Best way to stop garbage from trying to download?

You know, they pop up and give you an option for always trusting them.

[HeyJim]

I gather I have my control settings on my computer safe enough since I always have to be asked before the Active X(?) scripts can be run by the idiots that try to force garbage on my computer but I have one On Web Media (or something similar) that keeps trying to download on my computer.

If it's something on my computer that's triggering it then Spybot Search and Destroy isn't finding it but since I doubt it's just that I'm finding it on a lot of unrelated websites I assume that I'm infected with something. Or, is there a setting I need to tweak so that I'm not even asked whether to allow the download, instead it's just not allowed so that I don't even have to click "No".

[griz_fan]

Hey HeyJim,

I'd first make sure Spybot is fully updated. You may also want to try one of Spybot's competitors, just in case it can catch something Spybot isn't able to.

This is one of the big reasons why I rarely use IE any more. You may want to try an alternative browser, such as FireFox or Opera, which allows a greater level of control over your web surfing. I'm a huge fan of FireFox (especially with the Web Developer plug in tool bar and the Live HTTP headers plug-in, two great tools to help you build web pages).

If you're running XP, Service Pack 2 may help. SP2 includes an update to IE. In addition to built-in popup blocking, SP2 will allow you to control the various browser add-ons and extensions that are currently installed. So, if you've mistakenly installed one you don't like, you could easily disable it. If you are feeling adventurous and can't wait until Microsoft officially releases SP2 for XP, you can try their Technical Preview Program version.

[suzicat]

There are two good free programs you can use to prevent most unwanted downloads, hijackers and spyware.

SpywareBlaster is here
[javacoolsoftware.com...]
It prevents a lot of downloads using active x.

SpywareGuard prevents your homepage from being changed without your consent
[javacoolsoftware.com...]

[edited by: Woz at 9:29 am (utc) on June 10, 2004]
[edit reason] no self promos please, see TOS#13 [/edit]