I did a scan with Spyware Doctor and after deleting Temp files and Cookies got these file left on the machine.
Spyware Doctor gave me this info:
Of course you have to buy the software to have it delete files automatically.
DSSAgent
Threat Level: High
Description: A desktop computer running DSSAgent might send over 10,000 DNS requests in 15 minutes, slowing network traffic. There are reports that it slows CPU processing as well.
Description: CommonName is marketed as a ‘keywords’ service, allowing one to enter simple names instead of URLs. After its original release, the software has become a complicated (and sometimes buggy) search-hijacker and adware, aggressively bundled with many third-party applications.
Ah, yes, how well I remember Mr. “DSSAgent” from our good friends at Broderbund In my case, not only was it spyware but it usually managed to partially crash Windows once a session until I finally found out what the heck it was and got rid of it. This was years ago and to “him” I thank for first introducing me to the concept of spyware ;D
I would recommend downloading and installing Adaware SE to delete your entries. Deleting registry entries manually can be destructive if you aren’t precise. You can find it here…
If you are going to download Ad-Aware, it is best to
download from : www.majorgeeks.com/download506.html
If at all possible, it is best to avoid Download.com ; too
many potential problems ( From what I have read and
personally experienced ) .
Hi Ardvard,
Thanks for your answer.
I have Adaware SE, Have run it and not found these files. In fact Adaware and Spybot S&D both find no problems at all on my computer.
Spyware doctor upon first scan found 143 infected files. Of course, they were mostly cookies and Internet temp files. After getting rid of all my cookies and temp files, these were the only files that were left.
Should just ignore them and leave them on my machine?
I haven’t had any problems since downloading and installing the TRIAL of Spyware Doctor. I am not planning on buying it, but it had some good reviews.
I just got your reply Spiritsongs. I have used download.com without problems, and I use majorgeeks also. I will stick with majorgeeks as my primary download site, if there have been problems with download.com.
No, do not leave them on your system. I find it interesting that neither Adaware or Spybot could detect any of them ???
I’m not sure what all you’ve tried but here are a couple other possibilities before bringing out the big guns. Both sites provide online scans but with Ewido, you can download and install the program for free.
Should that fail, you can download and install a program called Hijack This (HJT) and post a log at this forum. Someone should be able to help you with specific instructions at that point. You can download it here…
I haven’t used Housecall, but I did download Hijack this. I did a scan on June 12, 2006 and sent it to BleepingComputer.com where they were supposed to help me with reading the scan. I still haven’t heard from them.
There are many files, and many of them belong to programs that I use. I tried to post it here but it exceeds the maximum allowable words. would it be all right to post it in two messages?
I did scan from Ewido and it didn’t find anything either.
I will download Housecall and give it a chance.
BTW, my computer seems to be working well, so this is maintenance.
Thank you.
RoRo 8)
I tried the online scan from Housecall. It wanted Java installed which I did then and then it still needed more apps installed, so I didn’t use it. I don’t really need these other apps.
Here is half the HJT scan.
Logfile of HijackThis v1.99.1
Scan saved at 3:18:38 AM, on 6/12/2006
Platform: Windows XP SP2 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP2 (6.00.2900.2180)
P.S. I didn’t find any of the files found by Spyware Doctor in my HJT log files.
I also ran Ewido again and didn’t find those files either.
Spyware Doctor is starting to sound a little fishy. Are they giving me false negatives so I buy their software.
You’re right, I don’t see the DSSAgent entry mentioned in your first post in your log, although I’m not experienced with reading HJT logs. Someone should be by at some point to give you a hand with the results.
I find it hard to believe that a reputable antispyware software firm would resort to false positives purposely to generate sales ??? This may be some weird fluke.
If no one is able to help you here, go to the others sites I’ve mentioned.
If at all possible, it is best to avoid Download.com ; too
many potential problems ( From what I have read and
personally experienced ) .
I've downloaded from Download.com for years and still use it
without any problems.
In this case it's not where your downloading from but what your downloading
that can put you at risk.
For future reference : many HJT forums have many people
asking for help, therefore, there may be up to a 10-day
wait for a response. That probably includes forums like
Bleepingcomputer, Spywarewarrior, & Castlecops. I refer
people to the little-known, but very good ( & QUICK
RESPONSE ) HJT forums at www.landzdown.com .
I can't tell from your log if you may have multiple anti-
virus program(s) conflicting with each other ( BitDefender,
Avast, Norton System Works ) !? That last "no name" 02
BHO that shows "no file" most likely should be "fixed".
Not sure if HJT should be in "Application program setup
files" either, to be properly used .
Thank you,
I do have 2 antivirus programs, and thought that only Avast was running, but found that Bitdefender was running also. I have stopped Bitdefender and will just run it on demand. I have uninstalled Norton Antivirus; although, I do use System works and haven’t had problems.
I just checked with Bleeping computers and everything is good. They were the ones that told me Bitdefender was running also and to turn it off.
I also went to spywarewarrior and castlecop and downloaded the tutorial on HJT to better understand which files could be dangerous and should be deleted.
I had noticed the 02 BHO file you mentioned and wondered what (no file) at the end of the string meant. I assumed that no file was present, and therefore, there was no problem.
I ran Ewido yet again (a full system scan) and found only tracking cookies that Ewido cleaned up.
Confirm that you have DSSAgent first by searching for the dssagent.exe file under “search.” If you find it, you can delete it. However, you will also need to comb the registry for any value that has DSSAgent in its name and delete that as well.
Be careful though and make a backup of the registry first.
If you told by Bleeping Computers that your system is clean, I doubt you will find anything, though.
Were you using the free version of BitDefender or the paid one?
The free does not have a resident, just update and news services running is background that won’t conflict with avast 8)
Oh, yes, you could disable this services if you’re not actually updating BitDefender.
Was on another forum earlier today and someone posted
that they thought their Spyware Doctor was reporting
false-positives, so I wonder if this is a recent occurrence !?
The info in your signature indicates you do not have the
latest version of both Spybot & Avast, so it appears you
should either get the latest version of each OR "update"
the info in your signature.
Did they advise you on the bleepingcomputer forum to
"fix" that 02 - BHO "no name", "no file" entry ?
First, I have the free version of Bit Defender, so I don’t have to worry about a conflict with Avast. That is why I was surprised that Bleeping computers thought it was running. I will go change my settings back to the default, as I do update and use Bitdefender to scan files .
I did update Spybot and Avast also. I will now update my profile.
I do have the bbs\DSS file but there is no dssagent.exe file in it. Maybe that is why it did not show up in other application scans. I will delete it.
I am completely ignorant when it comes to the registry. :-[ All I know is that I don’t want to touch it if possible. Since I don’t have the dssagent.exe file, can I assume I don’t have the registry entries either?
Bleepingcomputer did not mention the 02-BHO no name, no file entry, so I assume it is all right.
Thank you all for all your help.
This really is the best forum.
In my case, not only was it spyware but it usually managed to partially crash Windows once a session until I finally found out what the heck it was and got rid of it. This was years ago and to “him” I thank for first introducing me to the concept of spyware ;D
Hi Ro Ro :