TagASaurus questions

[Dave Boland]

My parents have a new computer and SpyBot identifies this as a problem
and then they let SpyBot (free ver.) fix it. The next time SpyBot is
run TagASaurus returns. I see there has been some discussion about
this, but it is not clear to me:

1. Is it really mal/spy-wear?
2. Do we know where it comes from, as in web sites? My parents don't
visit many sites and are very conservative, so it is unlikely to come
from one of "those" web sites (please, don't ask).
3. How do we get rid of it forever?
4. How do we prevent it from returning? My parents are using IE-6, not
sure what the security settings are though. Would FireFox be a definite
improvement from a security perspective?

Other information that may be helpful to you to help me:
* The owner is detailed as Internet Explorer Ad.yieldman.
* Seems to have something to do with a cookie, but I don't have details.

Thanks for any help.

Dave,

--
"You can tell a lot about a person by how well they reply to messages." - unknown

[Beauregard T. Shagnasty]

Dave Boland wrote:

> My parents have a new computer and SpyBot identifies this as a problem
> and then they let SpyBot (free ver.) fix it. The next time SpyBot is
> run TagASaurus returns. I see there has been some discussion about
> this, but it is not clear to me:
>
> 1. Is it really mal/spy-wear?

It is adware, and possibly a trojan, which can download other nefarious
stuff without asking.

> 2. Do we know where it comes from, as in web sites? My parents don't
> visit many sites and are very conservative, so it is unlikely to come
> from one of "those" web sites (please, don't ask).

It is apparently installed by "drive-by ActiveX" component, which is an
IE problem. Other browsers do not do ActiveX.

> 3. How do we get rid of it forever?

Try: http://superantispyware.com/ the free version
Download, install, get latest updates, do full scan.

> 4. How do we prevent it from returning? My parents are using IE-6, not
> sure what the security settings are though. Would FireFox be a definite
> improvement from a security perspective?

Firefox would be a definite improvement.

> Other information that may be helpful to you to help me:
> * The owner is detailed as Internet Explorer Ad.yieldman.
> * Seems to have something to do with a cookie, but I don't have
> details.

Stop using a default-setting Internet Explorer...
http://k75s.home.att.net/tips.html

--
-bts
-Motorcycles defy gravity; cars just suck