Windows XP Home: Fixing MSN Explorer Popup on Startup

[cepheid]

Whenever I log on to windows after booting up my computer nowadays, A window pops up. It's a folder containting the item "MSN Explorer" (with the butterfly icon). I have no idea what this is and why it appears on startup. I'm running Windows XP Home Edition. Any thoughts?

 

[hypermorphism]

Whenever I log on to windows after booting up my computer nowadays, A window pops up. It's a folder containting the item "MSN Explorer" (with the butterfly icon). I have no idea what this is and why it appears on startup. I'm running Windows XP Home Edition. Any thoughts?

Check your Startup folder on your Start menu. If there's nothing unusual there, download Spybot from http://www.safer-networking.org and use the Advanced view to get to Tools>Startup to see whether it is a startup string hidden in the registry. Also use Spybot to scan for spyware.

 

[cepheid]

Nothing in the startup folder except a flag icon labelled "Microsoft Office". I'm not even sure why it is there, since no part of Microsoft Office actually activates upon startup!

Thanks for the additional advice RE spybot. I already have spybot, but was not too well-versed in it's advanced features. I have also been lax lately about cleaning out my comp (which is very bad). I'll get right on that...

 

[Astronuc]

Sounds like a pop-up is activated.

Put the cursor over the pop-up, click right-mouse button, and select properties to see where it is located.

You might also want to go into IE and increase security level settings and select options that ask you for approval rather than using automatic.

 

[cepheid]

I ran spybot and cleaned out my comp. I tried looking the tools section unders system startup, but most of the applications there looked legit, and none looked similar to what I am seeing come up. I don't think it is a pop up per se. It is an actual file folder with a single shortcut to an executable application inside. (MSN Explorer 6). This is what that program is:

"C:\Program Files\MSN\MSNCoreFiles\msn6.exe"

But as to why that particular window opens up at start up, I have no idea.

 

[Astronuc]

It could be that the link has been activated in the Windows startup sequence, and that could have been done with a setting in the registry file, or one of programs in C:\WinNT/Win2K/Windows folders (depending on which version of Windows).

You could search the registry file (using regedit) and look for "msn6.exe". But don't delete anything unless you are sure about what you are doing.

Lots of spyware install registry keys, and the only way to completely uninstall them is to remove the registry keys (as well as dll's, etc.).