[kichin]

My computer has been acting weird lately.

1. every now and then, I hear noises coming from my speakers. It seems to be a commercial of some sort. I'm not sure if someone is hacking into my system or if there is a virus on my computer. I ran SpyBot and MalWarebytes and removed all the listed threats, but it still won't disappear.
I'd be working on my computer, all of a sudden I hear voices, without anything on the screen except for my desktop items. When the commercial begins, I've tried disconnecting from the internet and it still comes through.

2. Just this past weekend, I can't seem to run searches on any search sites. Google, Yahoo, etc. When I do, all I get is a blank screen. I thought that maybe the server was down on Google, but it seems to be on every internet search sites I go to.

Just for info:

I am running Windows XP with SP 3 and Modzilla Firefox.

Hope someone out there can help.

Thank you.

[Perito]

If you've disconnected from the Internet, then it's coming from something installed on your computer.

Download AutoRuns

Autoruns for Windows

Run the program (there is no installation -- just unpack the file and run autoruns.exe) and select the Logon tab. Look at the descriptions, the publishers, and the name of the file under Image Path. If you don't recognize something, uncheck it (you can always re-check it later if something doesn't quite work after that -- also, removing startup files can be a nice way to speed up your boot operation). You especially want to look in the sections:

C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run Once
HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run once

Some of these sections may not be present.

(most especially the last four as they're in the registry and often hidden). If you're not sure, you can right-click on it and select "Search Online..." to Google the file name. If you're still unsure, post the name of the file here and we'll help you out.

Also, look under the Internet Explorer tab and see what Browser Helper Objects you are loading. You can similarly disable these and re-enable them one at a time. Most BHOs are junk, In my opinion. You probably need Java and possibly a PDF helper but not a lot of other junk. If you see something that you really don't want, try uninstalling it from Add/Remove Programs or use RevoUninstaller:

Revo Uninstaller Freeware - Uninstall Software, Remove Programs, Solve uninstall problems

Also, Get CCleaner and clean out any temporary files you might have:

CCleaner - Home

[kichin]

Thank you for your help.

I just noticed today that every time the voices come out, Windows task Manager shows Iexplorer running on my system. And since I run Modzilla, I thought that was strange and I ended the process which in turn killed the noise. I'm still concerned that I have a Virus on my system and have ran SpyBot about 10 times now and it still keeps finding thing every time I run it. I also run MAlwarebytes, but this doesn't recognize anything.

Anyone know of anything that might be running my Internet Explorer on their own?

Thank you again.

[Perito]

Do what I told you to do -- get rid of your Browser Helper Objects.

[kichin]

Got rid of the browser helper, but it doesn't fix the problem