Tech: POP-UPS.....Help!!

Subject: Tech: POP-UPS.....Help!!
From: Beer
Date: 22 Aug 12 - 02:17 PM

About 3/4 months ago a Pop-up started happening at the right side at the bottom of the screen. This happens when I go to any site. Now it is also happening on the left hand side. Most annoying. I have ran MRT, AVG, Microsoft Security Essentials and Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Adrien

Subject: RE: Tech: POP-UPS.....Help!!
From: GUEST,Charles Macfarlane
Date: 22 Aug 12 - 02:27 PM

You've left out some important information, like what does the pop-up say?

For example, Avast Anti-Virus shows pop-ups in the bottom RH corner every time it updates itself - this is normal behaviour and nothing to worry about.

Subject: RE: Tech: POP-UPS.....Help!!
From: Beer
Date: 22 Aug 12 - 04:20 PM

Well one just popped up 4"x4" Kill The Zombies
Then another came up Magazine Châtelaine 2 and 1/2" by 5".
They are always different.
ad.

Subject: RE: Tech: POP-UPS.....Help!!
From: bobad
Date: 22 Aug 12 - 04:31 PM

Sounds like you might have some malware. Try downloading and running Malwarebytes - it is usually effective for this type of stuff.

Subject: RE: Tech: POP-UPS.....Help!!
From: Beer
Date: 22 Aug 12 - 05:09 PM

Bobad,
I run Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware. It doesn't do the job.
ad.

Subject: RE: Tech: POP-UPS.....Help!!
From: bobad
Date: 22 Aug 12 - 05:33 PM

Do you have the "block popup windows" box checked in your browser options?

Subject: RE: Tech: POP-UPS.....Help!!
From: Beer
Date: 22 Aug 12 - 05:55 PM

Yep!

Subject: RE: Tech: POP-UPS.....Help!!
From: GUEST,Charles Macfarlane
Date: 22 Aug 12 - 05:57 PM

> From: bobad
>
> Do you have the "block popup windows" box checked in your browser options?

> From: Beer
>
> Yep!

That may not be enough. Flash player can launch child windows as well. Try disabling Flash temporarily to see if that fixes it.

Subject: RE: Tech: POP-UPS.....Help!!
From: gnu
Date: 22 Aug 12 - 06:09 PM

Another complaint... Rogers, my ISP, sends a pop-up to my screen even when my blocker is on... I complained and they said I wasn't using my blocker properly and then it got wierd and I gave up.


BTW... the pop-up is for an advanced security suite... apparently because the one they provide for free with my internet service can't block out THOSE BASTARDS!

Subject: RE: Tech: POP-UPS.....Help!!
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 22 Aug 12 - 07:35 PM

"Ratings" for AV programs tend to vary some, but Malwarebytes has held a very good reputation for removing malware that gets on your computer, hence it gets lots of recommendations for that purpose. In the free version, especially, it has had a good, but not exceptional reputation for blocking malware from getting on your computer. That's not to say it isn't as good as most free versions of other programs, but reports haven't given it a particularly high rating for day-to-day protection.

Assuming that you're running Windows(?) you may have Microsoft Outlook installed(?). Outlook has lots of features, including "notes" that can be sent by about anyone, and such notes may appear as a popup from the lower bar. I found this "feature" so annoying that I disabled Outlook back in the WinXP era and haven't allowed it to be turned on since. It's possible that you're seeing Outlook notes (also called IMs - instant messages - by some, although that term is used otherwise in some places). The "flag" that comes up when you receive an Outlook "note" isn't considered a popup that needs to be blocked by any AV program, since that's an "intended behavior" in Outlook.

If you actually have a use for Outlook, you should be able to change settings to block notes without disabling other features you intend to use, but I haven't seen a need to get into it and just turned the whole thing off.

Some other programs may have similar ability to send you similar notes. That could be a feature of some browsers, but I haven't seen comment about it in such places.

Attempts to get you to click to phony anti-malware sites/programs are one of the main methods of distributing malware recently, so the content of the popups suggests that you don't want to make any direct reply. A search (Google or other) on the program/source name, or anything else that appears in the popup that might be a clue, might get you some information about whether it's scamware or just a legitimate(?) seller who's "overadvertising."

Any anti-malware program you see information on that you didn't go looking for is very likely to be an attempt to get malware onto your computer.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: POP-UPS.....Help!!
From: Beer
Date: 22 Aug 12 - 08:16 PM

Thanks John I have Windows 7. The pop-up only occur in the bottom corners and when I am on some site. Like Mudcat etc.
I use Microsoft Outlook but have no problem with it. Are you saying that my Outlook could be connected to what I do on the Internet? Not sure I follow.
Sorry.

Charles, I won't attempt disabling Flash because I wouldn't know where to find it. However when my tech friend comes over I will show him this thread and see if it helps him as well.
Ad.

Subject: RE: Tech: POP-UPS.....Help!!
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 23 Aug 12 - 10:43 AM

Beer -

The normal popups at web sites usually appear right out in the middle of the screen. The appearance near the bottom bar implies that the ones you're seeing come from a specific program on your machine, quite possibly from something that has its own icon in the Startup bar(on the right, usually) or the Start bar (on the left).

As long as you have an internet connection Outlook can receive the "notes." In the worst case, it doesn't matter whether your browser is running, but the setup can be varied so that you only get them when you're doing something else.

The original "intended use" was claimed to be so that your system administrator could send you messages, or others on your local network could exchange quick comments over the local network without hooking to the outside world.

With a DSL or wireless service, you're usually "always connected," or at least remain connected until some "timeout" after you stop browsing, even if you don't have the browser open; and Outlook notes may come in at any time. If you only connect when you want outside contact (the usual case with dial-up, and sometimes for other kinds) you'd get all the accumulated messages when you make the connection to your service, so you'd be likely to see them only when the browser's open.

Note that Microsoft seems to like to change the names of things randomly and for no discernible reasons, so "notes" may not be the current term they use. It's been about a decade since I decided it wasn't worth using Outlook (for me).

John

Subject: RE: Tech: POP-UPS.....Help!!
From: GUEST,Charles Macfarlane
Date: 23 Aug 12 - 12:46 PM

> From: Beer
>
> Charles, I won't attempt disabling Flash because I wouldn't know where to find it.

It'll be a browser setting among the option or configuration menus.

Subject: RE: Tech: POP-UPS.....Help!!
From: GUEST,Charles Macfarlane
Date: 23 Aug 12 - 12:53 PM

Finger trouble ...

Was going to add:
1) Do they occur when no browser window is open?
2) Do they occur when no Outlook window is open?
3) Do they occur when no software is running at all, in other words, there are no program icons on the Task Bar?
4) What icons do you have appearing in your System Tray, right hand end of Task Bar?
2) What processes are running when you launch Task Manager, and click the Processes tab?

Subject: RE: Tech: POP-UPS.....Help!!
From: GUEST,Tim
Date: 27 Aug 12 - 09:15 AM

Hey guys, I saw this thread while searching for pop up solutions. The problem Beer is having is exactly my problem. While surfing the web I get popups on the bottom right and now on the bottom left of my screen.
The popups on the bottom left are from ad.yieldmanager and I found a way to us the windows hosts file to stop the pop up but not I get a pop up that says connection problem in place of the ad.
ON the bottom right side, I am still getting the pop ups and can't seem to find anyone with a solution. Beer is the only one I have seen with the exact problem. I have Windows 7 and do not use outlook. My email is [e-mail] if you have any solutions or would like to discuss.
Tim

Subject: RE: Tech: POP-UPS.....Help!!
From: GUEST,Charles Macfarlane
Date: 27 Aug 12 - 12:10 PM

Amongst your browser's configuration settings ...

1) Look for one that deals with 'pop-up windows' or some such similar phrase, and disable them. However, as explained above, that may not be enough on its own ...
2) Look for one that deals with 'add-ins', 'plug-ins', 'web-extensions', or some such similar term. Use it to temporarily disable the Flash plug-in, and see if that stops the pop-ups.

Note that disabling Flash will mean that you can't play mush of the music, videos, etc, which is out there. My way around this is to have Flash disabled in my normal browser that I'm using now, but not in a second browser. If I particularly want to hear or watch something that works by Flash, I copy and paste the link into the second browser.

With some browsers, you can use different identities or profiles, and have the browser configured differently for each. This would enable you to solve the problem in a similar way using only one browser, but may require some technical knowledge to be able to set up switching between different identities in different windows or tabs, for example by having two different Start Menu or Desktop links with different command line settings to launch the browser. I use this method to launch a different profile than normal when I'm debugging my own web-site.

Subject: RE: Tech: POP-UPS.....Help!!
From: GUEST
Date: 13 Sep 12 - 06:26 PM

I have the same problem. It is malware. RogueKiller, a French program, took care of the popup on the bottom right side of the screen but I am still having issues with toe one on the bottom left of the screen.

Anybody have any other ideas

Subject: RE: Tech: POP-UPS.....Help!!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Sep 12 - 02:04 PM

If you can copy as much of the administrative part of the popups (so you have the message, and in particular, what the box around the message says, etc.) then do a search on those terms (use quotes to make it bring in more results) you'll find others who have this problem.

Chances are you'll land on a site like http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ that has forums that discuss this kind of thing. They don't suffer fools gladly and point out that they are volunteers answering questions so don't want to keep answering the same questions over and over. They ask you to join (it's free) and to do a search on your term BEFORE you start a new question. Read around the site and you'll be amazed at some of the answers. This is my go-to place for any kind of apparent machine-message that names a program or application that I'm not familiar with.

When you see that thing pop up you might also want to bring up the task manager and see what is running. There may be a program in there that you didn't install but came in as baggage with something else (whether malware or a poorly-designed add-on). And though I'm not looking up any right now as an example, you can look at the logs of your anti-virus or anti-malware program to see what they let through and get a handle on it that way.

SRS