OT HEEEELP MY @#*%& COMPUTER IS *$&%%&

[Captain Kwok]

Often, this sort of hijack uses a .dll file to re-install itself after it has been removed. Search for all the files on your computer that were Last modified after you started noticing this junk.

If you are using XP, then your user directory (documents and settings, your user name) has some hidden folders called local settings / application data - I believe you might find the file there.

[Fyron]

Instar said:
You don't need to get Firefox. Try out Lavasoft AdAware, its decent.
IE6SP2 (XP SP2) has a built in method for preventing this kind of hijack. Forced ActiveX installation isn't cool. If you're using XP, get SP2. If not, seriously consider upgrading.
If you want to continue using IE, consider getting DropMyRights from MSDN, it uses a program to prevent IE from running as admin if you are running as admin (a serious no no)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/de...re11152004.asp

Yes, you most certainly do need to ditch IE. Even the IE of XP SP2 is nowhere near sufficient. It is still garbage.

Further, Windows XP is no upgrade over older Versions of Windows (expcept win95 or winME...). Do not waste your money on it. Find a copy of Windows 2000 instead, and save yourself the bloat of XP...

[Instar]

Imperator Fyron said:

Yes, you most certainly do need to ditch IE. Even the IE of XP SP2 is nowhere near sufficient. It is still garbage.

Further, Windows XP is no upgrade over older Versions of Windows (expcept win95 or winME...). Do not waste your money on it. Find a copy of Windows 2000 instead, and save yourself the bloat of XP...

I don't know what part of XP is bloat. Sure, the UI has a lot of frills that really aren't needed, but overall, for me, the experience is better. The differences between XP and 2000 can be really minor at points (same 32bit codebase and all), but there are enough that make me like XP a smidgen more.
I'm still using IE, and I feel very secure doing so. Using DropMyRights and SP2 features, I consider myself as secure as any other browser. The biggest issue with IE is that it runs as the user, that is, if the user is running as admin, so is IE; it assumes the admin knows what he's doing.

[AgentZero]

Which can be a dangerous thing sometimes. In terms of UI though I'd seriously recommed you download Blackbox for Windows http://www.bb4win.com . It's just so much more streamlined than anything I've seen Microsoft come up with. For example, when I right click on empty desktop in Blackbox, I get a menu (that I customized myself) that starts out with Programs (Start-> Programs), next on the list is Desktop (where I can acess any program that has a desktop icon), then a series of menus organized into Art (for Art programs, duh), Games, Internet, etc. I find it's just way handier than the Windows UI, and when I have to Windows at work I constantly find myself wanting to bash the keyboard in fustration over how much more cumbersome the interface is.