How do I remove the MIRC screens when I start up?

I get a series of screens every time I turn my computer on asking me to register.

When I try to "Add/remove" MIRC, I get a message that it I must "first exit mIRC before uninstalling".

Can anyone help?

open task manager (ctrl+alt+delete) > processes tab > end any processes called mirc.exe

could be a virus, but try that first

Thanks for the reply!

I checked. I don't have a process or application running called "mirc.exe" or anything close to that, but I surely appreciate the effort!

np, you could also try here

If you have Windows 98 or ME (meaning that it's not easy to check your processes), open drwatson.exe (it should open from anywhere, since its directory should be in the PATH system variable), then double-click on the icon that appears in your taskbar, and a dialog should open.

Go to View and click on Advanced View, and then click on the Tasks tab; check for any tasks that have mIRC as their description (and mIRC Co. Ltd. as their manufacturer). If you find any, check their Path (this is where the executable is stored).

Now you can delete the executables and/or disable them from running on Startup. You can do the latter by opening msconfig.exe and going to the StartUp tab. Once there, just uncheck the applications you want to disable.

Thanks a million Pheonix and Strider. I am running on Windows 2000 Professional and the process of fixing this seems pretty complicated, but I will try to follow the tips posted here and on the other thread you gave me.

It is really nice that you are willing to help figure out a stranger's problem and I hope that I can "pay it forward".

good movie

(In all that follows, I'm assuming that the original poster has never installed mIRC themselves.)

Some trojans and other assorted nastiness install a mIRC client or bot onto compromised machines as a hidden process. This hidden process would launch itself on startup, and automatically attempt to connect to the Internet, often to drop a "drone" onto a control channel on an IRC network somewhere.

A good, quick, and free way of seeing all the hidden processes is to use a program like EndItAll2 (available from all the usual freebie software places, afaik).

In any case, you should also run an up-to-date anti-virus and preferably a trojan scanner like PestPatrol - the mIRC instance sounds to me like a symptom of a wider problem.

PastMaster

the cleaner is fairly good too, although the website claims it has "every known trojan", that is BS, but it's still good.