Please help me - spyware cookies keep coming back...

[anorak]

I left my laptop in the repair shop and they installed AVG on it for me. I ran a full scan and it picked up all the spyware cookies I'd taken it in for originally. But as soon as I open a page on mumsnet or any other site, there are five of them that come straight back. I run the scan again, it identifies these 5 cookie and heals them and then I go back on mumsnet and they come straight back.

Please, how can I get rid of them properly? Will I have to take the laptop back to the repair shop?

Okay, take a step back - cookies are not necessarily spyware. On any site that you log on, you will generally have a cookie placed. Most are completely benign.

Going on mumsnet will get you one, possibly a few actually because of the adverts. Perhaps a better solution for you, if they do worry you, is to download Adaware from Lavasoft.de (get the free version) then you can simply delete them when you are done and not worry about it.

These cookies are flashing up in the bar at the bottom of the page every time I move from page to page and they are ad cookies such as doubleclick. They are collecting information I think. No problem on mn but not so good on sites like facebook or on email.

They do not appear when I use the desktop computer, only on my laptop.

Right I am downloading adaware now, can only get the original version in my country but hope that will be enough, thanks choccy.

I have run adaware and it picked up the cookies, but once again as soon as I go back on mumsnet they are back. Is there anything else I can do, or will I take it back into the shop?

I guess I will take it back to the shop then if no one else has any suggestions.

Are you using internet explorer?

Go to tools....internet options...privacy...the top scroller is about cookies. You can change your threshold. Is there a difference between the laptop/desktop?

Sorry DD being a nightmare all day - if you turn off all cookies you won't be able to use most sites. So what I was saying was use Adaware to remove cookies AFTER you have finished surfing. They WILL come back and that's not necessarily anything to worry about

Why are you worried about these cookies? If you disable cookies, as already mentioned, it will make it a lot harder to surf the net.
If cookies really bother you... then you could just remove them at the end of each session - there may be a setting in your browser to do that automatically when you close down the browser.
Mumsnet will use a cookie to store your username and password - to save you entering it each time. Ad networks like Doubleclick will use cookies to help store basic info to aid them in knowing which ads have been displayed on your system. A cookie set by one website, can't be read by another website.

Use Privoxy.

anorak, cookies are really not spyware, even though all of the spyware programmes class them as such. if you haven't mucked about with your IE settings (or fiefox, for that matter) then it will reject the bad cookies anyway. just ignore them! disabling cookies does make the internet a pain in the arse like nannynick says.

Thanks all, I did have a problem with spyware but it is sorted now and I have had protection put on the computer, so all ok now.