Explorer won't leave me alone!

Exfoliate

Exfoliate

Geek Trainee
This is probably a really obvious question but how come explorer randomly keeps popping open to load some stupid promotion/popup etc.? This has happened as long as I can remember but I never use IE, only FireFox (which almost never gets this crap). Anyone know, thanks.
 
It's probably configured as the default application for some file type or other. Open up Windows Explorer and go into (if I remember correctly) Edit -> Folder Options and choose the last tab which sets the file associations. One of those files will have Explorer as it's default application, have fun finding out which one!
 
Thanks but I looked all over and couldn't find any folder options/file associations. FireFox is my default browser but you might be on to something there.
 
So I'm assuming that you're talking about something like "Buy this new bra, Exfoliate! It'll really make you feel like a woman when you're playing dressup!" Have you tried scanning for spyware, trojans, and the like? It seems to me that if you're having that kind of trouble, that is probably the case. Hope this helps!
 
Thanks but I've had this problem since I started using the internet (almost constantly before I used FF) and I scan for spyware regularly and the bad products it picks up don't correlate to the sites that open up. Heh, funny though Fred but it's more along the lines of free X-box, Sex search stuff, random spammy junk.
 
Exfoliate said:
Thanks but I looked all over and couldn't find any folder options/file associations. FireFox is my default browser but you might be on to something there.
Click to expand...

I meant Windows Explorer, not Internet Explorer. The option you need is View -> Folder Options and click on the File Types tab. I don't know that this is the problem but you may find that there is some obscure file type that IE still claims to own.
 
I assume you clicked on the File Types tab? If that didn't work then you could consider renaming the iexplorer.exe file but that's rather extreme and, knowing Windows, will probably create a lot of other problems somewhere else so only use that of you're desperate.
 
Yeah I did and it was a much of extensions and compatable file types I could delete but that's about it. I might look for a way to block/hide explorer somewhere else. Thanks again.
 
this is the same problem in my pc..whenever i start my pc about 2mins from the startup theres this IE that starts to pop up..but im also offline at this moment..and this keeps repeating itself every 4 - 5 mins...i opened the windows task manager and tried to 'end process' "iexplore.exe" .the process ends but after about a few minutes later the same stuff happens again...i checked my pc for spyware...i also used to 'stop all internet activity' using zone alarm pro but still this pop ups keep on coming..its really frustrating when your in the middle of a game...help pliz
 
I would suggest trying to uninstall it if you're really desperate, I'm just not sure how Windows will take to having IE removed. Try it anyway and see what happens.
 
i uninstalled IE from the add/remove programs but the problem doesnt stop..i also use firefox all the time but this pop up keeps giving me a headache...anyother options available???
 
i was thinking...will it help if i deleted the IE from the 'regedit'...or will this stuff create far more problems in my pc..im only using firefox anyway...
 
I just want to clarify something here, you say you've uninstalled IE from your computer but it still keeps popping up? Even by Windows usual standards that's quite an achievement.

As for regedit, I've modified it successfully few times successfully but that was only ever very small changes. It's a very complicated program and can cause a lot of problems/wierdness if it is messed up. Using it to remove IE sounds like a bad idea on general principles. The other problem is that I'm not entirely sure the the Internet Explorer and the Windows Explorer are two separate programs. The Windows Explorer also has a long list of obscure and little-known command-line options showing that it's more than a simple file browser so I wouldn't go uninstalling that.

One idea you might try, just to see if it works, is, when the pop-up appears again, don't bother closing it or minimizing it. Instead re-size it to be as small as you can get it, push it out of the way somewhere on the edge of the screen and carry on. That way, hopefully, when another ad appears, or whatever it is, it will appear in the same window which will not be a problem anymore. Inelegant, I know, but worth trying as a temporary fix.
 
ive uninstalled IE from the add/remove programs and the removing it from the add/remove windows components...it shows that files are being deleted..it was really weird...i also tried to minimize the IE window and ddnt close it..however it keeps popping up...this is a real problem when im playing a game...the game doesnt crash but the i get back to the desktop with the new IE window...
 
Ok, the next time the pop-up appears don't close it but open up the task manager to see what program is actually running (ctrl-alt-del opens it up). I'm curious to know what program is actually running there. Perhaps it's possible to rename/delete the actual .exe that comes up. If you see explorer.exe though then that's bad news.
 
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