Need help with %*!#$ error message that I keep getting while using Internet Explorer

Factual Questions
1

I keep getting this stupid error message while I’m online, so I suspect it has something to do with Internet Explorer. The computer I’m using is a piece of crap HP, model D220 with Windows XP (it’s less than two months old). It’s a bare bones desktop that is used for work only (my SO and I own/operate a small steakhouse restaurant). My SO also uses this computer (I should mention that he is EXTREMELY computer illiterate - more so than I am), and has a habit of downloading all kinds of stuff while surfing. Anyway, I keep getting this error message every time I go to a different site online. It also appears when IE is first opened. The message reads: An exception occurred while trying to run C:|WINDOWS\System32\btiein.dll,Download. Does anyone have any idea what this means, and how to get rid of it? I’ve gone to the microsoft site in an effort to find out what is going on, but no luck. The answer may be at microsoft.com, but to tell the truth, I just don’t feel like wading through all the stuff that is listed, and am not even sure what I’m looking for. I did notice that my SO had installed someting new today that changed the IE toolbar, so I uninstalled it thinking that may help, but no luck. To make things worse, I’m terribly sick (headache, earache, sore throat, runny eyes/nose, cough, chills), but I need to get this resolved ASAP. If I click on OK after the error message, it goes away and lets me view the page(s), but it shows up again if I click on any type of link or go to a different page/site. It’s very frustrating. :mad: Any help will be greatly appreciated.

2

There’s some advice here

http://www.computing.net/windowsxp/wwwboard/forum/86589.html

3

Probably a spyware infestation; the discription of your SO’s browing habits practically guarantees it’s infected with something.

Download, install, and run Ad-Aware (there are instructions at http://www.fluteloop.com/Adaware6.htm). That should clean some of the mess. If there are still problems, go to http://www.spywareinfo.com, download Hijackthis, and post the log in their forum.

4

  1. The advice provided so far is pretty good.

  2. Get some basic computer training for yourself and your SO. Be it a simple course or some basic *Dummies{/i] books will go a long way in reducing your computer problems.

  3. Dump IE and install Mozilla and/or Opera. Watch most of your browser bungles disappear.