c02

The problem has been solved, finally. I ended up downloading ewido which helped a little bit but still didn't satisfy the issue completely. I eventually downloaded Microsoft's AntiSpyware beta application and ran it. The application flagged a few items that none of the other applications found. I agreed to rid the machine of a few of the flagged items (not all items were malicious) and was then prompted to reboot the system. Upon rebooting Ewido kicked in and found another problem and now the searchbar, popups (so far) and other issues have cleared. It's difficult to say which application is responsible for finally getting things cleared up. Before the MS application, Ewido didn't find the last issue.