Within the past few weeks I have had a screen pop up on my computer that covers my toolbar and the menu at the bottom of the page. It does not have a web address, just the words “Where do you want to go?” and a space where I can type something in. It also lists categories of things people might be interested in. I cannot just back out of it or switch to a different window because it completely covers the screen, and hitting escape doesn’t seem to do anything. It often pops up when I click on a link but sometimes just shows up at random. Since I don’t know how to get out of it I have to turn the computer off and reboot–and of course within a few hours it shows up again. The computer has been acting a little funny ever since I installed a Lexmark printer in March–could this have anything to do with it?
Any suggestions for how to get this stupid thing to go away?
Probably Spyware that got installed somewhere down the line. Try these two websites for spyware removal programs:
www.lavasoftusa.com <-- Ad-Aware
http://security.kolla.de/ <-- Spybot
Try downloading and running either Adaware or Spybot, both free.
Until you’ve run AdAware or Spybot, try just hitting ALT-F4, which should close the window, or ALT-TAB, which should cycle you through the windows that are currently open - better than having to reboot the sucker.