I have seen a growing interest posted here in the last few months. So I thought it to be wise to post a short tutorials that I hope may help some of those that are unfortunate to have been bitten by this big bug.
first you can try some free software.
Spoybot: Search and Destroy and Ad-aware are a couple of the good ones. Make sure you update those pieces of software to get the maximum protection.
Some extra settings: in spybot go into advanced mode and then settings. in settings you want to set the scan priority to higher. This adds to your protection. most people miss this.
those will get rid of most of them but some are a little trickier.
to get rid of the CoolWebSearch bar you can try this:
Download CWShredder at
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4086.html
Run CWShredder, check you have the current version by clicking check for update and let it update
Close all browser windows, click on the cwshredder.exe then click "FIX" (Not "Scan only") and let it do its thing.
I will also advice in removing any toolbar extras you have. those are also considered spyware. so stuff like ask jeeves or the googlebar toolbars should be removed.
if this doesn't work please download HiJackThis and then post the info it shows you in a new thread. someone will be along to help you.
**This is not meant to stop any spyware from ever being added again to your system. It is up to you to surf wisely. I recommend scanning at least once a week if you run Internet Explorer. I also recommend to use another browser like Opera or Mozilla/Firefox. Or you can turn off ActiveX in Internet Explorer to help in your journey's. Tools->internet options->security tab->custom level**
**If you disable ActiveX in IE you will need to add
http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ to your Trusted Sites (Tools --> Internet Options --> Security -- Trusted Sites --> Sites --> uncheck require HTTPS for sites in this zone and add above URL).**
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