Browser Hijack

Trixie

Trixie

Moderator
Staff member
My browser has been hijacked.

About a month ago, I was having all kinds of problems, so we reformatted the computer and installed XP. Unfortunately, Hubby had some stuff that once he ran it, I got browser hijacked again.

I run Adaware, and it finds this stuff, and gets rid of it, but it comes right back. Nothing is found by my virus detection.

Up til this morning, it was just a stupid search engine, so I lived with it. This morning, it's porn, and it's just a bit much to wake up to. ::wtf::

How can I get rid of this permanently? I can't seem to find the effected files, and even though Adaware gets rid of them, as soon as I open up IE again, it comes right back.
 
RE: Browser Hijack

Do you have an entry in your program files called 'Lycos' if so you have lycos sidesearch agent which IMO is adware/spyware of the most annoying sort. It doesnt deliver porn but every other page change or so it will pop up its own 'useful and personalized' unrelated search results.
http://www.spysweeper.com/lycos-sidesearch-uninstall.html
That got rid of my problem.
The porn pop-ups are usually a result of visiting sketchy sites, not neccesarily pornographic ones! Sites that offer software illegaly for d/l are notorious for bookmarking porn sites on your computer and infesting you with adware. My advice if you have a really bad problem is to uninstall internet exploder and switch to firefox.

Oh another thought i just had on the search problem - do you have google toolbar? Sometimes adware will hijack the google toolbar and use it to deliver ads. Uninstalling it would fix that and it's not that much harder to search from the google homepage.
 
RE: Browser Hijack

Trixie,
You might try Avast.com. They have a FREE, to home users, virus program that beats all of the other ones that I have tried. Then, I went to "Spysweeper" which seems to do a good job for me. On the other hand, nothing like starting your day with a bang.:D
 
RE: Browser Hijack

[div class="dcquote"][strong]Quote[/strong]
My browser has been hijacked. About a month ago, I was having all kinds of problems, so we reformatted the computer and installed XP. Unfortunately, Hubby had some stuff that once he ran it, I got browser hijacked again....

How can I get rid of this permanently? ...
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Get a divorce :D
 
RE: Browser Hijack

I manage about 75 computers at work, and there's no way to keep users from sometimes picking up something like this. If AdAware and a few others don't clean it, what I do is look for info such as the web address/name, etc., (what's in the address bar or the page itself), then do a google search on something like CLEAN BADPLACENAME UNINSTALL (badplacename would be the web hijack you're trying to get rid of). Invariably tons of recommended cleaning procedures for the specific site come up, since obviously computer geeks have already run into the issues and have them figured out. I've always found a solution with the google search, when all else failed.

John
[link:mark8.org/lodnca|NorCal Chapter Website]
http://mark8.org/users/johnaec/Mark_VIII_s.jpg
'97 Mark VIII LSC
'96 T-Bird 4.6L
 
RE: Browser Hijack

ALL (yes I mean ALL) are excellent ideas. That spysweeper is awesome. I think we got the porn, but after doing a search for this HKEY problem, it looks like the repair might be beyond me a bit. I'll try some more later, and see if I can get the Kid to help me with it.

Thanks everyone!
 
RE: Browser Hijack

You could always disable all ActiveX and Javascript in IE. Or just switch to Mozilla Firefox.
 
RE: Browser Hijack

I probably should switch to Mozilla. I'm just lazy and a creature of habit. Plus all my favorites are set on IE.

Well, I'm getting annoyed -- cause the damn porn thing keeps coming back. It's easy enough to delete the folder it creates, and that works for a while....

I need to spend more time on this to figure out what to do. But I do appreciate the help.
 
RE: Browser Hijack

Mozilla Firefox imports your bookmarks upon installation automatically, at least it has for me in the past.

Also, have you thought about installing SP2?
 
RE: Browser Hijack

OK, I don't know what SP2 is.

Yeah, I've used Spybot before, Alexander, but IMO it's not any better than Adaware. Plus the thing is, this stuff keeps coming back, and I'm not technically savvy enough (or patient enough) to totally search it out and get rid of it.

So, I just got Mozilla. There was a way to export my favorites from IE, so I did that. I didn't export my cookies, so I'm going to have to log in everywhere again, but this browser thing is totally annoying, so I guess it's worth it.

I do have to say, this Spy Sweeper really is great. At least before I'd open IE, I could reset everything, and it clears out tons of tracking cookies and stuff.
 
RE: Browser Hijack

[div class="dcquote"][strong]Quote[/strong]
OK, I don't know what SP2 is. Yeah, I've used Spybot before, Alexander, but IMO it's not any better than Adaware. Plus the thing is, this stuff keeps coming back, and I'm not technically savvy enough (or patient enough) to totally search it out and get rid of it.So, I just got Mozilla. There was a way to export my favorites from IE, so I did that. I didn't export my cookies, so I'm going to have to log in everywhere again, but this browser thing is totally annoying, so I guess it's worth it. I do have to say, this Spy Sweeper really is great. At least before I'd open IE, I could reset everything, and it clears out tons of tracking cookies and stuff.
[/div]

SP2 is short for Service Pack 2. It's a free update for Windows XP. Just go to http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/windowsxp/choose.aspx

I've been using it for almost a week now. IE catches all of the malicious ActiveX scripts and blocks them. It also has an awesome built-in Pop-up Blocker. You can read about all of the changes here: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sp2/preinstall.mspx
 
RE: Browser Hijack

Thanks, CV. I am downloading now, but I have taken a liking to Mozilla :)
 
RE: Browser Hijack

Be sure that you've got the latest updates for Ad-Aware or whatever other programs you're using. Most have a button or something that will download and then install the updates automatically. It's usually in plain sight.

If you're sure your programs are up to date, another thing to try is to start Windows in Safe Mode, then run your spyware removal programs. Some spyware programs are designed to start right along with Windows and then "grab" certain files that they need to run. Because the files are in use by the spyware, the spyware removal tools can't delete them. Starting Windows in safe mode makes Windows start up with the absolute minimum it needs to run. All background tasks (like spyware) are disabled.

Reboot your machine and then keep pressing F8 until you get a screen asking what you want to do next (it may take several seconds - just keep pressing F8). Select "Start Windows in Safe Mode" (I don't remember the exact phrase for XP) then press Enter. Let Windows start up. You'll get a prompt telling you that it's running in safe mode. Be aware that your screen resolution and colors will be set to the lowest settings. Don't worry, it'll go back to normal once you reboot again. Anyway, once in safe mode, run Ad-Aware, Spybot, or whatever else you have. Hopefully that'll get rid of them permanently.

Give me a call if you're still having problems.
 
RE: Browser Hijack

Thanks Mark, maybe I'll give that a shot this weekend.

But to be honest, using Mozilla seems like it's a whole lot easier. :)
 
RE: Browser Hijack

[div class="dcquote"][strong]Quote[/strong]
Thanks Mark, maybe I'll give that a shot this weekend.But to be honest, using Mozilla seems like it's a whole lot easier. :)
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I agree. But you still need to get rid of whatever crap is on there.
 
RE: Browser Hijack

Did the safe mode thing - Still have the any-find browser hijack going on. According to adaware, it seems to be in the registry. I did do the search that John suggested above, but I just really don't want to go messing with some of the stuff that was suggested for a fix.
 
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