ebaumsworld

www.lavasoftusa.com

Go there (it is safe!) and get Ad-Aware, the best (IMHO) anti-spyware program out there. Things like the critter you have (like the old Bonzai Buddy) can be removed with Ad-Aware.

hope this helps

I haev to agree with Ahston ADAWARE is worth every dime, and it's FREE !!

It is a must have for those who like to "explore" the internet.

I was curious as to WHAT spyware was installed or what program shows up, what type of animal etc. for furture reference.

Adaware will let you remove all spyware and tracking entries in the registry , chances are you have a LOT if you haven't run it yet.

If you can describe the logo screens or see which entry it is in ADAWARE I'd be interested in seeing you post back with the answers.

Thanks and good luck,
OM

I have used Lavasoft before and it does NOT identify this pest. I don't know what it is supposed to do except advertise that site and annoy me.
I have searched the computer including the registry for something related to either the picture name "tongue is stuck" and the site "ebaumsworld". I can find no reference to either and the silly picture is still with me...and I don't know how it got there!

Neither "answer" fixed the problem.
Thanks
A.

Try downloading SpyBot Search & Destroy. It is a freeware program asking for donation but is at full capabilities if you cannot pay. Works wonderfully.
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,22262,00.asp
Remove spaces from pasted link.

Hope this helps.

This is not an answer but it is more information on my origional question. It has not been successfully addressed.

If I could find how to simply comment this would not be necessary.

I have McAfee personal firewall and AntiVius kept updated.
I have SpyBot installed and kept updated.
I have Lavasofts AdAware installed and kept updated.
The silly picture isn't affected by any of these. They don't know it is there. If this was an easy problem I would have gotten rid of the nuisance long ago.

Thank you.

a.

Hi I'll guve this another shot.
You NEED to describe the picture and any other info that is displayed with it.

I have resources but without a description of the offending LOGO splash screen, I cannot get answers.

Now you made reference to the Tongue is stuck picture, is that what it's called ?

From what I understand, your start up and shut down screens have been rel[paced with this new picture is that right, or do you see it AS WELL as the startup and shutdown screens?

If Win98 the normal startup logo is in C:/logo.sys. This may have been replaced.

I don't know what operating system you have, Win98, 2000, XP or?

TuneUp Utilities lest you disable startup and shut down screens, speed up your PC by removing menu animations etc.

You can download at http://www.tuneup.de

If disbling the start menu splash screen fixes the problem, you just need that file replaced.

You can run System File Checker to either extract a single file or auto scan for changed or deleted system files. This MAY replace the original logos.

Just click STAT>RUN and Type sfc.exe then Enter.

If not, a simpler way to do this is to download an editor for yor startup and shutdown logos.

Ok I think I'm with you now, sorry but OS is important if trying to resolve an issue, as you noticed the SFC.EXE for Win98 won't work with Win2K.

I have actually checked out the site, it doesn't offer mush but i oufnd some giggles in the text area.

I saw your picture, cute but you're right, who the hell wants THAT on thier screen? I like your self get so immediately pissed when even th eslightest thing is buggy on my PC. I'll reformat the whole thing before I will put up with a racoon on it.

I wasn't able to 'infect' my machine as yours has seemed to have done.

here's what I'm thinking. When I change my WIN2K Pro wallpaper, it still flashes the old wallpaper when booting, shutting down or loggin off. I think this little pest MAY have inadvertently has added itself to you wallpaper.

I would try changing the background image to start. Then find ANOTHER picture of anything and saving it as wallpaper. You may be seeing the Internet Explorer Wallpaper.

Now reboot and see what happens.

I hope this helps, it would suck to have a racoon cause you to reformat, however if I couldn't get rid of him I'd reformat in a second.

Good luck, keep us posted

Well you're right, wallpaper in Win2K is called background. When I click an online pic and choose set as background it creates an Internet Explorer entry in the Diaplay properties under background.

What I'd try to see if it IS the IE background, is to find ANY picturd online and right click on it then select 'set as background', then go into your display properties and select a different background and select APPLY. Now try rebooting or shutting down and see what happens.

As you say, it is a learning experience for me also as this is a relatively new problem to me too. It is interesting when and if we finally get a conclusion though, makes it all worth while.

Good luck,
OM

make sure you install the updates for ad-aware, if its something starting on startup it should be under document settings>admin>startup or something like that