Member Avatar for iamboredguy

I have a popup program that seems to have installed itself on my computer. Everytime my internet is idle, it displays search results from some searchmiracle.com. I don't know how it got onto my PC and I don't know how to remove it. Spybot and Google popup blocker don't seem to work. I also have some programs like winad.exe which got installed and I can't remove because they are readme's. Help! :cry:

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Dani AI

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Unwanted search popups that appear outside the browser usually mean a background ad/spy process has installed itself and is reinserting windows or changing startup settings. , since you already tried basic blockers, the next priorities are containment, discovery, and careful cleanup so the item cannot re-install itself.

First, isolate the PC (disconnect network) to stop further callbacks. Reboot into Safe Mode and run a full, up-to-date on-demand malware scan (or use a bootable rescue scanner) so the scanner examines files that are normally locked. Quarantine findings rather than immediately deleting them, then reboot and re-scan.

Manually inspect what’s running and what starts automatically: use Task Manager to note suspicious processes and use the system configuration/startup utility plus the Run keys in the registry (HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run and HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run) and scheduled tasks to find persistent entries. Right‑click a suspicious process and open its file location before taking action; note file paths and digital-signature info. Clear browser add-ons, reset homepage/search provider, and delete temp files. Back up the registry or create a restore point before editing anything.

If the problem persists, collect and post readable diagnostics: the full list of startup items, running processes with full paths, and your malware-scan log. That will let experienced helpers drill down without guessing. ’s suggestion to scan was on the right track — keep signature databases current — and thanks to for moving this into the security area. If removal proves unreliable or the system shows deeper compromise, a clean OS reinstall after backing up personal data is the safest route.

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Member Avatar for Paddy

Try scanning your computer with Ad-Aware. It should find and remove whatever that search crap is. You can download Ad-Aware here:

http://www.download.com/3000-2144-10045910.html?part=69274&subj=dlpage&tag=button - update it before you do the scan.

If that doesn't help, download and run HijackThis! and post the results so that a more experienced forum member can analyse it for you ;) You can get HijackThis! here:

Good luck.

Member Avatar for Catweazle

Moved to security section.

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