AndyN
11-07-2006, 05:33 PM
Just thought I'd let you know about this little pig of a pop-up problem :mad: . I spent ages surfing only to find that although it is often referred to, I could find no definitive answer to knock it on the head, and the cause was uncertain too :confused: . What happens is that when you enter a search string into Google in Internet Explorer a small pop-up window appears with prompts such as "Looking for X? Fast results for X. etc. Click here to enter". Nothing malicious, but very very annoying, because I was unable to detect it with Spybot or with F-Secure, and the MS monthly spyware sweep also failed. Others on line mention that Ad-Aware also misses it, as also other AV and spyware programmes. It is certainly NOT from Google. Well, on one thread I came across a suggestion from a certain Rick "Nutcase" Rogers, who suggested that a malevolent IE plug-in might be responsible. He wrote what follows - and in my case, at least - it worked a treat :D (comments in square brackets are mine):
<<Managing Plug-ins: Errors [in this case pop-ups] when opening Internet Explorer are often caused by malevolent or damaged plug-ins. These are small program files downloaded to support some features in web pages. To fix it, you must first log into the account experiencing the trouble [I guess he means log in to Windows? This is essentially irrelevant to most home users, as most will only have one log-in account]. Then in IE Control Panel [in IE 6 go to the menu toolbar at top, then to Tools] under Internet Options, click on the programs tab, then on the button to manage add-ons. Click on each non-Microsoft plug-in and then disable it on the lower left. Repeat for the entire list, then apply/ok your way back out and reboot the system. Log back into this account and see if you can now open IE without any error messages. If successful, you can slowly re-enable the plug-ins a few at a time to isolate which one is causing the problem. Leave the problematic one disabled, or delete it from the C:\Windows\downloaded program files folder.>>
As advised, I disabled all suspicious-looking plug-ins, rebooted, and then all was fine (no pop-up). I then re-enabled each disabled plug-in one at a time. I did not have to reboot as I added back each one - restarting IE each time was enough. In my case the offending plug-in was identified as follows in the Manage Add-Ons window: name = "Class"; publisher was left blank; Type = Browser Helper Object; file = pnqfp1.dll. I disabled this, and all was fine. I was, however, unable to identify this plug-in in the C:\Windows\downloaded program files folder. I was also unable to locate the file (pnqfp1.dll) on my system, even when using advanced searching options for hidden / system files. Nonetheless, the plug-in, and therefore the pop-up, is disabled. :)
Hope this helps some of you out there. Good luck!
<<Managing Plug-ins: Errors [in this case pop-ups] when opening Internet Explorer are often caused by malevolent or damaged plug-ins. These are small program files downloaded to support some features in web pages. To fix it, you must first log into the account experiencing the trouble [I guess he means log in to Windows? This is essentially irrelevant to most home users, as most will only have one log-in account]. Then in IE Control Panel [in IE 6 go to the menu toolbar at top, then to Tools] under Internet Options, click on the programs tab, then on the button to manage add-ons. Click on each non-Microsoft plug-in and then disable it on the lower left. Repeat for the entire list, then apply/ok your way back out and reboot the system. Log back into this account and see if you can now open IE without any error messages. If successful, you can slowly re-enable the plug-ins a few at a time to isolate which one is causing the problem. Leave the problematic one disabled, or delete it from the C:\Windows\downloaded program files folder.>>
As advised, I disabled all suspicious-looking plug-ins, rebooted, and then all was fine (no pop-up). I then re-enabled each disabled plug-in one at a time. I did not have to reboot as I added back each one - restarting IE each time was enough. In my case the offending plug-in was identified as follows in the Manage Add-Ons window: name = "Class"; publisher was left blank; Type = Browser Helper Object; file = pnqfp1.dll. I disabled this, and all was fine. I was, however, unable to identify this plug-in in the C:\Windows\downloaded program files folder. I was also unable to locate the file (pnqfp1.dll) on my system, even when using advanced searching options for hidden / system files. Nonetheless, the plug-in, and therefore the pop-up, is disabled. :)
Hope this helps some of you out there. Good luck!