Possible virus ...help please !

[BMGM3]

Ok , ever since I downloaded a video of the net,I'm gettting nothing but pop-up ads and web pages opening to yet more ads. Certain websites ( PH being one ) take ages to open and when clicking between pages, it often says 'page unavailabe ' or ' can't find server' . It took me 7 mins and several tries to open PH's pages for example.
Now since all this has happend ,I've tried to clear as much junk of my computer as poss and came across a file created all this kicked off. It's called ' defender23a ' and I can't delete it or do anything with it.It's just a guess, but I'm guessing this is something to do with it.
So has anyone any thoughts before I go mad ?

Thanks in advance

[FourWheelDrift]

The link is too long for here but, google "defender23a" there is only one result, go to that page (CLICK ON THE CACHED PAGE OPTION ON GOOGLE) and search down the page for defender23a (use the search function in your browser) and follow the instructions for removal

Edited by FourWheelDrift on Monday 12th June 19:20

[aranell]

Definitely update your virus definitions and run a virus scan. Then download and run a couple of spyware checkers - I personally tend to use Lavasoft Adaware and Spybot, Search & Destroy. It's highly unlikely that it's the only thing you have picked up and also unlikely you have totally cleaned your PC yourself. Also, ensure your windows patches are up to date.

Lastly, download yourself a proper browser
Opera ( www.opera.com ) and firefox ( www.mozilla.com/firefox/ ) are two of the most popular 'alternative' browsers

[bmgm3]

Ok, thanks for the replies.I've killed off the virus and even downloaded a new browser.The problem is, there is two web sites which are just so slow,and that's when you can get them, as half the time it won't find the page. One of them is Pistonheads which takes 60-90 secs to find each page and the other is www.s14power.com which does the same thing. Every other of the regular sites I visit is fine and with instant new page flips when required,so I don't think my NTL Broadband is the problem. Any ideas on this please ?

Thanks