using Firefox but Internet Exploer keeps opening pop-ups

[wottonb]

I have been using Firefox Morzilla for years, but recently, my Internet Explorer has been opening while online for pop-ups. I have cleared cache,temps and removed all downloads, but can't seem to block this from happening. I have Avast for virus protect, but it does not seem to be working for Internet Explorer, but is fine for e-mail and Morzilla, all problem viruses etc are blocked and nothing opens etc. Firstly, can I remove Internet Explorer, or will it affect MSN Messenger? Secondly, is there a way to apply Avast to both ? thanks

[Geekgirl]

Hello and Welcome to TSF

No you cannot remove IE it is part of the OS.
I think you should make sure your system is clean by Looking over the First Steps at Removing Malware

[wottonb]

thanks for the reply Yes I did do some downloads i.e. SpyDoctor to check and remove whatever is there, but nothing found them to delete or repair. Strange, but I know i will have to take it into the shop now. For now, I have IE on offline and nothing can come up, but I have to turn on if I wish to use MSN. I guess the main question is why Avast or any other Virus protection is working on Morzilla ok, and e-mails but when registered and installed it didn't apply to both, when one isn't using IE as the default browser. Any other suggestions for the time being would be appreciated, till I can get it into the shop...

[Geekgirl]

my Internet Explorer has been opening while online for pop-ups

Please explain this more clearly.

[wottonb]

I have Firefox/Morzilla set as my default browser. I have installed Avast for protection, downloaded possibly while I was using Mozilla as the default browser, I guess. I open my browser and go to 'sympatico.msn.ca as home page, and check the news and then maybe go to Ebay or yahoo to check e-mail. While I am looking at Ebay or start a search, for example, 'browsersearch.com' opens an IE browser some how and opens directly without going to anyother home page (If I am explaining that properly) I don't open IE, I have only clicked on my shortcut to the internet which is set as Morzilla browser/sympatico.msn.ca homepage. For awhile I would just close the opened page. But each new pop-up, (popunder, C5 something, Party Casino something) would open a new page/window, not a tab. Once I was so involved in looking at something on Morzilla browser, that 39 new windows opened over the 10-15 minutes I wan't closing them. The whole bottom of my screen bar filled with new yellow tabs for these pages, then it started to tier them, always separate from my Morzilla pages, which did not join the tier, but were the two or three blue tabs at the bottom that I had opened myself, in the course of using my browser. So then I decided to start to add to page content, cookie blocking under the IE tools. That lead to a series of unloaded pages and content bypass windows that had to be closed first then the unloaded/no page window closed. And to add to the misery of this, all of these windows would open on top of whatever I was reading, unless I was clicking/scrolling/or typing at the time, which then I only noticed they opened because a new yellow tab would appear or my computer would grind away, working on downloading a new window. I lived with that for awhile, and even though I took the time to put certain http/www's in not allow, they still came back, slowly at first and now totally with out regard to being in my block box. (Sorry if i am not using the correct terms, will clarify if you can't understand what I referencing with my description of boxes/windows/tabs etc...) Then I removed all downloads, thinking that it was a program/software imbedded. Nope they are still coming. So I finally got even with them and put IE on 'work offline' ..only problem is that I need to set as 'online' again when I want to use MSN messenger/Hotmail (haven't tried outlook, as I use another computer for that, so that all read e-mails are saved in that computer, or is it unopened, not sure, just a practise I started years ago as I was losing something when I opened in one computer, then opened later in the second, or even when out of town , can' remember what it was, just that I only open on one computer usually) SO now as I sit here and type this 'book' LOL, nothing has 'opened' using IE, as it is in 'working offline' status and if it wasn't I would have had 20-30 new windows opened under IE. Just to clarify, these are not half sized windows/boxes with just a close box on the top right corner (like a pop-up for new smileys (wink) or a screensaver, these are full page, tab bars with: 'file' 'edit' etc...second tab bar with back arrows etc... third tab bar with windows marketpalce/media etc.... with the google search and address space...well, usual pages, each one it's own! Hope that explains the situation. As for the virus search and repair, SpyDoctor worked away, lots of CPU grinding, lots of dead time where I wasn't sure if it was doing anything. It finally finished with a report 'No threats found' Even Avast which I have do the in depth search, update all the time, and says it is running on 6, 7 providers, when it does the threat search finds nothing after checking over 220,000 files etc... So what am I missing, and should I abandon trying to solve myself and get it into a shop and pay them to clean-out/clean-up/ just clean out this problem....LOL

thanks again for your attention, just thought I might try these forums to educate myself...but maybe this old dog is too old to learn new tricks, eh

[Geekgirl]

Your system is infected, look over the 5 step at removing malware link I gave in the above reply and follow through to step 5 finishing up by posting the requested logs in the appropriate forum