Catalog of Non-Standard US Postmarks

Dont know how i missed this the first time, but thanks for sharing this krash.

Great reference material!!!!

Ditto! Great resource!

Please feel free to share more online resources as you come across them!

(Perhaps there should be a special thread for online or downloadable philatelic reference books, if there's not one already.  --- And if there is, please point me to it!)

-- Dave

I was interested in this subject and so went to the site
you suggested:
content.yudu.com/Library/A1eeyk/ACatalogueofNonstand/resources/3.htm
I tried it twice and both times came up with
Wild Tangent Games!
I can`t figure that one out!

khj, I knew I had Wild Tangent somewhere on my computer,
and it must have come bundled with my programs, because
I have cleaned out my computer TWICE in the last year or
so and it always seems to be around. I think they call
that kind of program "sticky" and it sure is; I`ve had
at least one before. But this is the first time (I think)
that it has interrupted my connection to another site!
Surely THAT is a bit strange! Thanks for your offer of
help, though - unfortunately, I don`t have the time to
spend if it will take more than, say, half an hour, to
get rid of it, unless you think this could be a worsening
problem that will gradually take over my whole computer,
like the last one did!

@krash, it is not your link. Your link and the site host are fine.

The code of Wild Tangent is causing the problems. It slowly messes up your browser and operating system over time, eventually causing redirections as well as slowing down your computer. Clearing your browser cache/cookies will provide limited relief, but in the long run, all the data mining it does will slow your system to a crawl and may cause irrecoverable damage to your system files. Many people have Wild Tangent but don't realize it. It doesn't really activate until you play certain online games, but once the code starts monitoring...

kannik, it should not take more than 30 minutes, unless it has been deeply rooted. If it is starting to redirect you (now you know where all the information it is mining is going), you are probably in a border-line situation in terms of ease of removal. I strongly recommend that you spend the time (however long it takes) to remove it, because if it is already causing problems for you, then eventually...

You can google the removal methods, including using malware removal tools if necessary. And remember, the uninstall option doesn't really fully uninstall it (it might still be doing data-mining). So spend the time doing the "above-and-beyond" steps mentioned in the total removal methods.

Thank you very much for that information, khj.
I do have an "hp" (Hewlett-Packard) computer
and I read that Wild Tangent does come bundled
with it - it`s only two years old. When I get
this fixed, I WILL have words with H-P, you
can be sure of that. I seem to be a regular
victim of this kind of thing. Who could ever
guess that games could be so poisonous?

HP is not the only culprit. I've had to remove it off older Dell computers also.

Also, some software installers will also put it on your computer without warning -- in particular, be careful when installing anything from AOL.

Hope you are successful in getting it easily removed, kannik.

Well, I downloaded something from VS Revo Group
as recommended by HP and followed their Wizard
instructions, even to the point of asking for the
FOURTH level of cleanout (they had placed a dot
in the THIRD level.) They told me it had worked,
so now we will see...
Here`s what I wrote in my "Thank you!!

Someone on my Stamp Bears forum gave me an innocuous-
looking link and I clicked on it and up came something
from Wild Tangent. Luckily we have several very
technically oriented people on that Forum and they
directed me to find a malware program, so I asked
about that on Google, was immediately directed to
David P-K (HP) in the U.K., who directed me to you.
Following that, it was easy to follow directions.
Now, I just hope it has worked!

Thank you, everybody, for your concern and help!

Thanks, khj! I will be making a copy of your
above note to wrap around my re-installation CDs!
Done!