I downloaded MSN MEssenger PLUS! and installed it, and whenever now I go to start Internet Explorer this stupid search bar loads and comes up... I can click the little red X and be gone with it, but I'd rather have it not come up at all... Since AD's come up as well.

I've uninstalled Messenger Plus! and all the programs that came with it, as well as ran my spyware remover AdAware. Still, this friggin thing persists in popping up....How can i remove it? (sorry if this is in wrong forum)

tools options?...

Stop using IE

maybe, but try using mozilla firefox.

get latest versions of:
-Adaware
-Spybot Search and Destroy
-Spy Sweeper (link)

(i've found Spy Sweeper to get quite a bit that the first two miss)

load the programs

then close all instances of iexplore.exe and explorer.exe

scan your system using one after the other.

next time you install messenge plus, say no when it asks you if you want to install spyware, because it does ask.

Thanks a lot, I hope this helps.

However....



I swear, my installation didn't ask me anything related to spyware... It just straight up asked for the directory to be installed to, then i hit next, then boom, it began installing...

I'm surprised your computer's gone this long without spyware using IE.

You may also try downloading a program called "HijackThis", which gives you a list of browser add-ons, toolbars, and startup items installed on your computer.

Run it, and delete anything that contains URLS such as "mysearchnow.com", "search2web", "searchweb2". I've found that most toolbars and browser hijacks are caused by programs that come from (or point to) those particular sites.

Thanks a lot for the help guys, it worked

Messenger Plus was one of the reasons I went back to using Trillian. Last time I installed it, the kindly program placed links to porn sites in the Favorites directory of every user on the machine. Not to mention a similar toolbar in IE. Prior versions didn't have that crap in them. I of course, found that completely unacceptable.

Uninstalling it fixed the issues of the toolbar, but not the porn links. I had to do that by hand.

Yeah, I haven't had a good expirence with that program.

Yeah MSN Plus is bad news... personally I'd go with Trillian but your best bet is this... run your spyware deletion programs.

Then go to internet options and change your homepage back to normal. MSN plus resets your homepage to the site your getting the garbage from.

Actually, my reason for installing Messenger Plus was to use the StuffPlug plugin.. It lets you do all sorts of things with MSN, like extra large pictures n fonts and custom names n stuff. It requires that u have Messenger plus....

Huh-uhn?

My finger point.

Oh you downloaded that Messanger Plus? Yeah that thing's loaded for bear with spyware.

If you RTFM and dont tick yes, MSN plus is great.

i had that, and spy sweeper, adaware, and spybot didnt work, so i used a nifty lil tool called toolbarcop, google it

I was never brought up with an option to "click/check yes" it just did it on its own.

I think you have to click on "custom" installation as opposed to automatic to get the option.

It also pisses me off that ISPs constantly advertises on your browser. I mean the "Microsoft Internet Explorer provided by ________ " in your title bar and waste your screen space with useless spyware-friendly browser helper objects. It's a small matter, but they really don't have to do that since its really annoying, at least to me.

I'm glad my ISP doesn't (or can't) pull that s*** in firefox.