I can't be the only hobbiest who has made this mistake, so I'm hoping somebody out there will share.

I made the mistake of browsing porn sites on my laptop, and I got hijacked, I guess. I had one of those infamous pop-up nightmares, and finally had to shut down. Now everytime I turn on my machine (windows 2000), I get all of these obnoxious shortcuts on my desktop and shortcuts in my favorites list.

I installed Adaware and have run it several times. It finds lots of files to delete, but everytime I boot up, the shortcuts reappear.

Where do I look in my computer to zap them so they never return?

Any and all advice will be very much appreciated.

Download and install Spybot Search and Destroy and use it to remove the spyware.

http://www.komando.com find shareware on her site there are a number of free programs you may need to run good luck

Good luck.  I had that happen to me and I finally had my friend's wife who is a computer geek work on it in her spare time.  She said it was a challenge.  She just laughed  at me when she returned it all nice and clean and told me to be careful of porn sites.
Billy

Try using Spybot or NoAdware freeware. Most of the porn sites make changes in the registry which NoAdware can remover permanently. Then run Spybot frequently.

There are many dicussions on browser hijacking. If you can't find what you're looking for create a new topic and post. They will be more than happy to help.

Although Windows 2000 does not have the MSCONFIG utility, you can find copies of it that will run on Win2K.  This utility provided a way to enable and disable functions that start automatically when you boot your computer.  

If you are a computer novice, you probably won't know the difference between what should be starting and what you can disable.  It would be to hard to try to help you through that in a short message on this forum.  If you have access to another system to compare that will help you.

I did a google search to find this link but did not get my copy of MSCONFIG from here.  I just typed "windows 2000 MSCONFIG" and got several hits.  I received my copy from a co-worker not this site.

Do a search on this board under the word 'spyware'. There were a couple good threads and suggestions for spyware removal tools. These tools will eliminate most if not all of the remaing programs. Adaware does a good job but doesn't get them all.

If you have System Restore or GoBack installed, return your computer to a state before the attack.  This should work unless the malicious code deleted your old save files....

Warning though..... anything you added to your computer after that date will be deleted, but at least you can clean the junk out.....

Instead of AdAware, try Spybot S&D.  Does a much better job, and has the ability to block some of the stuff before it happens.

It will take at least two runs with the program - once at boot-up, it will tellyou that it needs to do it automatically.

Also, make sure to use the update button after you ahve installed it....

All of these posts are very helpful. Also, you should invest in an Anti-Virus (and KEEP IT UPDATED). Run PestPatrol. (or SPYBOT).

and most important, when you browse the internet: create a non-aadministrator ID and ONLY use this ID to browse the web! (not just porn sites! - lots of sites do this).

Worst case scenario, remove/backup any important data and then rebuild your system with your restore CD's.

Hope this helps.

No one has mentioned Spywareblaster yet...I like it because it stops thousands of them BEFORE they infect you...run it once then update it regularly and it innoculates your computer forever

I really appreciate everyone's suggestions. I'll let ya know what happens.

Gratefully,
Infrequent