robke Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 are you running ccleaner as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emma Posted February 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 ooh cache clean up, no, don't think I have. Will try that now, thanks Rob. xxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robke Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Ok let us know how what where etc...LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emma Posted February 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 ok, I worked out why when I did it yesterday it didn't help: i did via the laptop and that only talks about Internet explorer, not firefox. Have now done firefox, and reset the settings so that the caches are automatically cleaned when firefox shuts down. HOWEVER, after doing all of that and restarting firefox the little grey box is still here. It's a persistant little bugger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robke Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 it sure is a little bugger.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emma Posted February 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 BREAKTHROUGH.......Ok, so I've disabled the avast online security and the little grey box has gone so has the "ad info" at the bottom of the screen but does that mean that the problem was added to avast or that it's still there but now undetectable due to the add-on being disabled? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robke Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 well that is something....LOLOL I am sure it is still there in the back ground... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emma Posted February 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Thanks for all your help Rob. xxx Yeah, I think you're probably right and this is what bothers me. I don't know how "safe" I am to use this laptop now. Am I at risk of getting my bank account cleared out or my paypal hacked? That's my main concern. If it's literally just an app designed solely to show me their merchandise then it's not in quite the same league, although i'd obviously prefer it, if it wasn't here. O.K. I'm really sorry in advance, was hoping I wouldn't have to do this but I've done everything I can on my own and failed. Think it's tagging time. Boy's, my most important question to you is am I at serious risk here? I appreciate that this thread is now of a considerable length, if you don't want to read through it all, let me know and i'll give you a brief summary of history and actions taken thus far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robke Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 I do not know how serious this is but can you remember when you got this maybe do a system restore?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emma Posted February 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Windows corrupted late last year/very early this year. I had to manually back up pictures/documents via the command screen and basically reformatt the whole thing from scratch. It took me hours, I didn't get to bed until the wee hours of the morning! lol. So although I've had this laptop (HP G62) since 2010 sometime, everything on it is pretty much new-ish. Therefore I haven't yet set a system restore point to 'roll back' to. I know, I should of done it, it's my own fault. If I have to I can reformat again but would prefer not to if not absolutely necessary. Not the most speediest of processes, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robke Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 yes you should have done LOLOL has ccleaner found / done anything? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emma Posted February 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 It said there were 250kb being used and was therefore freeing it up. I thought that was quite low really, but anyway that's beside the point, lol, it's gone now and it didn't say it had found anything but then it wouldn't do, you just hit ok and it does what you say. Perhaps if I downloaded an advanced cache cleaner it would be more detailed in it's actions but I'm feeling rather reluctant to download anything right now incase I end up adding to the existing problem, lol. Worth noting is that when I cleaned the caches, I used the advanced options on the firefox menu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robke Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 well I am sorry I have to say but I do not know anymore this is where my knowledge stops a wee bit LOL....maybe some of the other know a bit more that can help you with your hick-up.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emma Posted February 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 well I am sorry I have to say but I do not know anymore this is where my knowledge stops a wee bit LOL....maybe some of the other know a bit more that can help you with your hick-up.... No need to apologise, you've given me some great advice and believe me I'm very greatful. Thank you so much. edit: I've just re-enabled the avast online web add as an experiment and so far the grey box is still gone. i'm probably tempting fate here but I wonder if it's gone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robke Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 No need to apologise, you've given me some great advice and believe me I'm very greatful. Thank you so much. edit: I've just re-enabled the avast online web add as an experiment and so far the grey box is still gone. i'm probably tempting fate here but I wonder if it's gone? It could well be gone... and you are more then welcome...you would do the same for me and anybody else...that is why I love the HO family .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed #5 Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 A couple of comments here. Ccleaner (which does not stand for Cache Cleaner, BTW) has always shown itself to be a safe registry cleaner as opposed to several others that I've tried. BE VERY Careful with those or you may end up reformatting all over again. I have a feeling that what you're seeing is coming from Avast - I've been reluctant to use or suggest it since they took some liberties with my system a few years ago. (( It's also almost impossible to remove it entirely / cleanly if you want to. It's worse than Symantec in that aspect. )) Let me go looking around after I get some coffee into me and see what I can find. Avast should have created a restore point for you when you installed it. Restore points are, depending on your configuration, created at seemingly random times and events but are often created (by better software) when you install something, if you allow Microsoft Updates, they often set restore points for their updates. It might be worth checking to see if you have any set that you might be able to back up to. Start -> help -> undo changes ... make sure "Restore to an earlier point" is selected then click "Next" g'luck! look at the "Calendar", dates in bold have restore points associated with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Emma ..... if you want me to sort logging into your computer, I will fix it for you. How simple is that for an answer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed #5 Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 (edited) Emma, I don't know about you - but I'm not sure if *I'd* let Marc do that! Heaven only knows what it'd be like afterwards!! << tease >> Nice offer, Marc, and probably the quickest way to set things right! Edited February 7, 2014 by Al Jones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emma Posted February 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Emma ..... if you want me to sort logging into your computer, I will fix it for you. How simple is that for an answer Oh, Ok, thanks Marc. What do you need from me in order to help you gain access? edit: Not only is the little grey box back but now the advert links have re-appeared too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunc Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Girls !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emma Posted February 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Girls !!! Lol, hey cheeky! Can't say i haven't tried! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunc Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Lol, hey cheeky! Can't say i haven't tried! Very trying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emma Posted February 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 So my parents keep telling me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robke Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 OKais got rid of it. It was an adware program that was taking over firefox, but the addon was hiding itself from the menus. They were however in the programs list so uninstalled them as well as a sneaky little tool that was installed which let them addon whatever they wanted to chrome/firefox/explorer so as soon as you uninstall it would just reinstall itself. Should be fine now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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