Spybot Starts Twice at Windows Start-Up, and I Can't Stop It

[sveris]

Spybot-S&D has two kind of automation settings – on system start and on program start. Here you can set whether to start the program when you start up your Windows, or to check for updates automatically, or to delay the scan on system start for a specified delay or until other programs (scanners) have terminated.

The trouble is, I can no longer change these settings. Every time I shut down my notebook and restart, Spybot starts. When I close it, it shuts down, but then restarts.

Is there any way to regain control of these settings? TIA.

sveris

[md usa spybot fan]

sveris:

When you go into Spybot > Mode > Advanced Mode > Settings > Settings the option tree under Automation by default normally looks similar to this:

Automation
├─ Program start
│ ├─ □ Run check on program start.
│ ├─ □ Fix all problems on program start.
│ ├─ □ Rerun checks after fixing problems.
│ ├─ □ Immunize on program start if program has been updated.
│ ├─ □ Don't ask for fixing confirmation.
│ ├─ □ Wait a few minutes until starting the check.
│ ├─ □ Wait until specified programs have quit.
│ └─ □ Wait a few seconds if something else than spies were found.
├─ System start
│ ├─ ● No automation
│ ├─ ○ Automatically run program at system startup.
│ ├─ ○ Run program once at next system startup.
│ ├─ □ Run check on program start.
│ ├─ □ Fix all problems on program start.
│ ├─ □ Wait a few minutes until starting the check.
│ ├─ □ Wait until specified programs have quit.
│ ├─ □ Wait a few seconds if something else than spies were found.
│ └─ □ Close if everything's O.K.
└─ Web update

What options do you currently have checked and what happens when you attempt to change them?

[sveris]

Here are the Spybot settings that are currently selected:

─ System start
│ ├─ ● No automation
│ ├─ ● Automatically run program at system startup.
│ ├─ ● Run program once at next system startup.

All three have dots. However, I cannot click on any dot to deselect it. Nothing happens when I try to do this. Should I remove Spybot and reinstall it? I hesitate to do that, because every time I reboot my computer, a small Spybot window pops ups that says a registry change has been denied based on user blacklist. So, I don't want to get slammed by some insidious piece of malware.

Sorry for by tardy response. Had to have the motherboard replaced by Dell.

[md usa spybot fan]

As long as you deny the registry changes for SpybotSD.exe you will not be able to correct your automation problem. You must go into TeaTimer's "White & Black List" and remove the entries for SpybotSD.exe from the "Blocked registry changes", correct the automation settings and do an "Allow change" when the registry changes for SpybotSD.exe are detected.

There was a similar problem here:

• Can't stop from running on system start or program start.
  http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=8563

[sveris]

Thanks for your assistance. Any idea how these settings got changed? I don't recall doing it. I have never run Spybot S & D at start-up.

[sveris]

My thank you was timely, but I still haven't fixed the problem. I will continue to try, today, and post again ASAP. When you say black & white list, do you mean the report that Teatimer generated showing allowed and disallowed registry changes?

[sveris]

I think I understand the problem, but I simply don't know how to fix it. I read the other thread, and still cannot get the changes to remain permanent. Where is this white & black list and how do I modify it? The Spybot Help file makes no mention of it.

I tried accessing the Resident protection and unchecking use whitelist and temporarily disabling resident protection. Then, I removed the two Spybot entries from system startup and closed Spybot. Then, I opened Spybot again and enabled resident protection. As soon as I did that, I was back to square one. I never got the chance to deny any registry changes.

Sorry to be so thick, but I guess I don't know what I'm doing. I have successfully modified registry items and also deleted them in the past. Maybe I've just been lucky.

[md usa spybot fan]

If you checked "Remember this decision" on a change the information concerning that change it is stored in a file. TeaTimer uses that information to automatically "Allow" or "Deny" changes. To edit this information:

• Right click on the TeaTimer system tray icon and select Settings. This will bring up TeaTimer's "White & Black List". There are four (4) Buttons across the top of the "White & Black List":
  • Allowed processes
  • Blocked processes
  • Allowed registry changes
  • Blocked registry changes
    
    Note: If you don't see all four buttons, try expanding the window to the right.
  
  
  You can review all the entries that you have stored by clicking on these buttons. The entries that you should review are in "Blocked registry changes". You can delete entries by clicking on the scripted black "X" to the right of the entry that you want to delete and then clicking the "OK" button when you're done. This will in effect make TeaTimer forget what you told it to remember so that during future changes to these items TeaTimer will issue a pop-up dialog rather then just a notification pop-up.

After you deleted the entries in the "Blocked registry changes" start Spybot and correct the automation so that only "No Automation" is checked. Allow all registry changes while doing this.

After the automation has been corrected, refresh TeaTimer's snapshot files to make sure that they are in sync with the registry. To do that:

• Right click Spybot's TeaTimer System Tray Icon > click Exit Spybot-S&D Resident.
  • TeaTimer closes.
  • TeaTimer's snapshot files are refreshed at this time.
• Restart TeaTimer:
  • Using Windows Explorer, navigate to C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy.
  • Double click TeaTimer.exe to start it.

[sveris]

Well, I managed to stumble across the Settings in the System Tray Spybot Resident icon that you mention in your reply post - even before I read it. So, that's where the White & Black list you mentioned is hidden! I did part of what you suggested and it removed the Run Once entry dot in Settings - but not the Run Spybot on Startup entry dot.

Don't ask me why, but I went to the top menu bar in Settings and clicked on the Default button - and, that got rid of the Run Spybot on Startup entry. Intuitive, maybe, to some users, but it wasn't for me. Just blind luck.

Then, I went back and modified the other Default settings that had changed, adding and deleting to match my previous preferences.

This time, Spybot S & D did not automatically launch on System Startup. Thanks again for your help.