Knowledge Base

Unexplained computer behavior may be caused by deceptive software

Article ID: 827315

Article Last Modified on 10/30/2007

APPLIES TO

Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition
Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition (32-bit x86)
Microsoft Windows XP Professional for Itanium-based systems
Microsoft Windows XP Professional for Itanium-based systems
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Edition
Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition
Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition
Microsoft Windows 98 Standard Edition
Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0

SYMPTOMS

You may experience any one or more of the following symptoms:

When you start your computer, or when your computer has been idle for many minutes, your Internet browser opens to display Web site advertisements.
When you use your browser to view Web sites, other instances of your browser open to display Web site advertisements.
Your Web browser's home page unexpectedly changes.
Web pages are unexpectedly added to your Favorites folder.
New toolbars are unexpectedly added to your Web browser.
You cannot start a program.
When you click a link in a program, the link does not work.
Your Web browser suddenly closes or stops responding.
It takes a much longer time to start or to resume your computer.
Components of Windows or other programs no longer work.

CAUSE

This issue may occur when deceptive software such as spyware or unauthorized adware is installed on your computer. This kind of software may come bundled with software that you want to install or may be included with downloaded Web components.

RESOLUTION

To try to identify and remove deceptive software from your computer, use one or all the following methods.

Note Because there are several versions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your computer. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps.

Note If you use an operating system that has the System Restore feature such as Windows Millennium Edition and Windows XP, set a valid restore point before you follow these steps. You can use the restore point to restore to the computer configuration that you had before you made the changes if you do not want the changes.

Note Deceptive software programs may not follow standard practices for installation. Therefore, the software may not be found in the locations that are described in the following steps.

Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
Double-click Add or Remove Programs.
In the Currently installed programs list, find programs that you do not recognize or are named similarly to the program that is causing the unwanted behavior.

Note Some programs that have unfamiliar names may not be deceptive software. Some programs may have come preinstalled on the computer from the manufacturer or may be important components of other software that you have installed on your computer. We recommend that you use caution when you remove programs from your computer.

Click the program that you want to remove, and then click Remove. To remove the component, follow the instructions that appear on your screen. You may have to restart your computer.

Use the built-in program remover

If the program that you want to remove is not listed in Add or Remove Programs, you may be able to use the built-in program remover to remove the program. To do this, follow these steps:

Click Start, point to Programs, and then search for a folder with the name of the program that you want to remove or the name of a program that may have included the program that you want to remove.
Point to the Program_Name folder, and then click the file to remove the program if the file exists. For example, the file might be named Unist.exe, Uninstall, or Uninstall Program_Name.
Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to remove the program.

Find the program folder with Windows Explorer

Some programs do not register with Add or Remove Programs and do not have a Start Menu folder. These programs may have a folder on the hard disk drive where the program that you want to remove is installed. This folder may contain a file that you can use to automatically remove the program. To find the program folder and remove the unwanted program, follow these steps:

Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Explore.
Expand the folder tree to look for a folder with the name of the program that you want to remove or the name of a program that may have included the program that you want to remove.
When you find the unwanted program's folder, click the folder.
In the right-pane, if a file to remove the program exists, double-click that file. For example, the file may be named Unist.exe, Uninstall, or Uninstall Program_Name.
Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to remove the program.

Note If you find a folder for the program that you want to remove, but you do not find a remove file to remove the program, do not delete the folder or the contents of the folder. If you delete the folder or the contents of the folder, you may adversely affect your computer performance and operation. For example, Windows may not start, programs may not start, or programs may stop running.

Use antivirus software

Some deceptive software can be removed by some antivirus programs. However, not all antivirus companies detect or remove this software because it is different from viruses. Contact the manufacturer of your antivirus program for more information about removing deceptive software.

For additional information about how to contact the manufacturer of your antivirus program, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

49500 List of antivirus software vendors

Use an automated removal tool

Microsoft Windows Defender can remove the deceptive software program. For more information about Windows Defender, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

Some non-Microsoft tools exist that may be able to remove the deceptive software program. Some of the companies that provide spyware or unauthorized adware removal programs include the following companies:

Ad-Aware

For more information about Ad-Aware, visit the following Lavasoft Web site:

http://www.lavasoft.com
eTrust PestPatrol Anti-Spyware

For more information about eTrust PestPatrol Anti-Spyware Corporate Edition and CA Customer Online Store , visit the following Pest Patrol Web site:

http://www3.ca.com/solutions/Product.aspx?ID=5222 (For corporation)

http://drhadmin.digitalriver.com/DRHM/servlet/ControllerServlet?Action=DisplayHomePage&SiteID=caconsum&Locale=en_US (For personal)
Spybot Search and Destroy

For more information, visit the following Spybot Web site:

http://www.safer-networking.org/microsoft.en.html

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.

Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.