I'm going to make the assumption you are using some form of windows on that computer.

First and foremost, stop using the default browser that came with your operating system. This is simply known as a least common denominator attack. Remove the potential for the attack and you've got a good start. I recommend using either Firefox or Chrome (stick with Firefox or IceWeasel if you enjoy tinfoil hats and conspiracys). Next up, install the addon "Adblock Plus" to help you from getting attacked by drive-by installers. Most other addons can be removed, especially if you don't know what they do or where they came from. Disable Java browser plugin completely, Java applets are almost non-existant and websites which still require Java can do more harm than good.

Now then, you need to look at your operating system and remove the crapware/junkware. Anything (and I do mean anything) with a relation to the word "Toolbar" from your list of installed applications needs to be removed completely from the computer system. This includes the common "Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer". If you don't know what it is or where it came from, there's a good chance it needs to be removed. If you are worried it will break the system, have a good look at the web site http://www.shouldiremoveit.com. Don't install their software, instead just use the web form to help determine if the software needs to get axed.

Word of caution about ZoneAlarm, if you don't know what you are doing to configure the firewall, you will lose access to the internet. In some instances, removing ZoneAlarm still will not resolve the problem. The built in firewall still remains the best firewall to use when it is configured correctly. Some trojans will go through and reconfigure the firewall to allow for other applications to be installed behind the scenes or even allow remote access. Removing the known problems with the right software and removal procedures will ensure proper configuration of the firewall. Worst case scenario, you can reset the built in firewall configuration back to default and move on.

Same bit of cautionary advise when it comes to Spybot Search & Destroy, once a fantastic application is now nothing more than a sellout. They have been known to accept payments from malicious software companies to ignore known hacks such as the app "Wajam" and similar. Still good, but it does not stand on it's own. I would personally install it, run it, clean it, and then promptly remove it until the next time something happens where you suspect issues.

Now let's get down to the nitty gritty of the cleanup. The applications I recommend: RKill, TDSSKiller, HitmanPro, Malwarebytes, SuperAntiSpyware, CCleaner, ADWCleaner, and a current AntiVirus app such as BitDefender. All of those are free.

Get the computer into "safe mode". You can achieve this by mashing F8 before the windows logo comes up. Start by checking your startup applications using "MSCONFIG" from the run dialog. Uncheck everything in the "startup" tab for now. Go ahead and run RKill and let it complete. Run TDSSKiller and again, let it complete all the way through. Next you will need to run HitmanPro (Don't install, just run once), Malwarebytes, and SuperAntiSpyware. In HitmanPro, you may see a few things set to "Ignore" in the list, I would remove those anyway. For the later two, make sure to run complete/full scans (these will take a little longer). Don't reboot until all three of them are complete.

After the completion of the run of cleaning, go ahead and reboot the computer system normally. You should notice a huge improvement on the boot time at this point. Run RKill again to ensure there are no bad processes running. From here, run ADWCleaner which may require a reboot, but let it finish before doing anything else. Last bit is to run CCleaner. First go into the tools tab and check to see if you may have missed any applications which still need to be uninstalled. Second part is in the registry tab, do a full scan on the registry and let it fix all problems (you can backup your registry if you want from there). Last bit is the cleaner tab, stick with the defaults and analyze... cleaning whatever it finds.

Last bit of the cleanup, make sure you have only one AntiVirus application and verify the database is up to date. Do a full system scan. Reboot the system after it's done. From there, remove the applications you had to install but keep Malwarebytes... the rest is just nagware with good scanning capabilities. One option you can do is to install a good defragmenting application. A great free one is defraggler, same place you get CCleaner from. If you have an SSD drive, don't defragment as that will kill the drive.

AVs I do not recommend are Norton and McAfee. They talk big game but rarely deliver or they are too demanding on the system for what they do. My preferred are BitDefender, Kaspersky, and Eset. Stay away from AVs that offer lifetime subscriptions such as Avira or Cobre Security.

What I do for a living is repair computer systems and consultation of Linux server migration for fortune 500 companies. Been doing this for well over twenty years now. Rarely have I had to reload a computer system from scratch due to a software problem.

TL;DR: make a copy of this text... you're going to want it for later.

 

Thank you so much for that info.

 

I'm always on my iPad, using Dolphin, which has an ad blocker and very rarely see any pop ups. Just my 2¢.

 

This. Adblock is just going to mask the true problem: a compromised computer. Use something like Malwarebytes to cleanse you computer and then get at least a good free virus software. Here's a ton of choices:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2372364,00.asp

You need strong virus/malware/intrusion protection these days. It's not optional. Surfing the web without protection is like going to Thailand and banging prostitutes without a condom. It's a not a matter of if you get full blown AIDs, it's a matter of when, and it will probably be instantly.

spr0k3t's post is very comprehensive.

 

When I use this forum on my iPad I get pop-ups constantly. When on the computer I get none. It is weird and quite annoying when using the iPad. I mean every so many seconds a pop-up appears. Arrrggghhh.

 

It's an apple product. Your options are not your own. Don't use the built in browser... get something Firefox or Dolphin... I do believe even Chrome is available on the ipad.