Hatrack River Forum: Darned ActiveX settings...

This is topic Darned ActiveX settings... in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.

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Posted by Marlozhan (Member # 2422) on :

About a day ago I got a bunch of spyware on accident, and I have been getting rid of it ever since. I have successfully removed all of it, except for one that spybot keeps showing as SpywareQuake.

I have also run adaware, xoftspy, hikackthis, killbox, and lockcopy many times. I have told each program to run before windows boots, too, but the wininet.dll file (associated with Spywarequake), is always in use and can't be deleted, even before startup or in safe mode.

Since I first got spyware, I have had this annoying ActiveX error that pops up every 5-10 minutes, no matter what I'm doing. Whether I am playing a video game, on the internet, exploring windows, or just staring at my desktop, the error still pops up. I just have to hit OK and it leaves me alone for another 5-10 minutes, but it's annoying. I also have cable internet, just fyi.

The ActiveX error says:

"Your current security settings prohibit running ActiveX controls on this page. As a result, the page may not display correctly."

I have changed activex controls from low to high, and also used default, to no avail. The only thing I haven't tried is enabling all activex controls that are currently disabled, but I am hesitant to make my computer more vulnerable in that way.

Any bright ideas, or am I doomed to listen to this error for all eternity?

Posted by lem (Member # 6914) on :

There are a few good force delete programs out there. Most of them cost money but have a free trial period. This thread has some good suggestions on how to kill the file. It also links to some programs.

How comfy are with manual edits in the registry? What version of windows and IE are you using? Are you up to date on security patches?

If you have XP, a very good security tip (once this is resolved and you switch to another Internet program like Fire Fox or Opera) is to create one administrator account that is password protected. Only use that account for installing programs and updating your antivirus. Make your everyday account a limited account. Nasty programs will not have permission/access to make changes to your computer.

EDIT: spelling

Posted by lem (Member # 6914) on :

Hmm..the link I gave you does not show the responses. It did when I looked it up using "force delete" in google. You may need to use google to find a good force delete program. You may even be able to see the rest of the thread I linked.

Posted by unicornwhisperer (Member # 294) on :

Oh! I forgot you were home today, Marlozahn. [Kiss]

Any luck with your homework? [Wink]

Posted by Marlozhan (Member # 2422) on :

Force delete says it can't delete the file, either.

I have just downloaded IE 7 and installed it. We will see if this gets rid of the error.

The other problem I have been having, since the spyware, is that I can no longer install updates through windows update. After I download a file, it starts installing, then says the installation failed. I have tried a few fixes on microsoft.com, but to no avail.

...And as I was typing this, the activex error popped up again. [Mad]

Posted by Marlozhan (Member # 2422) on :

So, I finally got rid of the wininet.dll file and replaced it with the correct one. My system now shows no spyware. However, I still can't install any files downloaded from windowsupdate, and I still get that activex warning. I don't know what caused these problems or how to fix them.