Lately I’ve been having a problem with my home computer, which I share with my wife. My wife likes to use AOL so it is installed on the computer. I prefer to use the Mozilla Firefox browser. We run Windows XP as the operating system and access the net through the cable TV carrier. Lately I’ll be happily surfing away when suddenly the computer grinds to a halt because AOL seems to have taken it upon itself to start running, even though I did not start it and it wasn’t running when I started surfing with Firefox. Any ideas what to do to stop AOL from doing so?
I apologize if there is a thread on this but I couldn’t find it.
Do you mean that the AOL software starts up and tries to dialup one of their phone numbers?
Or do you mean that a version of IE with “AOL” splashed all over it (a “branded version of IE”) launches?
Since AOL is no longer in the ISP business (they are now a content provider, like Yahoo) I’m just trying to clarify what’s happening.
That being said, there are a couple of places where software can leave bits of code telling Windows to launch something automatically. First place to check is the Startup folder (look under Start-All Programs-Startup; if you find a link to anything AOL in there you can simply delete the shortcut). Another place is in the system Registry - if you don’t know what that is you may not want to fiddle with it (it’s kind of the guts of Windows).
If the issue is just that you use Firefox and your wife uses IE, there’s no reason to have anything AOL on the machine and you can try using the Add/Remove Programs applet (under the Control Panel) to uninstall anything with “AOL” in the name.
Do this first, AOL’s safety and security suite is MacAfee under the hood, and a huge resource hog especially if you already have an AV solution in place.
Let me know if that doesn’t do the trick. I can describe what to look for in the Registry but that should be a last resort. Definitely check the Startup folder and Add/Remove Programs first.
Using msconfig I unchecked the AOL boxes at start up and then rebooted. Next, I went to remove programs but when I attempted to remove “AOL Spyware Protection” I got a popup box that read, “Could not open INSTALL.LOG”. Then I started Firefox and Shortly thereafter AOL security edition started itself up again.
I would suggest that you look at your file extension options next. In Windows Explorer, in the top menu go to Tools -> Folder Options, then look under the File Type tabs for any AOL stuff.
It might be that through their weird magic, AOL software has somehow become associated with a common file extension you’d get on the web. A PDF file, or some sort of media file. It’s a long shot, but it’s probably worth it. And it’s easy to check too.
That is assuming that it does not just randomly start when you have a blank portal staring at you, and that you are looking at content.
If, as you mention in your last post, it’s AOL security and not in fact a branded IE (they may run in the same program window, I have no idea), then it might be that you are visiting sites with popups that either link to know “bad” sites, or that some of your sites are riddled with trojans and viruses. At that point, I would consider getting a better, less obtrusive AV/Spyware protection package.
I forgot to ask that the thread be closed. The problem was solved when I followed Valgard’s advice and removed AOL v 9.0 security edition. AOL v. 8.0 is still on the computer and my wife is happy enough to run that. Thanks for everyone’s help!
Let me hammer home the point that if you run a process viewer above the one provided by Microsoft that you will see anywhere from eight to twenty-one obnoxious AOL programs running when AOL has not even been started yet. Topspeed, Spyzapper, PortMagic, etc.
Get your AOL mail from www.aol.com and just dump the installed software entirely… by force if need be. Treat it as spyware.
I cannot imagine why or how AOL can live with themselves.