vejlin Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 Recently my computer started acting weird. I use Firefox for most browsing but Explorer for thos stupid sites that won't cooperate. Yesterday when I tried using explorer it took me to a porn site instead of my regular start page. I closed the window and ran Mcafees virusscan, which found a "potentially unwanted program" called Adware-NSearch. I deleted it and spend some time getting Exploder back to the settings I want it to have (apparently more stuff had been changed). Problem is that after I restart the machine, my startpage has been altered again. Anyone have experience with this type of thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enchantra Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 Congrats you ahve one of the versions of "Hijack this." I don't know how to remove it but there are people on these boards who do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintRigger Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 HijackThis! Is actually a tool that lists browser addons, buttons and other various programs and is used as an anti-spyware/anti-Malware program, and isn't something you "catch" I'd suggest downloading Spybot Seek and Destroy and AdAware, and running them both. It sounds like you hit something that left a modified registry entry behind to change your start page in IE. (A good way to avoid these is to avoid IE).... But either way, these program should help find the modified keys and set them back to their default. Lavasoft's Adaware: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/ Spyboy Search and Destroy: http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html Info on HijackThis!: http://www.tomcoyote.org/hjt/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durak Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 Even with Hijack This you still might have to delve into your registry and physically remove whatever you are infected with. This is why I dropped IE altogether. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushido Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 It's a good idea not to even visit a page if Mozilla can't/won't handle it. That's just asking for trouble... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vejlin Posted November 24, 2004 Author Share Posted November 24, 2004 I had a whole load of stuff on the system. I thought Mcafee was protecting me against this with their "check for potentially unwanted programs" option. Guess not. Problem is still there. Arghh ... the frustration. IE will startup to a porn site and has a searchbutton labeled XXX search on the tool bar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vejlin Posted November 24, 2004 Author Share Posted November 24, 2004 We'd drop IE altogether but my wifes homebanking won't work with anything else. stupid Danske Bank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flit Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 I feel your pain. I had this problem awhile back myself. I finally got rid of it by using the get-it-at-Best-Buy version of Spy Sweeper and switching to Mozzilla. Any page that requires me to use IE is a page I don't need to see. Good luck getting rid of your hijacker! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadaver Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 Ah, this is why it's good to partition your drive. I put windows in /C: Programs in /D: Data in /E: That way if I have a virus I can merely format /C: and reinstall, then reinstall your Programs. Put all your music and Documents in /E: and you shouldn't loose anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vejlin Posted November 24, 2004 Author Share Posted November 24, 2004 Ah, this is why it's good to partition your drive.I put windows in /C: Programs in /D: Data in /E: That way if I have a virus I can merely format /C: and reinstall, then reinstall your Programs. Put all your music and Documents in /E: and you shouldn't loose anything. That's a good idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintRigger Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 Ah, this is why it's good to partition your drive.I put windows in /C: Programs in /D: Data in /E: That way if I have a virus I can merely format /C: and reinstall, then reinstall your Programs. Put all your music and Documents in /E: and you shouldn't loose anything. Sure... unless a program with hidden malware you install on D: makes a registry change to C: which refers to a DLL it hid on E....and it makes sure all aspects of itself are running... You re-install and re-install and wonder why it doesn't go away ;) However, keeping a small partition for OS (or better yet a seperate small drive for just the OS, say a 20G) and then Data and programs someplace else is a good practice to prevent against corruption, and to make sure the OS runs more efficiently and quickly. Best thing is to set up your machine exactly the way you want it from scratch, get everything you want the way you like it - and then create an image of it as backup. Then if you hose your system, or just want to start again, you can flatten and re-image the drive, update and you are good to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heisler Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 I highly recommend the site www.majorgeeks.com plenty of freeware virus killers including two or three that will take care of the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durak Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 If it is the same malware I happened upon a few months back, the only way to get rid of it is to get into the registry manualy. I highly doubt this is a common virus. Find out what type it is and do a google search. Chances are someone on the web can tell you better than I how to remove it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vejlin Posted November 25, 2004 Author Share Posted November 25, 2004 Ad Aware removed someting called pribi.bho, which I think is causing the problems. Problem still exist though even after removal. Driving me insanse. Maybe I should drop windows altogether, all of this automatic stuff hapening behind my back is driving me insane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackwolf Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 Went through this myself a while back, I ended up having to go into the registry and manually removing the offending item. That was in windows 98, in xp I think a system restore would probably do the trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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