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What are the crogram files\common files\gmt\banners that keep increasing?? Is there any way to control the creation of all those files? Is it OK to periodically delete them? Same question for cookies; and it seems like they appear in Windows\cookies and sometimes I see them in Temp internet folders. Can they be deleted whereever they are found?

 

There is a "gmt.exe" which is a part of the dreaded and evil Gator.

If you haven't already, download, install and run Spybot and see if the GMT stuff goes away.

99.99% of all cookies are benign--I'll grant the .01% just in case there's a site out there doing nasty and underhanded things with cookies. Cookies are useful on sites which require a login/username/password. It's the cookie which remembers your computer's having visited the site before and that's ALL they do...remember your computer, not your personal information, credit card number, your kids' names, how much ransom you can be expected to pay, etc.

So, yes, cookies can be deleted wherever they're found but I decided long ago that's a whole lot more trouble than it's worth. Others, of course, disagree and destroy cookies wholesale so the level of paranoia about cookies is completely up to you.

 

Thanks Miz, Wouldn't uninstalling Gator and Gain do the same thing and do it permanently? When I first saw Gator, I thought it was an OK thing because it remembered stuff for me. Now I'd just as soon get rid of it. (bbne) Ken

 

No uninstalling does not fully do it.

Try it then run Spybot and you will see.

Not only that you will and be suprised at all the other baddies it finds!

Mike

 

Mike, Is SpyBot freeware? I read some other posts that said it slowed their system. With only a dial-up, I can't go any slower. My friends in town have cable and it blows me away.

 

Yes SpyBot is free and cannot slow down the computer as it does not run resident like a realtime virus scanner. It only runs when you tell it to.

No one has ever indicated this about spybot, may have meant AdBot or something else.

You use it once a week or 2 just to clean.

Get it and adaware! Always always run SpyBot first and run spybot twice then adaware.

Spyware and adware removal

http://security.kolla.de/index.php?lang=en&page=download

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/downloads.html

Mike

 

Morning Mike, Miz Thanks for answering my questions.
I have downloaded both spybot and adware. Yes, spybot removed some more stuff related to gator and gain like you said it would. Is it OK to leave these in the Program files folder?
What should be in windows/start/programs folder? I see an accessories/system tools folder there. thanks, Ken

 

Yes of course and run them once a month or anytime you have a suspious problem. They are only cleaners. I run mine once a week.

Remember Spybot first then Adaware. In spybot go to online and download updates. Adaware cannot be updated at this time.

But you did not say if this fixed your problem?

If it left the banners you can now delete them.

mike

 

Oh Mike, Yes, it seems like the problem is fixed (cleaned up). Adaware found 17 things to delete, 15 references to Gator, and 2 programs-Net2phone and something called Alexia or Alexea which I have no knowledge of. I did run spybot first and it identified most of the gator and gain files to delete. Thanks again. Ken

 

Just had to jump in real quick and make a comment about Gator.

Hubby downloaded some info from the net and didn't understand what was going on. Needless to say, he downloaded Gator! I caught it and sicced my AdAware on it. It found 31 hits!!! Took me two clean sweeps to dump it all. I did a search here to find other references to it and found them all. Lucky me. Just hate all this spyware!!!!

Glad you're all squared away now, bbne.