ok Rich i did what you said, i have IE 6.0, still no go on the search option. Neither yahoo nor google will work, i keep getting the "internet optimizer-cannot find...." page for the last hour and i'm gettin really sleepy and sick adn tired of my damn computer. any suggestions on how i'm supposed to research DNA primers with no google would be appreciated.

 

sounds like ad/spyware. one of those "searchbar" programs might be changing settings or blocking competition.
go to start-->settings-->control panel-->Add/remove programs then scroll through the list and look for programs with odd names that sound like advertisements or "tool/search bar" and press "remove".

 

hey that sounds about right-theres some sort of GAIN advertising thing that pops up that will let me search with it but like i said i cant use google or yahoo...i cant find it to remove it though...thank you very much though at least i know what the prob is now.

 

EEEWWWWEEEE Gator(GAIN) sucks. It saves all your passwords. It's like a hackers wetdream.

http://www.pchell.com/support/gator.shtml
From Gator's Support Site:

"Q. How do I uninstall a GAIN supported application?

A. To uninstall a GAIN supported application, follow these steps;
-- From the Windows Start button select Settings and then Control Panel.
-- When the Control Panel window opens, double-click on the Add/Remove Programs icon.
-- When the Add/Remove Programs window opens, locate the GAIN supported application you wish to uninstall in the list of installed programs, click on that entry one time and then click on the Change/Remove button.
-- Follow the on screen instructions.





Q. How do I remove GAIN branded ads?

A. Each user is in control of receiving, or not receiving GAIN branded ads. To stop receiving GAIN branded ads, all GAIN supported applications must be uninstalled from the user's computer.

A few minutes after all the GAIN supported applications have been uninstalled, GAIN will automatically uninstall itself. To view a list of the GAIN-supported applications that are installed on the computer you are currently using, Click here.

If you do not use the Microsoft® Windows® Add/Remove programs feature and instead attempt to uninstall GAIN-supported applications by manually deleting files or directories, it is likely that your efforts will result in an incomplete removal of GAIN and/or your GAIN supported applications. In this case, please contact The Gator Corporation technical support at support@gator.com and they will be able to work with you to help you remove all GAIN-related components.





Q. Why isn't GAIN listed in the Add/Remove Programs window?

A. GAIN is designed to self uninstall when all GAIN supported applications have been uninstalled. You cannot uninstall GAIN directly, as it is correlated with other software products. You need to uninstall all GAIN supported applications in order to remove GAIN. "


*edit*
BTW: if all this doesn't work, in order to stop it from running when you boot up, you can do one of two things
1. start-->run
type "regedit"
click on Hkey_local_machine
scroll down
click on software
scroll down
click on Microsoft
scroll down
click on windows
scroll down
click on current version
scroll down
click on Run
once you have clicked on run, you will see programs in the right side of your window. these are all the executables that are starting when you start windows, look for gator (GAIN) and right click on it and press delete.

2. start-->Programs-->startup
make sure there are no unwanted icons in the startup folder. These also startup with windows.

 

That reminds me. Will be able to work on people's computers only until Wednesday afternoon. If you need me to work on yours, bring it to Rockwood Park on Sunday and pick it up Tuesday or Wednesday.

Daniel, you probably need me to reload your operating system. Becky, you need to remove all spyware (follow Chris's instructions above) and update your operating system using www.windowsupdate.com.

Server racks will be reassembled in November. We can have a Nerd Day then for connecting to my file/music/video servers here.

 

heh...i need to figure out how to get rid of those viruses..the only way is to delete those files but like you said they are important viruses...so what should i do rich.....

 

http://housecall.antivirus.com/housecall/start_corp.asp

^ free virus cleaner, works well

 

werd..ill check it out when i get home

 

get spyware search and destroy

 

i got a backdoor...and startup page....Motherfuckin people..if i ever find you im gonna shove your computer in your ass..download that...or would that be upload?