HectorJr's advice column

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Q: Well I used to download a lot of stuff on my computer... big mistake. I had 121 viruses and my dad had to reset my computer and install everything back onto it (like microsoft word, firewalls etc)

I promised I wouldn't install anything but I ended up doing it again. I don't want to have him reset my computer again because I felt bad about it and he really was pissed that he had to do it.

Anyways...I have some programs on my computer like yahoo messenger that I have been trying to delete for a while but it says something like it cannot find the uninstall file?

I also get popups but heres the annoying part. They are kind of popups. I'm in the middle of browsing the internet and then my internet browser just closes out on me. Then about 5 seconds later a new browser window comes up (the "popup") but it says the page can't be displayed. How else is this annoying? If I'm watching something on youtube or the page I was looking at had music on it, after the page closes out on me the music/sound keeps playing! Its so annoying and if I want it to stop I have to restart.

My computer has also been running slow lately. I HAVE run tons of scans on my computer. LOTS of them, and some viruses are deleted, but new spyware keeps coming out of nowhere and most of the viruses can't be deleted... I really dont want to go through the trouble to my dad to reset my computer again because he's really busy with work I mean REALLY busy he wont even have the time...And please don't offer a proffeshional to fix it we dont ahve the money... Thanks in advance

Visit www.downloads.com

Search for and install the following two programs:

Spybot - Search and Destroy

Ad-Aware SE Personal

Update and run Spybot to get rid of cookies and registry files/keys that are harmful to your computer. Click on each item found will show you the threat level and a description of what it has been doing to your computer.

Update and run Ad-Aware and follow the same steps. It will take much longer than Spybot because it is more in-depth. After scanning is complete, it will list all the objects found as threats and others that are negligible. Proceed to check off and delete the critical objects. Restart your computer.

If you don't already, I strongly recommend installing and using Mozilla Firefox as an internet browser. It is much more secure and faster than Internet Explorer. All three programs I've mentioned are free and don't contain spyware and viruses.

In terms of viruses, I would suggest McAfee. I'm not too sure how much it costs, but the most recent version they have available scans for both viruses and spyware and does a great job with actually deleting them. In addition, they provide "McAfee SiteAdvisor", which warns you if a website you are on is potentially harmful to your computer. If you cannot afford to buy the product, at least follow through with those two spyware programs I have mentioned. Any more questions or instructions, feel free to ask me through my inbox. Hope that helped and good luck.

Rating: 5

Thanks i already have ALL of those actually...maybe I just haven't been using them right? lol

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Feel free to ask me any questions or for an alternate way of contacting me through my inbox.

I really like giving advice, so thats why I have a column here. I've been inactive for a long time, but I'm back and will do my best to catch up. Advicenators is a great site and it is what we make it. Having my own advice column helped me learn a lot of new things, even about myself, while giving me the chance to help others along the way. Thanks.