re: Right click Context Menu Gone
Sunday, July 11, 2004 at 8:57 pm
Windows Me Annoyances Discussion Forum
Posted by Jack Gulley
(5917 messages posted)
That sounds more like a new browser hijack program of some sort that has gone
bad. Have you ran CWShredder. Any experience using Hijack This to find Malware?
First, make sure your ADAware was up to date and that you were doing a full Custom
scan of all options you can enable. Be aware that it often takes two to three weeks
for them to include removal of new CWS browser hijackers. (If you can not access
the latest updates, you may have to download the reflist.ref file on a working system,
copy to a diskette and replace the existing one in AdAware.)
Try the following. Boot into SAFE MODE and run the full ADAWARE scan. (It will
be slower, but it can clean things quicker in Safe Mode). Also run a full update
Anti-Virus scan if you have one from Safe Mode. If you don't have an AV program installed
and updated, try to get a copy of Stinger.exe and transfer it on diskette and run
in Safe Mode.
While in safe mode, check that Automatic Updates in Control Panel is still disabled,
then bring up IE and in its Options, Advanced tab, under Browsing, make sure its
Automatic updates is also disabled. Then in the Add/Remove programs, look for a "Critical
Update Notification" addition. Remove it. Then check the MSCONFIG Startup tab for
an entry for a WuCrtUpd entry and disable it.
It is possible that the wauboot has been hijacked by some Malware program. There
has only been only one Windows update for ME systems released in many months. That
was the ADODB.stream (KB870669) IE Security update (you really need it) release July
2nd. You should try going to the Windows Update site and check that it is installed.
Then look at the Installation history and see when your system installed it. See
if that was a valid wauboot from an automatic update. (Something could have just
gone wrong and corrupted your system.)
Then reboot and see what happens. If you can run an online virus scan at HouseCall
and all the checks you can access.
IF no "self-help" Joy, THEN download CWShredder and the Hijack
This program. Run CWShredder and then learn how to run Hijack This program and
save its run log to a C:\HJT folder. With this tool in hand and its output, go to
the SpywareInfo web site and forums and seek help there. They are experts at tracking
down new threats and strange ones like this, but you need to do what you can first
and have the Hijack This log handy.
For links and general help on this type of problem see my:
 page. It will get you started in the right direction and give you
quick links to programs and the SpywareInfo site.
Expect this to take some time and stay with who ever helps you from the SpywareInfo
forums.
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