I recently, unknowingly, typed what I thought was an option to upgrade Explorer. It turned out to be a popup that looked legit but wasn't really. It downloaded a product called Intelligent Explorer to my machine. What a dream!
I also searched the web and found posts like this one on the BullGuard Antivirus forum,
"Please help me!!! I have Spyware, trojan and thief on my computer, I have run BULLGUARD, CWSHREDDER and AD-AARE. All the VIRUSES have been loaded and it says they have been moved/deleted, but when I connect to the internet, the scanner tool shows this.
Another spywareinfo forum message is like this:
"Hey, I'm having a problem with something called Internet Explorer Toolbar - Smart Explorer. I can't find a way to get rid of it and I'm mocking that I don't want to install Windows. J 've used spybot, ad- ware, and cw shredder but nothing seems to work."
It looks like Intelligent Explorer allows other software to be downloaded to your machine and that's where the problem comes in. The remarkable thing is that by downloading Intelligent Explorer, their permission gives them the right to install additional software on your computer as they want. Take a look at what Intelligent Explore's software license says (go to http://www.ieplugin.com/terms.html to read it all):
"You grant us the right, which we may do until you remove the Software or the Agreement is terminated, to provide you with the Download Service and to display advertising material on your computer, through "pop-ups" or other displays when you use your browser. You acknowledge and agree that the installation of the software may change your browser's toolbar and other settings automatically. By installing this software, you agree to these changes."
The company, IBC Incorporated is incorporated in Belize. I can't believe this warranty!
The end user saw a nasty pop-up ad of this software that was associated with Inteligent Explorer in the form of pornography.
I haven't broken that yet.
Inteligent Explorer is a plug-in that can create a new home page, and start an endless loop of pop-ups. You can remove the icon, but restarting Internet Explorer will make it appear again. I asked my friends to help me, and no one could tell me what to do.
That's what I did:
I bought a program called XoftSpy and uninstalled the software. It took two scans and a reboot to do it. This is not an advertisement for this product. They advertised it for free, which should work, but I had to buy it to fix anything. It cost me $40 and I'm sure there was free stock as well, but that's what ended my dreams. Other spyware I have seen include spybot, NoAdware, Spyware Eliminator, Pal Spyware Remover, and Spyware C.O.P.
Buyer beware!
