Q: Help! I keep getting pop-up ads on my computer even when I go to websites I know don?t have ads. Does my computer have an infection? How do I get rid of it?

A: Unfortunately, Sandra, seeing unusual pop-ups like this is a sure-fire sign that you’ve got uninvited guests on your hard drive.

Credit: DanMelinger / Flickr

These types of infections are what we call malware, and there are several different types. The really bad ones are called viruses (with any luck that’s not what you have). There is also a more benign type of infection that exists mostly to put annoying pop-up ads on your screen and make money for whoever created it. We call this adware.

Adware often takes the form of “helpful” toolbars installed on your Internet browser. Another sign that you have been infected is that when you search for things on the Internet you’re constantly redirected to websites you didn’t mean to go to, usually sites that are full of ads.

What you need, Sandra, is a good anti-malware program. We would start by downloading avast! Antivirus, a free antivirus program that has a great reputation. Once you have it downloaded and installed it, set it to run a “boot-time scan.” This will reboot your computer into a special operating system that just runs the antivirus software, which will scan your computer and then automatically start Windows. This is great because a lot of malware hides itself inside Windows so that it can avoid being detected by the antivirus software.

One thing we should mention about avast! is that, while it is free, you’ll need to register the program when you install it. It will prompt you to provide an email address the first time you run it, and ask you to confirm your license every year. The program will not protect your computer if you don’t do this, so make sure you take the time to register.

Now, antivirus software like avast! mainly focus on traditional viruses like Trojan horses, worms and similar infections, so it may not catch that pesky adware. For that, we recommend installing a second program called Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. This free program is exceptionally good at getting rid of malware that is so new traditional antivirus software won’t even detect it.

Both of these programs should help you out, but ideally we should all try to avoid the risk of being infected in the first place. One thing that you can do to stave off adware is to pay attention when you’re installing programs, because it will often piggyback on other software. If a program asks you if you’d like to install a toolbar, say no!

Another good way to protect yourself is to stay off of sketchy websites. If you are using the Google Chrome browser, it will alert you with a red warning screen if you click on a website that is known to host infections. You can check out some of our other tips for avoiding malicious websites in this article.

So, to sum up: pay attention when you are installing software, stay off of dangerous websites, and try out Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and avast! Antivirus.

Q: I recently started experiencing random pop-up ads on my computer even when I was on websites that don’t have popups. Downloading a malware removal program didn’t fix the problem. Eventually I had to roll back to a clean install of Windows. How did my computer get infected, and how can I avoid this in the future?

You may see warnings like this if you attempt to visit a malicious website.
Image Credit: Google

A: Getting infected with malware and pop-ups is no fun. Even though there are lots of software programs out there to clean this junk off your hard drive, these kinds of malware programs are designed to be a pain to remove.

The key is to avoid getting infected in the first place. People know that it’s not a good idea to walk down a dark street in the middle of the night, and the Internet is pretty similar. It has some bad neighborhoods, and you just need to know to avoid them.

First off, you want to be careful with what you search for. Unscrupulous spammers and hackers tend to stake out popular Google searches, and they especially love celebrities. In fact, anti-virus company McAfee published a list of 2013’s most dangerous celebrities to search for. The #1 most dangerous person to search for is Lily Collins – one in seven of the results will land you on a malicious web site! Others dangerous celeb searches include Katy Perry, Sandra Bullock, and Britney Spears.

Celebrity searches aren?t the only searches that can get you in trouble, though. There are plenty of seemingly safe, regular search terms that can yield dangerous results, including:

• “lyrics”
• “free music”
• “game cheats”
• “free ringtones”
• “solitaire”
• “make money”
• “work from home”
• “free downloads”

Now, a few different things can happen when you visit an unsafe website. The most common is that you’ll be hit with a pop-up asking you to download some “helpful” program. Never agree to this! Running strange programs from unknown sources is extremely dangerous. If a website asks you to download something and you weren’t expecting to download it, say no.

In some cases it’s possible for a website to load a malicious program onto your computer secretly. Avoid this by upgrading to the latest version of your web browser. Still running Internet Explorer 7? Go download version 10 immediately. Having the latest and greatest makes sure you’ve also got the most recent security updates.

You also need to be smart about email. It’s a bad idea to open a program or file that’s been emailed to you if you weren’t expecting it, even if it’s from someone you know. That person could be infected with a virus, many of which love to spread themselves through email attachments. If you’re not sure, email the person back and ask, “Did you mean to send this?”

Follow these steps and you’ll be pretty safe. But accidents do happen, so know that if you do get infected with malware, there’s help. Google keeps a list of safe, useful malware removal programs at google.com/goodtoknow. Just click on the “keep your device clean” link.

On this week’s episode of Deemable Tech, Ray and Tom help a few listeners out with their trust issues. They help one listener trust LastPass and/or Dashlane to store their passwords, another to trust Nextdoor to find out what’s happening in their neighborhood. Another listener’s trust was broken by a bad batch of malware.

#42 Trust Issues

DRAFT TRANSCRIPT

RAY: From WJCT studios in Jacksonville, Florida, I’m Ray Hollister,

TOM: I’m Tom Braun,

RAY: and this is Deemable Tech, tech help worth listening to.

RAY: This week’s episode of the Deemable Tech podcast is brought to you by A Small Orange, Homegrown Hosting. A refreshingly different approach to web hosting. On the web at a small orange dot com.

TOM: And, by audible.com – Deemable Tech listeners can get a FREE audiobook download at audibletrial.com/Deemable Over 100,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player.

RAY: And, from All Florida Insurance Options, an authorized Progressive agency, helping people shop for insurance at 904-757-3288 or at their office in Highland Square on Dunn Avenue in North Jacksonville.

TOM: Got a question about your computer, smart phone, tablet or the Internet? Give us a call us at One Eight Eight Eight, Nine Seven Two, Nine Eight Six Eight, or send us an email at questions@deemable.com.

RAY: Today on Deemable Tech, we’re answering your questions about how to throw away your computer, and

TOM: whether or not you can trust LastPass, and how Nextdoor.com can make your neighborhood better.

RAY: But first, we have a voicemail from a listener named Felicia.

Hi Deemable Tech my name is Felicia and I saw you OneSpark and I still have your card and I’m hi thing problems with the condo with it I have a … dell laptop and 2 days ago I start getting con do it kept coming up whenever … I’ve browse on internet explorer work for … because I’ve browse on both of them because I’m old and so I did internet explorer … I was I went on the online and I was able to get rid of it sort of in that it doesn’t come up anymore but my computer is like running really slow and so it makes me think that it’s still floating around in there somewhere so how can I get rid of it completely and speed things back up again

Oh, that’s a pain, Felicia. Well, sounds like you have unwittingly installed Conduit Search. But don’t worry, you’re not alone: this annoying piece of software piggy-backs on legitimate downloads and installs itself on the computers of thousands of unsuspecting users.

As you surmised, there is a conduit search plug-in which you need to uninstall from each of your infected browsers. The really annoying thing about Conduit Search is that it doesn’t just install a browser plug-in, it also installs software and changes your search provider. So you have to fix each of these problems separately.

How to Remove Search Conduit Toolbar and Add-ons on Internet Explorer

1. Open Internet Explorer.

2. On top menu, select Tools. Choose Manage Add-ons from the drop-down list.

3. A new window to manage current add-ons will open. On Add-on Types pane, select Toolbars and Extensions. Look for ?Conduit? items on right pane. You cannot delete the toolbar and extensions from this process. But you must disable it to stop working. You may jump to tips below to uninstall the Conduit Toolbar.

4. One at a time, select ?Conduit? item and click on Disable button to stop the service.

How to Remove Conduit Search Provider on Internet Explorer

1. On the same window, click on Search Providers on Add-on Types pane.

2. You cannot remove Conduit Web Search if it is on default stage. On right pane, select your desired search engine (Google or Bing) and set it as default. Hover your mouse on the desired service and click on Set as default button.

3. You can now highlight Conduit Web Search. Click on Remove button to delete the service.

Other Things:

1. Uninstall Conduit software by going to Control Panel. Click on Uninstall a program. Look for Toolbar or any phrase relevant to Conduit Search. Highlight the program and click the Uninstall button at the top of the screen.

2. Set Internet Explorer homepage to default by going to Tools menu. On General tab, click on Use default or replace the address with your desired home page URL. Click on Apply to save the settings.

Alternatively, some mal-ware programs may be able to eradicate Search Conduit for you. Either way, make sure that you uninstall the software. If any slow-downs are being caused by Search Conduit, uninstalling the software should help.

I’m not entirely sure that Search Conduit is the problem here. Although it’s an annoying little piece of malware, it doesn’t seem to be particularly malicious. Download a good virus and malware scanner and run it. Where there’s one piece of malware, there could be more.

Kim K. writes, There was a break in at my neighbor’s house last night. If I hadn’t seen the cops pull up as I was leaving for work, I wouldn’t even had known about it. It made me realize just how few of my neighbors I actually know. Is there was a website or some other way I can get to know my neighbors that doesn’t require going door to door and meeting my neighbors in person?

A: It is ironic that with Facebook and Twitter we can know what a random acquaintance from high school had for lunch, but we still might not know the name of three of our neighbors. There is a new social network called Nextdoor that is trying to fix that. Nextdoor is a private social network that only connects you to people who live in your neighborhood. To join, you have to prove where you live. To verify where you live, you can provide a credit or debit card to verify your street address, choose to have Nextdoor sent a postcard in the mail with a security code, or in some areas you can have Nextdoor call your landline telephone. Otherwise, you’ll have to be verified by the Founding Member or a Lead Neighbor.

Once you’ve been verified, you can sign into the website or the iPhone app to find out about all of the yard sales, missing puppies, and fun events in your neighborhood. In my neighborhood, folks are giving stuff away, having garage sales, posting information about church and theatre events, and talking about the car smash and grabs that happened last year.

Now, you can even share and talk with folks in nearby neighborhoods, so you won’t be limited to just your community. You can choose if you want your information and posts just shared with your neighborhood and/or with nearby neighborhoods. Also, like any self respecting social network, Nextdoor has an iPhone app, and is developing an Android app, so you can post and read others posts on the go.

To sign up for Nextdoor, go to Nextdoor.com. If your neighborhood is already added to Nextdoor, you’ll be able to join it. If it isn’t in Nextdoor yet, you can become a founding member and start a community on Nextdoor for your neighborhood. If you click on the link we’ve created for our readers, http://dmbl.co/nextdoor, and add your neighborhood, Nextdoor will give you a $50 Starbucks gift card.

So, if you would like to be social with your neighbors without, you know, being social, check out Nextdoor.

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To download your free audiobook today go to audibletrial.com/Deemable. Again, that’s audibletrial.com/Deemable for your free audiobook!

Julie writes, I’ve been hesitant to use a service like LastPass because if it is hacked then all of my accounts would be compromised.

I first listened to your segment on radio and then downloaded your podcast. I’m an elementary school Instructional Tech Teacher and have learned a lot. Thanks!

A: LastPass and Dashlane both provide an incredible service: remembering the dozens upon dozens of passwords and logins that people have to use on a daily basis. Both LastPass and Dashlane use AES-256 encryption, the same encryption your bank uses to keep your account information safe. On top of that, Dashlane and Lastpass encrypt your information one more time using SSL when it is transmitted across the Internet. Also, your master password is not stored anywhere. What does this all mean to you? IF, someone is able to hack into Dashlane’s or LastPass’ database, they will pretty much have useless information. It will take the hackers a very long time to decrypt it, many months to several years. You’ll have plenty of time to change your passwords.

TOM: Greg asked: I have a laptop that is about 10 years old, and it is completely beyond repair. What can I do with it? Is it OK to just throw it in the trash?
RAY: NO! Stop! If you’ve already put it out for the trash, stop listening right now, and go bring it back inside! Never, ever, throw computers or almost any electronics in the trash.
TOM: First of all, you need to protect yourself and clear any personal data off of that thing before you release it into the wild. I’m not talking about a simple, quick re-formatting. I mean such a thorough scrubbing of your data that it would take the entire cast of CSI to recreate it.
RAY: Right, because when you delete something from your hard drive, it isn’t really erased. The computer just pretends it’s not there. To really delete a file from your computer’s hard drive, you have to write something over that file. There are a few programs that will securely delete your files.
TOM: If it’s a Windows PC you’re getting rid of, use a program like Eraser or the Drive Wiper in CCleaner to completely eradicate your data. If you’re tossing out a Mac, there’s a program called Permanent Eraser.
RAY: Once you’ve taken care of protecting yourself, you need to protect the environment. Computers are loaded with toxic metals and materials that are dangerous to the environment and need to be handled appropriately. Some cities and counties have curbside pickup of e-waste, but you should never just toss your computer in with the regular trash.
Check with your municipality’s website to find out where you can drop off your computer so that it is disposed of properly. Here in Jacksonville e-waste can be dropped off Tuesday through Saturday at the city’s Household Hazardous Waste Facility located at 2675 Commonwealth Ave.
TOM: What kind of chemicals are there in your computer, Ray?
RAY: Oh man, it’s like a chemistry lab in there. Circuit boards contain Cadmium and Beryllium, which are carcinogens. The steel inside your computer likely has hexavalent chromium baked into it, which is bad for your lungs. The LCDs in your PC contain mercury. And then of course there’s the plastic parts, all of which are non bio-degradable.
And in a laptop, you have the most toxic culprit of all, the battery. It contains lead and, even worse, battery acid.
TOM: Wow, that’s kind of a scary list of chemicals. Is there any chance those toxins could pose a threat to the person using the computer?
RAY: Well, most likely not. For one thing, the case of your computer shields you from direct contact with any of these chemicals. More importantly, though, all of these toxins are found in trace amounts that would most likely be harmless to a human. The problem is that when everybody tosses their electronics into the landfill, all of these toxins can start to build up and pose a threat to the environment.
TOM: We definitely don’t want to do that.
Of course as they say, one man’s toxic trash is another man’s treasure. There are companies that will take computers and monitors apart and extract the metals out of them to sell as scrap. So before you just throw that old junker away, you might be able to get a few bucks out of it, even if it is beyond all hope of repair.
You do have to be careful though. There are several companies that will ship your computer and monitor overseas where they will be melted down to get the metals out. This is very dangerous and very unsafe for the workers. Make sure that the company you are dealing with is handling your e-waste responsibly.

Thanks for all your questions, and keep them coming. Call us at our toll-free number, 1-888-972-9868 or you can send us an email at questions@deemable.com. Also, subscribe to the show! Search for Deemable Tech on iTunes or point your favorite podcast app to dmbl.co/pod.

Our producer is Sean Birch. I’m Ray Hollister, I’m Tom Braun, and this is Deemable Tech.

Thanks for listening. Have a great week.