Pop-ups in Steam?

[Danimal]

Hey, recently whenever I play or use Steam, Internet Explorer opens with a clever, but not smart pop-up and it alt-tabs out of my games :| It only happens in Steam, it never used to do this and my computer is not riddled with spy ware. Would there be a logical explanation for this?



Thanks,
Danimal

 

[Ames]

Have you done all the normal stuff?

This is not happening to any of my computers.

 

[Chris D]

If you're talking about the weekly Steam updates, e.g. http://www.steampowered.com/Steam/Marketing/Jan26.2005/ then you can turn these off in your Steam settings.

If you're talking about something else than you HAVE got adware and it's nothing to do with Steam.

 

[Danimal]

No, it is none of them. I scan very frequently. It only happens when I start CSS :|

/me scans again

 

[Great Grizzly]

use another program to look for adware spyware. Use Adaware AND spy bot search and destroy

 

[Danimal]

I use Adaware Special Edition.

I think it could be caused my MSN plus, I have been getting these pop-ups since around then...

Pop-ups I have seen so far

-Losing wieght
-Spyware programs (AKA Spyware)
-'WARNING: your computer may be infected with spyware"

 

[Great Grizzly]

LOL Classic case of spyware! hehe

 

[CyberPitz]

yeah i got a few things from plus, did you install the companion with it (check the box while installing that says "YES INSTALL THE COMPANION!" when they trick you thinking its a service agreement --;

 

[LordBug]

You've got Windows Messenger disabled? (No, it's not the same as MSN Messenger)

Certainly a strange problem you're getting there.
It's a bit of a bugger that Steam uses IE to render it's webpages though. I for one don't trust it...

 

[Ranga]

i didn't have them before (the popups) but i installed msn plus this afternoon, and now i am getting them through ie.

i've tried removing ie but it won't leave my comp. ( i use firefox, of course).

ps. i had to beg my antispyware programs to let me install msn plus.

 

[the_lone_wolf]

you guys all checked "install the sponsor program" when you installed messenger plus, it contains a known varient of the lop.com spyware - removal is thankfully painless:

1. Uninstall messenger plus (in XP: start>>control panel>>add or remove programs)
2. Reboot
3. Reinstall messenger plus WITHOUT the "sponsor program" (there's a screen during the installation with two boxes, check the one that offers the option not to install it and install the rest as usual)
4. Run a full system scan with microsoft's beta spyware detector, suprisingly it's user friendly and stable, shock - click here for details
5. enjoy half life 2 without the annoying popups

have fun

 

[The Monkey]

It happens to me too. WHenever I join a server in CS:S or HL2M, an internet explorer pop-up window comes up and makes the game "crash" to desktop, even though I never use IE.

 

[the_lone_wolf]

It happens to me too. WHenever I join a server in CS:S or HL2M, an internet explorer pop-up window comes up and makes the game "crash" to desktop, even though I never use IE.

do a serach on google for "hijackthis" - d/l and run it, you don't even need to install it, click "scan" and copy and paste the results in this thread and i'll have a look at what process is causing this

 

[The Monkey]

do a serach on google for "hijackthis" - d/l and run it, you don't even need to install it, click "scan" and copy and paste the results in this thread and i'll have a look at what process is causing this

I'd rather not post it here. Can I PM you?

 

[the_lone_wolf]

yeah sure

 

[Ranga]

when i installed it, it just installed msn plus. i downloaded it from softmedia.com and it just installs. my antispyware said it was spyware, but i allowed it to go on.

 

[the_lone_wolf]

when i installed it, it just installed msn plus. i downloaded it from softmedia.com and it just installs. my antispyware said it was spyware, but i allowed it to go on.

follow the oinstructions above, it'll stop the popups, i promise, it doesn't tell you it's installed the program alongside it, it just does it

 

[Ranga]

i use the microsoft anti spyware program.

its found a few cases of the msn plus.

can i just delete them, and have it srun properly?

edit: "MSN Plus! is an addon for MSN Messenger
MSN Plus installs optional adware called C2Media, which is also called LOP.com" 50+ cases of it

 

[the_lone_wolf]

i use the microsoft anti spyware program.

its found a few cases of the msn plus.

can i just delete them, and have it srun properly?

edit: "MSN Plus! is an addon for MSN Messenger
MSN Plus installs optional adware called C2Media, which is also called LOP.com" 50+ cases of it

if you just remove the adware, messengerplus with stop working - follow the instructions above to remove the adware and still use messengerplus

 

[Ranga]

i just removed the adware... and msn plus is still working! it said that msn plus itself was adware, but i removed the lot of c2media and lod.com and msn still works. I've tried using steam and css and they work, without the popups so far. thankyou for your help anyway

 

[the_lone_wolf]

no problems, as a general rule though if you remove adware that came with something the product will cease to function, kazaa is an example