Everytime I go to a search engine like Google and click on one of the links I searched for I always get redirected to other sites (usually the same 4 or 5 advertising sites) I have no idea what to do. I reinstalled Norton's and that didn't solve anything. I also did a full scan and there are no viruses. Do you think it's spyware or adware? Any suggestions? Thanks This only happens for IE. Firefox works fine.
Déja Vú? I thought I saw this thread before. What version of IE do you have? IE7 has a "no plugins" safe mode way of starting where you can reset your settings. If you do have IE7, look for this shortcut in the Accessories group.
Ha! I knew it: http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=124698&highlight=redirected Email that ClutchFan user and see what he did to fix it. I still think it's some object on your IE that was installed during a "free program" installation. Go to Tools (menu)... Internet Options (menu option)... [General Tab] "Settings..." button(under Temporary Internet Files)... View Objects... And see if there's an object running a sort of "home page redirecting". There shouldn't be anything you don't need in there. If you need something else, reinstall it after you delete everything. Yes, you might lose some settings. EDIT: these are for IE6 - after reading your next post.
OKay, folks, here's a little tidbit regarding this problem: Go to your c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc folder and in there you'll see a file named "hosts". You need to edit this file with notepad. In this file, you will see all kinds of entries. There should be only one entry, and it should say: 127.0.0.1 localhost Delete all other entries in your host file and reboot. If you want, I can explain what this host file does, but if you don't care, I won't waste your time.
Nice work, WangDoodle. I searched for something else which took me to another BBS, and I found this: http://forums.spywareinfo.com/index.php?showtopic=5962 Hope that helps. I meant to ask, when you put your mouse pointer over the link, does it look like the link that is below that individual result on the search engine?
Hmmm, the only thing I have in there is 127.0.0.1 localhost There is no way for me knowing if it's working right now or not. I deleted a bunch of stuff that the spyware picked up. I do have the laptop with me at the moment but am at my uncle's house and don't know the password to get on the wireless network. Once I get back home I'll see if it works or not.
Did you check the objects in the IE settings like I asked? I don't remember if you answered to any of my suggestions or WangDoodle's.
Sorry, yeah I've done everything you guys said to do. Everything in the internet settings were installed back in 2005, so I didn't touch them.
When in doubt reformat. Reinstalling windows would definitely fix the problem, but its akin to killing a fly with a sledgehammer. You can try using another browser,I use Mozilla Firefox for browsing, which I consider superior to ie, but that probably wont work either. You can also try clearing your cache and deleting your cookies, through the options menu in ie. I have no idea how effective norton is, but you should try scanning for spyware with either adaware or spybot. And make sure your homepage is not set to the ad sites.
It is a malware trojan that has infected your browser. Try goggling the redirected advertising site and there should be a free download removal program available. Also, you can load Firefox and browse all you want and be safe.
And you could update to IE 7 which could help since I think it unstalls IE 6 first then install IE 7.
if that's the only entry in your hosts file, then you definitely still have spyware, adware, or malware installed on your machine.
Spyware that has been removed before won't be there if you run the checker now and their infections or whatever they caused won't be changed. It's like finding a virus, removing it, but that doesn't correct the damage it caused. Creation date doesn't mean that it was installed THEN. Take a look at this list: Look at the date for Shockwave Flash Object. I know dang well I didn't install that in 2002 because this is a much newer PC. WangDoodle, I sent ya a message, ya email tease. EDIT: I saw it. Sorry, man.
