how to remove unwanted pop-ups

When I start up the PC I am getting two popups;
one is a DOS screen,
the other says unable to find GeniusBox/client.exe.
Please: how do I get rid of these?

"timOleary" wrote in message
...
When I start up the PC I am getting two popups;
one is a DOS screen,
the other says unable to find GeniusBox/client.exe.
Please: how do I get rid of these?




GeniusBox is adware, so use these tools. You might not have to go past
AdwCleaner and MBAM.

Remove Adware & PUPs with these tools. Check for updates first and then scan
with each one at a time until your machine is clean.


AdwCleaner (Free)
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/



Malwarebytes (Get the free version)
https://www.malwarebytes.org/free/


When offered, uncheck: Enable free trial of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
Premium.



Junkware Removal Tool (Free)
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/down...-removal-tool/



HitmanPro (30 day free trial)
http://www.surfright.nl/en/hitmanpro



If necessary, reset your browsers. For IE:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/w...lorer-settings


Some reading:


About those Toolbars and Add-ons - Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs)
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/foru...ces/?p=3187642

timOleary wrote:
When I start up the PC I am getting two popups;
one is a DOS screen,
the other says unable to find GeniusBox/client.exe.
Please: how do I get rid of these?

"unable to find" means that your (unstated)
antivirus and adware removal tools, have
removed the executable.

Just for fun, you might search on "client.exe"
and see if you can find the file. Maybe it's
been placed in a Quarantine folder where it
belongs. Don't panic.

What is happening is, you have a "Startup" item
of some sort. The startup item says to
"run GeniusBox/client.exe", but the executable
cannot be found. So the problem is "half-removed".
The AV software should really remove the registry
entry or whatever other mechanism is being used,
so you no longer see the garbage side-effects.

*******

"Autoruns" is a program that shows you the Startup
items on the machine. One of the tabs shows you
everything, all thrown into one giant list. You
can scroll through that, looking for the item
in question.

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/...rnals/bb963902

Autoruns uses tick boxes, off to one side, to
control each Startup item. You can untick a box,
to disable a single item. So if an item there
is a launcher for GeniusBox/client.exe you might
find it.

When you're infected, the fun part is, you untick
a box, reboot the computer, open Autoruns again
and the box will be ticked again. If you have an active
infection, or a portion of the malware or adware
has used alternate means to run, then the Startup
Item will be put right back. It's when that
happens, you know you have more work to do with
MalwareBytes (MBAM Free scanner), or ADWCleaner
(available on BleepingComputer for download).

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/

With ADWCleaner, you can click the scan button first,
just to get some idea if anything is still in the
machine (in the way of Adware - it doesn't do Malware
at all).

Paul

On Thursday, April 2, 2015 at 10:01:47 AM UTC-4, timOleary wrote:
When I start up the PC I am getting two popups;
one is a DOS screen,
the other says unable to find GeniusBox/client.exe.
Please: how do I get rid of these?

Thanks for the suggestions! I will look for the item in autorun
& I will run MWB and ADWCLEANER (again.)