I reran Malwarebytes (the 3rd run) as instructed. It reported "The scan completed successfully. No malicious items were detected." I have a copy of the happy details which I can post here if you still want to see them. I rescanned with Spybot and this time it gave me the bright green all-okay check mark and made no mention of virtumonde.sci. I retried the TrendMicro Housecall and it made its way through all the C and D files and I think through the grayware/spyware category when it came to a halt and the dreaded box appeared saying "An error occurred while trying to transfer data from the Internet. Do you want Trend Micro Housecall to try resendingÂ". I did retry several times but the box reappeared repeatedly. At the time, the progress tab on the left showed the program was "updating security check information". Trying to learn what I could, I clicked on the results tab and it showed ADWARE_MEMWATCHER (98 infections) but the program and computer were frozen there and I could only close the browser. I did have AdAware installed on my computer but uninstalled it in July 2008. I uninstalled using the Add/Remove feature, I uninstalled because of a thread in this forum related to compatibility issues between Spybot and AdAware. Anyway, I digress, but IÂm relating these events in the order they appeared. I came back to this forum to report and saw additional instructions about disabling TeaTimer, etc. In trying to find out how to do so, I was in Spybot and clicked on the recovery tab. There I found a backup for virtumonde.sci. The system wouldnÂt allow copy and paste of what it was saving in backup so I copied it manually (and hopefully without error). Browser helper object HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\(AAAE832A-5FFF-4661-9C8F-369692D1DCB9) The above was listed 4 times for 1/4/09 9:57:00 AM 1/30/09 10:33:44 PM 1/31/09 5:07:20 PM 1/31/09 7:14:07 PM The following was also listed once: Class ID HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\(AAAE832A-5FFF-4661-9C8F-369692D1DCB9) 1/4/09 9:57:01 AM Should I still run the ATF Cleaner? Thanks so much for your help - June

I freqently get the ongoing antiphish animation. It caused here by my blocking some advertizement url's. It doesnt seem to add any heat to anything or extra amounts of cpu so I just ignore it. Phishing filter doesnt seem to have any security levels,, its either on or off ...or can be disabled for all sites or thing it might also be selectivly disabled on certain websites if you add them to the Trusted sights list. Vista's internet explorer popup filter apparently works well as I rarely see any popups and thats the only popup blocker running here & set to Medium.

marie- I'm with snidely on this one. An issue with many computer users who have limited tech skills is that they think they have to get a bunch of maintenance programs to keep their computers running smoothly. Use of programs such as CCleaner when you are not knowledgeable can result in problems where none would have otherwise occurred. I don't use such programs and have never felt the need to in the 25 years I have been using computers. There are things I intentionally do myself to keep my computer running efficiently, but they are not critical and you yourself should normally not have to do this. I do keep copies of the free Malwarebytes and SuperAntiSpyware on my desktop and use them occasionally if I suspect I have an issue that my regular anti-virus (free Avast) didn't catch. But in general, I just try to avoid sketchy websites to steer clear of problems, and I set my various browsers to clear all cookies, history, etc., each time I close the browser. My advice to you is to post questions when you have a known problem, but don't go accidentally creating them by trying to maintain your computer by frequently running programs that you think might "help."

I also just bought a Gateway laptop and it is filled with junk I don't want. Out of this list, I will want to remove MS Office Home and Student, Napster, AOL, NetZero, and probably Gateway Games since I already used up my "free time" (and I must admit, I had fun). Now -- how do I make sure these things and all references to them are removed? For instance, some of this junk does not appear under Uninstall Programs (such as Netzero) so, I start by deleting the shortcut, then go to the harddrive to Programs file and delete the directory. Is there anywhere I need to go? Does anyone know of anything else that should be deleted? What about "BigFix"? Some of this stuff -- I just don't know what it is yet. Thanks. Software bundle: Microsof Works 8.5 Microsoft Money 2006 Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 (60-day complimentary trial period) Adobe Reader 8 CyberLink Power 2 Go Microsoft Windows Media Player 11 Microsoft Digital Image Starter Edition 2006 (includes 60-day Digital Image Standard 2006 trial) Napster Music Service (30-day trial) Microsoft Internet Explorer AOL (90-day Complimentary Subscription) Google Toolbar search bar Google Desktop Search search tool Gateway Connect NetZero Internet Access McAfee Internet Security Suite (90-day complimentary subscription) BigFix - helps identify and solve problems LoJack for Laptops BIOS Persistence Agent Enabled Kensington Lock Slot (cable lock sold separately) Gateway Games Powered by WildTangent (pre-installed with 10 demo games with 60-minutes of game play)