Keep hearing advertisements on my computer when there is nothing on the screen?

Hi JohnO28

Thank you for Posting on Microsoft Answers.

You may have Malware or Spyware on your system that is playing adds in the background.

Did this recently just start happening? 

If so, following the steps in the link below to Restore your computer to a previous restore point - hopefully to a point before this started happening.

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/9f6d755a-74bb-4a7d-a625-d762dd8e79e51033.mspx

You may also need to scan your computer for Viruses and/or Malware

Windows Vista comes with a great tool called Windows Defender that helps protect your computer against pop-ups, slow performance, and security threats caused by spyware and other unwanted software by detecting and removing known spyware from your computer. You can do a scan now to see if there is any spyware on your computer by doing the following:

·         Click Start

·         In ‘Start Search’ type Windows Defender

·         Simply Press Enter, or click Windows Defender

·         Once the Windows Defender window opens, click the drop down arrow next to scan.

·         From there you can choose “Quick Scan, Full Scan, or Custom Scan…”

·         Once Windows Defender completes the scan, it will report to you any malicious software a.k.a. malware that if found and report to you the actions that it took to deal with it/them.

You can also setup for Windows Defender to do scans on a scheduled basis. To do this, follow the steps below:

·         Get to the Windows Defender windows like in the previous steps.

·         Click Tools located at the top

·         You will see two main categories “Settings” and “Tools” with subcategories beneath them.

·         Click on “Options” located under “Settings”.

·         Once in the window for Options choose your desired settings for your scheduled scans with Windows Defender.

I’ve attached a link below that has some other options provided by Microsoft for keeping your computer safe from malware:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/defender/software.mspx

Ken

Microsoft Answers Support Engineer

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