Okay, what up with the title? Well as it seems, the world needs very little in the way of counsel and I came across this most valuable bit of information, I just had to share it!
My journey with "Yahoo!" started as some associates of mine were using Yahoo! Messenger and just couldn't talk enough about it. Has all the bell's and whistles, not to mention emoticons! I am an old MS Windows Messenger user and still have nothing to complain about, with the exception that these few persons were not on MS, so off I surf to Yahoo! And download the messenger. I also got the mail as an added bonus which would now allow me to participate in Yahoo! Auctions. Ok, good deal! I could now communicate with anyone I knew, gained an extra email account, and could buy and sell on Yahoo! Auctions in addition to eBay. Looked like a very good addition.............I got it all and more!
More you ask? Just let me say, I took the shot with eyes wide open and didn't see it coming! Upon happily downloading Yahoo! Messenger and registering my new email account I quickly jumped into the game. I was researching the auctions, checking my email (like I don't have enough) and chatting with friends. Seemed great, but I noticed that when I did a search a new page would open with links to very loosely related sites, and the pop-ups were a little more active. The more I was online, the more pop-ups and useless sight search pages would jump onto my screen. Finally I decided to install "spybuster" which is a good program, but for some reason couldn't quite reach "all" the spy programs on my PC, would always freeze up. Now, two month's later, the PC is just dogging around like it is tired, the pop-ups know I am no threat to them, and seems like my PC is searching for stuff it is interested in. Very aggravating indeed! I really should have listened to my wife when she counseled against this download!
As it turns out, Yahoo! Is closely associated with "Gain", which is one of the biggest and baddest spyware applicators I have found. It will drive you nuts, consume valuable real-estate on your hard drive, and just junk up your computer. That is until now! In my latest search for what seemed to be never-ending, I found some help in the form of a sage known as LIAM. Most of the information I have found directs you to got to this folder, then that file, delete this, but not that....blah, blah, blah,........All stuff I am not willing to do as my area of confusion is primarily directed at MS office and accompanying applications, and that is where I am comfortable. But my friends, I am here to tell you, LIAM has lit the way for the rest of us, and the good part is, it is done by manipulating Yahoo!'s applications from the their email program online, rather than on "my" PC! Below you will find the instructions and I will return at a later date with the web address.
Name: LiamDate: June 18, 2004 at 22:43:00 PacificHomepage: Mayron.netSubject: uninstall Yahoo! Internet Mail
Reply:
Hi,
I've finally figured out how to remove Yahoo! Internet Mail. The error is that regsvr32 cannot use the ymmapi.dll file correctly. It cannot install (the /I switch) or uninstall (the /u) switch. All the Yahoo uninstall program does is have regsvr32 execute the uninstall command silently, which is why the screen only flashes. You will see the error message if you do not use the silent flag.
The solution is to log into Yahoo mail (or get an account) and click on the compose button. Then, click on the "Enable Autocomplete" link or image. Follow the steps to install Autocomplete (but be careful to not choose to set it as your default mail client, etc.). Once it has installed you may now return to the Add/Remove programs dialog and uninstall Yahoo! Internet Mail as before, and then uninstall Autocomplete. It worked for me, I hope it is of some help to others. This is a relatively simple and low-risk solution as it does not require manually editing the registry.
// Liam// Mayron.net
So there you have it folks! If you are having all kinds of pop-up/gain search engine invasions, this will free you from bondage as you conquer the infidel's.
I also recommend "Spybot" for removing spyware from your pc. If you haven't used it (or something similar) then you will be amazed at how much these programs are slowing you down, not to mention what kind of information was collected from you pc! You can find "Spybot" by going to google, dogpile, or most any other mega-search engines and typing it in. The best .... it is FREE, and if you like it, then pay what you feel it is worth.
On a sidenote:
Until this site gets some notice and surfer's start submitting questions, from time to time, I will post items I find helpful or of some use.
Later
...Be right...and you will do right...