Need help removing a pop up dialog box

[othernate]

After browsing a site that bombarded me with a thousand pop ups, I now get prompted every time I boot up my computer to install something.

It's a nasty little b@stard of a box, because it doesn't have a "cancel" button. I have to go into the task manager and end the process.

The process name is tkgizbw.exe, and 2 of them come up every time I boot up and I can't track down where this thing is coming from. It's a huge pain, and I definitely don't want its stupid "FREE SCRATCH PAD!". Yes, the dialog box has "Install Free Scratch Pad!".

I can't get this to go away! Someone please help me. I tried searching for tkgizbw.exe, "free" "scratch" etc. to try and track down if there is some file on my computer that is causing this to prompt on startup. No files ever get turned up in the search for tkgizbw.exe.

Also, I can't seem to find out how to modify which programs get booted up on startup. I tried the Win 2000 help, but it doesn't shed much light on how to regulate which programs get executed on startup.

This little install prompt makes me pretty angry because I can't seem to get rid of it.
Hope someone can help. If anyone needs any more information just let me know. THanks

 

[Toejam31]

Out of curiosity ... have you installed a download manager called <A HREF="http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Information_Management/Notes_Management_Tools/Scratch_Pad_Download.html" target="_new">Free Downloads Accelerator</A> recently?

I'd suggest using a program like <A HREF="http://security.kolla.de/" target="_new">Spybot</A> (my preference) or <A HREF="http://www.lavasoft.de/" target="_new">Adaware</A> (or both) to remove the files, although you should expect that the removal might corrupt the installation of any freeware that might be offering to install the scratchpad, such as the program mentioned above, and that might make it difficult to remove without manual intervention.

It may be necessary to uninstall the freeware application (if one exists) with Add/Remove Programs to completely remove everything. You might even need to do some Registry editing.

Try out this <A HREF="http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml" target="_new">program</A> to edit the files loading at startup in Win2K. It works very well.

Afterwards, you might want to invest in a good popup banner killer. I use <A HREF="http://www.meaya.com/index.htm" target="_new">Meaya Popup Ad Filter</A>, and prefer it over some of the other programs I have tried, but there are also some pretty decent freeware apps out there that can block most banners and popups. A quick search should bring up plenty of options.

Once the files are removed, you might also consider customizing the ActiveX and Java Permissions of your browser under Tools\Internet Options\Security, and get your security levels a bit higher.

If none of this works, post back, and I'll list a few more options that you can try.

Toey

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[phial]

would a firewall stop these as well?

i noticed they are coming in thru the firewall at work on the win2kpro workstations hahaa...crazy

wait, maybe we dont have a firewall at work? *lan ideas popping into head*

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<A HREF="http://www.quake3world.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/001355.html" target="_new">*I hate thug gangstas*</A>

 

[Toejam31]

A firewall is for blocking the incoming (and some of the outgoing ports) in the <A HREF="http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/iaabu/centri4/user/scf4ap1.htm" target="_new">TCP/IP</A> stack, to keep other users from accessing your system and taking control, or inserting nasty items like Trojans. It is also to keep programs from connecting to the Internet without your permission, such as applications that are spyware, or viruses, such as the type that infect an address book, and mail themselves out (hopefully with you being none the wiser.) Firewalls are about security.

Would a firewall help stop damaging applications from installing themselves? Yes ... but only if the security level permissions are set fairly high, based on the software I've seen.

Many companies who offer firewalls have also been adding popup banner control features for quite some time, such as Zone Alarm Pro. Even the third-party browser I prefer (Crazy Browser) has a customizable popup filter.

The best solution, IMHO, is a hardware firewall (such as through a router), with the addition of a software firewall, <i>and</i> a program dedicated to controlling java-based popup ads (many of which are more than just irritating ... they can install applications right through security holes in the OS or the browser. All it takes is one misplaced click ...)

If you've been seeing this kind of stuff at work, then I'd have to venture that whoever is managing the network is not doing their job right, and the security is lax. But there could be extenuating circumstances in a position like this, such as not being allowed to make extra purchases, due to budgetary constraints because of economic conditions. It's not unusual for the IT tech on the job to understand the need for higher security, but still not be able to adequately communicate the reasons this should be a high priority when the money just isn't there.

Or the tech might just be a slacker, working for an ASP who doesn't give a darn, or care if the systems go down. Some folks place too much confidence in backups, and if you lose your daily data ... so what? It's not <i>their</i> job to make sure you get your data ready for the tape. If you follow my meaning.

From the way you are talking, it sounds like the workstations are not even on a LAN, and perhaps one of the upper mucky-mucks would appreciate your contribution, if you can upgrade the security without spending tons of cash. I can't see how it would be a problem to be interested enough in your job to make a suggestion or two. At the very least, it should be brought to someone's attention, before an application crawls into a system ... causing massive spam attacks, or problems such as you've already experienced ... which could be the least of what could happen, in my experience.

If someone is amenable to your suggestion, I'd recommend looking around for firewalls and programs that can be bought/licensed in bulk, to save money, and for easier deployment.

Toey

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