What is privacy protection? Fake virus program?

hmmm...well I managed to scan and delete the spyware with malwarebytes and have also recently scanned my comp with Ccleaner. No more of privacy protection it seems....

BUT: I have this problem now (which I guess is something to do with the registry being corrupted) when every time I try to download/install something, instead of words being displayed it's either blank boxes or weird symbols. Very infuriating trying to navigate your way through the install/download setup, probably marking the wrong boxes. I-tunes doesn't work as well, and I've been trying to install hitman blood money but xbmc won't install either. Surely it's related to privacy protection?

And the divx webplayer is not recognised (always being prompted to install it whenever I try to watch stuff on a divx supported vid player) - even though its installed (I've downloaded it dozens of times) and enabled in my addons for firefox. This is also extremely annoying!

Any advice and help would be much appreciated...

If you are referring to Privacy Protection, did you follow all the steps here: Remove Privacy Protection?

yeah did all of that...

To determine whether the issue that you are experiencing is caused by one or more system files that are used by Windows, run the System File Checker tool. The System File Checker tool scans system files and replaces incorrect versions of the system files by using the correct versions.

To run the System File Checker tool, follow these steps:

• Click Start, and then type cmd in the Start Search box.
• Right-click cmd in the Programs list, and then click Run as administrator.
• If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type your password or click Continue
• At the command prompt, type the following line, and then press ENTER:
  sfc /scannow (note the space before the forward slash)
• When the scan is complete, test to see whether the issue that you are experiencing is resolved.

Note: If errors are found, run the tool again.

thanks for the assistance, but it hasn't solved it.

shall I just reinstall windows? I don't have an installation disc though. I know there's ways around that, but not too confident about the whole procedure.

lemme know what you think.

Let's see what an online scan shows. Please go here to run an on-line scan from ESET.

• Note: It is easiest if you use Internet explorer for this scan. (If you use an alternate browser, it will be necessary to download the ESET Smart Installer)
• Turn off the real time scanner of any existing antivirus program while performing the online scan
• Tick the box next to YES, I accept the Terms of Use.
• Click Start
• When asked, allow the ActiveX control to install
• Click Start
• Make sure that the option Remove found threats is unticked and the Scan Archives option is ticked.
• Click on Advanced Settings, ensure the options Scan for potentially unwanted applications, Scan for potentially unsafe applications, and Enable Anti-Stealth Technology are ticked.
• Click Scan
• Wait for the scan to finish
• Use notepad to open the logfile located at C:\Program Files\Eset\Eset Online Scanner\log.txt
• Copy and paste that log as a reply to this topic.