remote access, so at the very least you should change your passwords for banking etc. It has been a pleasure. Thank you for your donation; it will be very much appreciated. ===== A little housekeeping to uninstall ComboFix: Please click Start>Run and copy/paste the following text, including the space between "ComboFix and "/uninstall", into the Run box and click OK: ComboFix /uninstall Note: If any tool, file or folder (belonging to the program we have used) hasn't been deleted, please delete it manually. And AdwCleaner: Please double click on adwcleaner.exe to run the tool. Click on Uninstall. Confirm with Yes. To remove all of the tools we used and the files and folders they created do the following: Double click OTL.exe. Click the CleanUp button. Select Yes when the "Begin cleanup Process?" prompt appears. If you are prompted to reboot during the cleanup, select Yes. The tool will delete itself once it finishes. Note: If any tool, file or folder (belonging to the program we have used) hasn't been deleted, please delete it manually. Right-click the Recycle Bin and please select Empty Recycle Bin. ===== Please consider using these ideas to help secure your computer. While there is no way to guarantee safety when you use a computer, these steps will make it much less likely that you will need to endure another infection. While we really like to help people, we would rather help you protect yourself so that you won't need that help in the future. :thumbup: IMPORTANT: Please enable Automatic Updates under Start > Control Panel > Automatic Updates to ensure your Windows updates regularly. This is extremely important in ensuring you remain protected against vulnerabilities and infections. This is a crucial security measure. As a minimum, you need at least an antivirus, firewall and some type of anti-spyware program. Please consider installing and running the following program (there is a free version available): SpywareBlaster A tutorial on using SpywareBlaster to prevent malware from ever installing on your computer may be found here. Please keep these programs up-to-date and run them whenever you suspect a problem to prevent malware problems. A number of programs have resident protection and it is a good idea to run the resident protection of one of each type of program to maintain protection. However, it is important to run only one resident program of each type since they can conflict and become less effective. That means only one antivirus, firewall and scanning anti-spyware program at a time. Passive protectors, like SpywareBlaster, can be run with any of them. Note that there are a lot of rogue programs out there that want to scare you into giving them your money and some malware actually claims to be security programs. If you get a popup for a security program that you did not install yourself, do NOT click on it and ask for help immediately. It is very important to run an antivirus and firewall, but you can't always rely on reviews and ads for information. Ask in a security forum that you trust if you are not sure. If you are unsure and looking for anti-spyware programs, you may be able to find out if it is a rogue here: http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm A similar category of programs is now called "scareware." Scareware programs are active infections that will pop-up on your computer and tell you that you are infected. If you look closely, it will usually have a name that looks like it might be legitimate, but it is NOT one of the programs you installed. It tells you to click and install it right away. If you click on any part of it, including the 'X' to close it, you may actually help it infect your computer further. Keeping protection updated and running resident protection can help prevent these infections. If it happens anyway, get offline as quickly as you can. Pull the internet connection cable or shut down the computer if you have to. Contact someone to help by using another computer if possible. These programs are also sometimes called 'rogues', but they are different than the older version of rogues mentioned above. Please consider using an alternate browser. Mozilla's Firefox browser is a very good alternative. In addition to being generally more secure than Internet Explorer, it has a very good built-in popup blocker and Add-ons, like Adblock Plus and NoScript, can make it even more secure. To avoid dangerous sites Web of Trust or McAfee SiteAdvisor can be installed. Google Chrome or Opera are other good options. Two useful programs for keeping your programs up-to-date are FileHippo or Secunia PSI. Running one of these regularly will help you obtain the latest program updates. Please also read Tony Klein's excellent article: How did I get infected in the first place. Hopefully these steps will help to keep you error free. If you run into more difficulty, we will certainly do what we can to help.

Howdy majabber, Your version of Java is out of date. It's important to remove older versions of Java since it does not do so automatically and older versions can leave you vulnerable. Please follow the instructions below to update Java: Please go to the below link and download the latest Windows 7 version: http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp Save it to your Desktop. Please go to Start>Control Panel>Programs. Navigate to any versions of Java (J2SE Runtime Environment) you have installed. They will have this icon next to them: Select Uninstall. Please double-click the installer and follow the prompts to install the latest version once all the previous versions have been successfully removed. ===== Also, your version of Adobe Reader is out of date. It could have security vulnerabilities, so please follow these instructions to update it: Please go to Start>All Programs>Adobe Reader. Open Adobe Reader and navigate to Help>Check for Updates. Please follow the prompts to install the latest version. ===== In your reply please let me know how the updates go.

Hello preconmanager, Try updating when avast! isn't running.

Hey pgpav2003, So you tried to flash and it didn't work?

Hey preconmanager, It sounds like there are some corrupt Windows files and settings, and things just seem to be deteriorating. I don't think malware is behind this. See how you go with updating the Windows Media Centre.

Hey camarograna2, Please update MBAM. Then run a fresh scan and post the new log in your reply.

Hey majabber, Please delete this file: C:\Users\Owner\Downloads\Setup.exe ===== Please download Security Check by screen317 from here or here. Save it to your Desktop. Double click SecurityCheck.exe and follow the onscreen instructions inside of the black box. A Notepad document should open automatically called checkup.txt; please post the contents of that document.

Hello dykesc, Please uninstall Adobe Reader completely. Then go to the above link and try installing the latest version. Did that work?

Hello MBware, Don't worry about the Java update. If you have removed it from the Control Panel that should be adequate. I am not familiar with that option in avast! but I would advise against it. AVG is heavy on resources so I recommend removing it anyway. Please see below for some other security recommendations. ===== A little housekeeping to uninstall ComboFix: Please click Start>Run and copy/paste the following text, including the space between "ComboFix and "/uninstall", into the Run box and click OK: ComboFix /uninstall To remove all of the tools we used and the files and folders they created do the following: Double click OTL.exe. Click the CleanUp button. Select Yes when the "Begin cleanup Process?" prompt appears. If you are prompted to reboot during the cleanup, select Yes. The tool will delete itself once it finishes. Note: If any tool, file or folder (belonging to the program we have used) hasn't been deleted, please delete it manually. Right-click the Recycle Bin and please select Empty Recycle Bin. ===== Please consider using these ideas to help secure your computer. While there is no way to guarantee safety when you use a computer, these steps will make it much less likely that you will need to endure another infection. While we really like to help people, we would rather help you protect yourself so that you won't need that help in the future. :thumbup: IMPORTANT: Please enable Automatic Updates under Start > Control Panel > Automatic Updates to ensure your Windows updates regularly. This is extremely important in ensuring you remain protected against vulnerabilities and infections. This is a crucial security measure. As a minimum, you need at least an antivirus, firewall and some type of anti-spyware program. Please consider installing and running the following program (there is a free version available): SpywareBlaster A tutorial on using SpywareBlaster to prevent malware from ever installing on your computer may be found here. Please keep these programs up-to-date and run them whenever you suspect a problem to prevent malware problems. A number of programs have resident protection and it is a good idea to run the resident protection of one of each type of program to maintain protection. However, it is important to run only one resident program of each type since they can conflict and become less effective. That means only one antivirus, firewall and scanning anti-spyware program at a time. Passive protectors, like SpywareBlaster, can be run with any of them. Note that there are a lot of rogue programs out there that want to scare you into giving them your money and some malware actually claims to be security programs. If you get a popup for a security program that you did not install yourself, do NOT click on it and ask for help immediately. It is very important to run an antivirus and firewall, but you can't always rely on reviews and ads for information. Ask in a security forum that you trust if you are not sure. If you are unsure and looking for anti-spyware programs, you may be able to find out if it is a rogue here: http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm A similar category of programs is now called "scareware." Scareware programs are active infections that will pop-up on your computer and tell you that you are infected. If you look closely, it will usually have a name that looks like it might be legitimate, but it is NOT one of the programs you installed. It tells you to click and install it right away. If you click on any part of it, including the 'X' to close it, you may actually help it infect your computer further. Keeping protection updated and running resident protection can help prevent these infections. If it happens anyway, get offline as quickly as you can. Pull the internet connection cable or shut down the computer if you have to. Contact someone to help by using another computer if possible. These programs are also sometimes called 'rogues', but they are different than the older version of rogues mentioned above. Please consider using an alternate browser. Mozilla's Firefox browser is a very good alternative. In addition to being generally more secure than Internet Explorer, it has a very good built-in popup blocker and Add-ons, like Adblock Plus and NoScript, can make it even more secure. To avoid dangerous sites Web of Trust or McAfee SiteAdvisor can be installed. Google Chrome or Opera are other good options. Two useful programs for keeping your programs up-to-date are FileHippo or Secunia PSI. Running one of these regularly will help you obtain the latest program updates. Please also read Tony Klein's excellent article: How did I get infected in the first place. Hopefully these steps will help to keep you error free. If you run into more difficulty, we will certainly do what we can to help.