last ditch computer help before a reformat

[LD]

well, the computer guys (IT?) here are at a loss with my computer. Just by the nature of my job I get exposed to quite a bit of hazards online. I deal with many customers data and file transfers and work with all their files. Problem is with an email address like "customers" I get hit with every spam possible (usually dump about 200 out of the junk folder eery morning when I come in from work, today I had closer to 400 since I didnt work sunday or monday)
We do have symantec corporate, and it does usually holler if I get an email with a virus. Nonetheless, I appear to have picked up something that is not acting right.
I think we have pinpointed the problem to ASP pages.
The symptoms are whenever I am in Internet Explorer and I try to go to a page that uses that kind of security, IE will just close down. Literally, the window will just dissapear. I downloaded Mozilla to try and get around it, but now Mozilla just locks up on me and will not function. Any instant messenger programs that I install will not connect, they will just dissapear as the IE pages do. AOL Webmail boots right off, yahoo homepage same thing, and after I log in to ebay it will close down also.
If anybody has seen this before and knows a fix, PLEASE suggest it
thanks

things we have done
"HiJack this" has been run
AdAware
Symantec corporate antivirus
Uninstall IE (as much as possible anyways)
reinstalled
uninstalled any updates windows has made in the past few months
the windows update page closes down as the other pages do, so we can't reinstall the updates
all unnecessary programs have been uninstalled

[InZane4all]

It seems to me like your PC may have spyware on it. But since you mentioned running ad-aware, I'm not too sure now. Try spybot. It always good to run two different spyware programs in case one doesn't pick up something, the other will.

Also, if you have Windows 2000/XP installed on your PC, I would go ahead and create a new user profile and delete the old one. When you uninstall and re-install IE upgrades, the user profile tends to get corrupted.

The last thing I can think of is going to add/remove programs and try unistalling programs that you do not recognize, like hotbar, mysearch.com, things like that. Any toolbars that you might have added on should be removed as well.

If none of this works, your best bet will be to re-install the OS, install the antivirus software before any other program and before going on the net, download all Windows updates, and stay away from downloading junk off the net.
Hope this helps.

[LD]

Originally posted by InZane4all:
It seems to me like your PC may have spyware on it. But since you mentioned running ad-aware, I'm not too sure now. Try spybot. It always good to run two different spyware programs in case one doesn't pick up something, the other will.

I have run many spyware programs, including spybot s&d and some active scanners such as microsoft antispyware
I am doubting it is spyware at this point, unless it is some new thing that noone can block yet

Originally posted by InZane4all:


Also, if you have Windows 2000/XP installed on your PC, I would go ahead and create a new user profile and delete the old one. When you uninstall and re-install IE upgrades, the user profile tends to get corrupted.

This is one option, but almost as extreme as reformatting the hd
I have floating licenses for 3 different CAD packages on this computer and PGP keys and a few other things that are a pain in the butt to transfer
If we get to the point of removing the profile, it would be just as easy to reformat

Originally posted by InZane4all:

The last thing I can think of is going to add/remove programs and try unistalling programs that you do not recognize, like hotbar, mysearch.com, things like that. Any toolbars that you might have added on should be removed as well.

I mentioned that in my orginal post last item listed

all unnecessary programs have been uninstalled

Originally posted by InZane4all:

If none of this works, your best bet will be to re-install the OS, install the antivirus software before any other program and before going on the net, download all Windows updates, and stay away from downloading junk off the net.
Hope this helps.

I have to download junk off the net, that is my job :(
we use email, and internet for file transfers (quite a few FTP sites also)

The reason I posted it was because we have gone to great lengths to try and fix this, and it is not an ordinary problem. I am not the best computer guy by any means, but these guys we have that just fix our computers are quite intelligent, and all of them are stumped at this point, I was just hoping someone would recognize the problem and know a fix

[Nachius]

Does this problem exist in safe mode?

pull the drive and possibly slave it to a known clean machine with updated antivirus and scan it that way.

[LD]

Originally posted by Nachius:
Does this problem exist in safe mode?

pull the drive and possibly slave it to a known clean machine with updated antivirus and scan it that way.

safe mode is worth a shot, not sure what I would find out if it works in safe mode though...
the antivirus is the same scanner on all the computers and I update daily
I will mention removing the hd to the tech guys and see if they want to give that a shot (boss might not be happy with me yanking the ole hard drive out of the computer myself)

[Big Tymer]

ALWAYS run any scanners or anything in SAFE MODE, do the one witout networking so your not connected to the net

[LD]

Originally posted by Big Tymer:
ALWAYS run any scanners or anything in SAFE MODE, do the one witout networking so your not connected to the net

I have to have them log into safe mode, I do not have the Administrator password
the computer doesn't ahve anything locked in my profile, but it will not log me in with my username because out profiles are server based, no networking, no profile
but I will try that too, I am not getting any bugs showing up on any of my scanners tho
if I had something show up and just couldn't remove it then I would know something
I am showing nothing, so it's like chasing the wind

[Big Tymer]

just hold f8 as the computer is booting, start holding it RIGHT BEFORE it gets to the normal windows flash screen... it will pop up with a list of options

[LD]

Originally posted by Big Tymer:
just hold f8 as the computer is booting, start holding it RIGHT BEFORE it gets to the normal windows flash screen... it will pop up with a list of options

I know how to get into safe mode, but I cannot login onto the network with my profile in safe mode, therefore I need the administrator password to login locally (which they dont give a lowly fellow like me)

[Big Tymer]

heres how u do it

put in your login name and password
hit enter

as soon as the screen drops to login, pull the network cable... you will be loged in, and if you timed it right, the thing will not have been able to grab access rights, and give you full access.... but you cant connect it back to the network while your messing with it....

[LD]

Originally posted by Big Tymer:
heres how u do it

put in your login name and password
hit enter

as soon as the screen drops to login, pull the network cable... you will be loged in, and if you timed it right, the thing will not have been able to grab access rights, and give you full access.... but you cant connect it back to the network while your messing with it....

not quite sure I follow you...
do I do this while logging into safe mode with networking?
as far as I know I have administrative rights (or close to) on this computer, buy my profile is saved onto the network