Moved to a thread of its own

I just want all of you to know, that I have Windows ME, and I have completely given up on being able to get rid of CoolWebSearch, looking-for.cc, Home Search Assistent, Search Extender, Shopping Wizard, Only the Best, about: blank, lookfor.cc, search-to-find.com, 171203.com, 69.31.79.101/index.html, res://*****.dll/index.html#*****. It has survived everything that I have tried, or heard suggested, in the last three full days that I have spent working on it. The IE Trojan Virus that operates it, apparently is the real heart of the problem and I have no idea how to get at it. I've read lots of good sugestions on how to get rid of the "symptoms"...that is, all the .exe, .dat and .dll files and registry changes it makes. I have downloaded all kinds of software that fixes those problems. But the problem is deeper rooted, because all of the syptoms come back, as soon as I log onto the net, or reboot....or sometimes even after I just wait a few minutes. Those who have described it as a "bitch" and a "demon" are dead on, for I have given up hope that it can be resolved without completely reformating my drive. For all the suggestions I've heard, I have read precious few that adress the virus that is at the heart of it all. How do I kill the trojan??? How do I keep this thing from coming back???? I am going to detail what I have done so far, so others will not waste their time doing the same, useless "surface" fixes.

First, reluctant to download anything, I looked up information on how to manually find and delete the files associated with the spyware/adware. Don't waste your time. You'll never be able to find all the files and problems without software. I've been able to remove other adware manually, but no way on this thing. The only lasting thing I did manually was to fix my "hosts" file, which had a bunch of porn ISPs. I probably deleted a few files that I shouldn't have too. Don't ty to fix this manually.

I turned off systems restore, so I could get rid of this stuff, without it ever coming back. I used the following programs, only after disconnecting from the Internet....

I downloaded CWShredder. While I appreciate the effort that went into its creation, it seems to be pretty useless now. This thing does not even scrath the surface of the problem. The only useful thing I got from this, was the link to information on how to remove the MS Java Virtual Machine vulnerability from IE. By the way, I got this virus, even though I have the last build of MS Java VM, so don't bother with any patch.

I downloaded Hijak This. It is useful for clearing the register keys, but I don't really understand the rest of it. Unfortunately this virus mutates A LOT. I can't keep track of all of its random names, so finding "obvious" problems in the Hijak This report is rare.

I downloaded AdBuster. This is great software and I love it. It finds most of the problem files very quickly, and simply eliminates them. At first, this program gave me hope. But the problem kept coming back. This is probably the only thing that is allowing me to get on the Internet without being redirected, because it resets the homepage effectively (albeit temporarily, once I'm on the net). By the way, you need to run in safe mode or end task on that one .exe that AdBuster can't kill.

I downloaded the free AdAware software from Lavasoft, and updated it. Good software, and again, I had hope...beause it found a whole lot of files that AdBuster apparently missed (including Clear Search, AdDestroyer, Virtual Bouncer, 180 Solutions, Shop At Home, SahAgent, DO.exe and Alexa). However, the problems persisted.

I downloaded the shareware version of Uninstall Pro '04, in an attempt to use a "forced uninstall" of Home Search Assistent, Search Extender and Shopping Wizard. It will delete all of these. But they will load back on in less than a minute... Nothing I do seems to keep these files from coming back!

I figrued out that I need a combination of AdBuster, AdAware and Hijak This to get rid of all the "symptom" components of the problem. But I have nothing to stop the real problem, or permanently eliminate the HSA programs. Soooo.....what do I do now? It isn't working. None of it! It just comes back, sometimes, worse than it was. How do you kill this damn trojan???? I've heard that a systems restore is useless with Windows ME, and I'm not totally sure when I got it the first time (I know that I got the "bad" stuff 3 days ago, but I had a not-so-bad version of it, that I ignored, several months ago). My only solution seems to be to completely reformat my drive. Is that the best I can do? Is there no way to beat this piece of crap???

If it helps, I'll let you know what problems my computer is having with this. In addition to my homepage and searches being changed, my "Notepad" program keeps shutting down every minute or two and Windows Media Player won't run, unless I use "Open With."

Could you post a Hijack This Log please? Click the link in my signature which explains how.