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General discussion

Help! Suddenly keywords are highlighted/linking to commercial sites...

Mar 12, 2004 4:24AM PST

Suddenly certain keywords are being underlined in yellow, with links to websites. I frequent several cooking forums, and certain keywords on those sites are now being highlighted, whether it's part of my own post or someone else's. When I click them on, they link me to a site that sells something related to that keyword. Example, the word "dish." When I see it on any forum, it's highlighted, and links me to a site selling satellite dishes. Another example is the word "diabetic". It links me to a site selling something for diabetics. (I must have anwered someone's request for a diabetic recipe at some point). You can see the yellow underlined links on this exact post right here. If you click on the keywords "dish" or "diabetic," they will link you to the sites. What's going on? How do I get rid of this????

Discussion is locked

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Re:Help! Suddenly keywords are highlighted/linking to commercial sites...
Mar 12, 2004 4:31AM PST

It's either a parasite or you installed a feature from Officexp. Here's the treatment for pests.

These Parasite removal programs can also SCAN. CWSHREDDER pretty much just removes such, but the others can just scan then ask if you want to remove such.

However, my policy needle on the pest-meter is pegged at zero tolerance. I eject all that these five tools find.

http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-6132-0.html?forumID=32&threadID=1313&start=0 notes the five scanning tools and removal tools that are fairly safe. If one does encounter an issue, its always been damage done by the MALWARE. The most common issue being Layered Service Provider replacement which you can use LSPFIX (Hint: use http://www.google.com to find).

The thread has follow on discussions about new links if you don't want to use Google to find an item.

PPS. All the tools are free.

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Re:Re:Help! Suddenly keywords are highlighted/linking to commercial sites...
Mar 12, 2004 6:20AM PST

I installed and ran Ad-Aware, but it did not take care of the problem. A few minutes ago I installed SpyBot, but I cannot run it - when I click on the icon on my desktop (there's only one icon instead of two) it just tries to install it again. When I click Properties, it says "Archive." Help!

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Be aware you must "know" if you installed OfficeXP.
Mar 12, 2004 6:53AM PST

A part of OfficeXP may turn on such a feature. Nothing in your post notes this.

Try the CWSHREDDER, reboot and then Spybot.

Bob

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Re:Be aware you must
Mar 12, 2004 7:10AM PST

I never installed OfficeXP. I reinstalled SpyBot and changed my options at setup. The second icon then appeared on my desktop, and I could run it. Well, I ran it and it did not take care of the problem. And neither did Ad-Aware. What should I do now?!

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(NT) Message has been deleted.
Mar 12, 2004 7:19AM PST
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Read Larry's response. Why OfficeXP was noted.
Mar 12, 2004 7:20AM PST

I wouldn't know if OfficeXP is a factor unless you tell. (Now you have.) http://news.com.com/2100-1001-269167.html?legacy=cnet and this is why I note it.

" With Smart Tags, Microsoft can link any word on a Web page to another site chosen by the company. For example, if a person were reading a story about traveling, the word "airline" could include a link that would divert the reader to an airline or travel service chosen by Microsoft.

Although the Smart Tags feature was included in Internet Explorer 6, the Web browser that is bundled with current beta versions of Windows XP, it will be dropped from the final product."

Try the updated tools, CWSHREDDER and such.

Bob

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Re:Read Larry's response. Why OfficeXP was noted.
Mar 12, 2004 8:27AM PST

When I finally got Spybot to run, it apparently destroyed some adware stuff, but obviously not all. I just ran it a second time and it stopped scanning in the middle. When I clicked on "Help" it said there was not enough memory available for this task. Meanwhile, I have 128 MB of Ram with 59% free. What the !#$%^*$*&^) is going on????

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Re:Read Larry's response. Why OfficeXP was noted.
Mar 12, 2004 8:46AM PST

Forgot to add that the CWShredder link goes to a site with all text in a foreign language. Again, I've tried SpyBot and Ad-Aware and nothing has worked..

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You need to keep trying.
Mar 12, 2004 9:40AM PST

The CWSHREDDER site moved. It's why I noted you need to use GOOGLE to find the new home. Much like a fishing lesson rather than handing out fish...

As to the crash, reboot and do NOT connect to the internet, run the spybot/adaware/cwshredder and such.

You'll get it killed off IF you persist.

bob

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Re:Re:Re:Help! Suddenly keywords are highlighted/linking to commercial sites...
Mar 12, 2004 6:58AM PST

merstar, You probably have either "eZula TopText" or "Spedia Surf+" on your computer. Check out the link below and follow the instructions to get rid of that garbage. I'm surprized that Ad-aware didn't get rid of it. Did you update Ad-aware prior to running it?

http://www.whirlywiryweb.com/q/ezulasurf.asp

HTH,
Larry

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Re:Re:Re:Re:Help! Suddenly keywords are highlighted/linking to commercial sites...
Mar 12, 2004 7:18AM PST

Thanks, but the link just leads me back to Ad-Aware which didn't work. What else can I do?