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no need uninstall !
DO NOT uninstall firefox.
in browser url window
type in about:config
and hit enter
if you have not been here already- it will give a warning page . agree to it to proceed .
then in search window, type in the word SEARCH
it will then display all the related protocols to do with search parameters.
now, on EVERY LINE in the window, Right Click and select RESET.
- Could be 20 to 30 lines or more to do with search - you MUST RESET ALL lines.
once you have done that close the tab, and close Firefox.
Click on Start, RUN then in the window type the word DRIVERS and hit enter
this will take you to the "C:\Windows\System32\drivers" folder
click on the "etc" folder and look for HOSTS file this file should display as about 1kb in size - some infected files can be quite large.
Right click on the hosts file and select open with - and then select wordpad [ or notepad] .
it will display MS copyright info and some info on the host file ... a healthy host file looks like this:
# Copyright (c) 1993-2006 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.
#
# For example:
#
# 102.54.94.97 rhino.acme.com # source server
# 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host
127.0.0.1 localhost
::1 localhost
and should not contain anything more.
If any other entries
e.g. 105.76.83.90 advert.buyers.com
delete them. and save file
open firefox again. select TOOLS - options
go to the GENERAL tab and check the home page - for the moment type in
about:blank
and apply
this gives a blank window when the browser starts.
select the ADVANCED tab then Network - and check for proxy settings.
[ sometimes a proxy jump is inserted here !]
unless you know the proxy for your ISP - select NO Proxy
then clear out the internet cache, and the offline cache.
then go back to tools, and select add-ons. and remove any browser helpers and add on toolbars - especially babylon bar, ask bar and google bar, etc.
[ these are NOT needed anyway !!! just waste internet bandwidth and memory - and some like babylon toolbar are malware !]
once you have done all that. close the browser.
go to Control Panel - internet options.
and clear all the caching there - and also check the Internet Explorer home page as well.
re-start the computer.
load the browser and do a search - firefox has the handy search window at the top right - and see if it still re-directs.
once it looks clear - if you want , you can now re-establish your original browser home page.
PS
go to control panel - add remove programs
and make sure to uninstall the helper bars from there as well ... ... ...
PPS
in case you can not see the hosts file:
go to Start - RUN - then in that window type CONTROL FOLDERS ,and hit enter.
this opens Folder Options.
go to View.
make sure to select "Show HIDDEN files"
Un-tick the next couple of HIDE options, especially the system files - this will display a warning - say ok to this . and hit apply ... ... ...
then try looking at the HOSTS file - as this MAY be where the redirects are hidden - so it is pointless trying to re-install the browser if this has been altered.
ALSO. For Google Chrome, and MSIE browsers - a similar path is needed to rid the RE-directs - IF your computer has the problem - go to another one to do a search for "Internet Explorer Google re-direct ", or "Google browser hi-jack" ETC,
PPPS
for a more thorough process go to :
http://atechjourney.com/google-redirect-virus-remove-manually.html/
[ I see some one else has also referenced this link ;^) ]
in browser url window
type in about:config
and hit enter
if you have not been here already- it will give a warning page . agree to it to proceed .
then in search window, type in the word SEARCH
it will then display all the related protocols to do with search parameters.
now, on EVERY LINE in the window, Right Click and select RESET.
- Could be 20 to 30 lines or more to do with search - you MUST RESET ALL lines.
once you have done that close the tab, and close Firefox.
Click on Start, RUN then in the window type the word DRIVERS and hit enter
this will take you to the "C:\Windows\System32\drivers" folder
click on the "etc" folder and look for HOSTS file this file should display as about 1kb in size - some infected files can be quite large.
Right click on the hosts file and select open with - and then select wordpad [ or notepad] .
it will display MS copyright info and some info on the host file ... a healthy host file looks like this:
# Copyright (c) 1993-2006 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.
#
# For example:
#
# 102.54.94.97 rhino.acme.com # source server
# 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host
127.0.0.1 localhost
::1 localhost
and should not contain anything more.
If any other entries
e.g. 105.76.83.90 advert.buyers.com
delete them. and save file
open firefox again. select TOOLS - options
go to the GENERAL tab and check the home page - for the moment type in
about:blank
and apply
this gives a blank window when the browser starts.
select the ADVANCED tab then Network - and check for proxy settings.
[ sometimes a proxy jump is inserted here !]
unless you know the proxy for your ISP - select NO Proxy
then clear out the internet cache, and the offline cache.
then go back to tools, and select add-ons. and remove any browser helpers and add on toolbars - especially babylon bar, ask bar and google bar, etc.
[ these are NOT needed anyway !!! just waste internet bandwidth and memory - and some like babylon toolbar are malware !]
once you have done all that. close the browser.
go to Control Panel - internet options.
and clear all the caching there - and also check the Internet Explorer home page as well.
re-start the computer.
load the browser and do a search - firefox has the handy search window at the top right - and see if it still re-directs.
once it looks clear - if you want , you can now re-establish your original browser home page.
PS
go to control panel - add remove programs
and make sure to uninstall the helper bars from there as well ... ... ...
PPS
in case you can not see the hosts file:
go to Start - RUN - then in that window type CONTROL FOLDERS ,and hit enter.
this opens Folder Options.
go to View.
make sure to select "Show HIDDEN files"
Un-tick the next couple of HIDE options, especially the system files - this will display a warning - say ok to this . and hit apply ... ... ...
then try looking at the HOSTS file - as this MAY be where the redirects are hidden - so it is pointless trying to re-install the browser if this has been altered.
ALSO. For Google Chrome, and MSIE browsers - a similar path is needed to rid the RE-directs - IF your computer has the problem - go to another one to do a search for "Internet Explorer Google re-direct ", or "Google browser hi-jack" ETC,
PPPS
for a more thorough process go to :
http://atechjourney.com/google-redirect-virus-remove-manually.html/
[ I see some one else has also referenced this link ;^) ]
Posted by trog7
Updated - 8th Jan
