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  • #2273237

    Home page problem

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    by tmiller2008 ·

    My home page changes to the same thing every time I launch a new internet explorer. It goes to an “about:blank” page. I thought it was from spyware and I downloaded spybot and cleaned out my system. It is still there. It does not matter if I set a new home page it will still revert to this about:blank page. It is set up to look like a search engine but there looks to be no data there. Any ideas?

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    • #2725645

      Reply To: Home page problem

      by pctech ·

      In reply to Home page problem

      Hi,
      This is what is commonly called a browser hijack. I would still suspect spyware with the information provided about the search engine appearance.
      In addition to Spybot, I would also run Ad Aware
      http://www.lavasoft.de
      Make sure that you update the definition files for spybot and ad-aware before running them.

      You can also run CWShredder
      http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads31.html
      This will look for and remove Cool Web Search.

      HiJackThis is an excellent tool but, not for the novice since it gives you registry information that you can delete. Most, if not all, of what it will reveal to you belongs there. You need a working knowledge of what it is you wish to remove. Since we seem to be dealing with a searchbar type of hijack, I would remove any entries that reference “toolbar” or “searchbar”. HiJack will give the opportunity to backup the displayed registry in case a mistake is made but, any wanted toolbars and searchbars are easily enough reinstalled.

      I hope this helps you.

    • #2720478

      Reply To: Home page problem

      by justmakingit ·

      In reply to Home page problem

      Did you try resetting the homepage back since removing the spyware. Open IE, click tools, internet option,, under homepage, type the address of the page you want, click apply then ok. Once you have changed it, test it by opening it, if your homepage comes up you r good to go, if it doesn’t (something else comes up), you still have a hijacked browser… if this is the case try ad-aware, this should get rid of everything for you.

    • #2714936

      Reply To: Home page problem

      by wlbowers ·

      In reply to Home page problem

      Turn off system restore if it is used in your os.

      Download, update, and run the following.

      Your Antivirus Software

      Spybot:
      http://tinyurl.com/ziar

      Ad-Aware:
      http://tinyurl.com/tek5

      Stinger
      http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/
      This item will not update through the program. You have to download the new version.

      CWshredder:
      http://tinyurl.com/2bzef
      Or
      http://tinyurl.com/2k642
      Look for the file in English CWShredder.exe

      StartUpList:
      http://www.mac-net.com/576482.page

      StartUpList is information only. Startup, Registery, and others. You can?t fixanythingfrom within the program.

      Hijack This:
      http://mjc1.com/mirror/hjt/

      Hijack This
      This program is useful in that it shows what is currently loading on startup. You must know what is good and what is bad. Once you check it and fix it is gone. So be sure. Items you are not sure of do a Google search for them.

      Run Your Antivirus again

      Download and install all OS updates.

      I have had to boot into safe mode and run these.

      Good Luck Lee

    • #3296798

      Reply To: Home page problem

      by black_eyed_pea ·

      In reply to Home page problem

      Spyware Removal Checklist

      1. Boot into Safe Mode with Networking (some spyware can only be removed in Safe Mode).
      2. Open Add/Remove programs and remove any application that both you do not recognize.
      3. Install Spybot Search & Destroy, update it, and run it on the infected system.
      4. Install Ad-Aware, update it, and run it on the infected system.
      5. Launch HijackThis and click the Scan button. Make sure you run this after other malware removal apps. (WARNING: Reference the HijackThis tutorial at http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/htlogtutorial.html before removing anything.)
      6. Reboot and run both Ad-Aware and Spybot again until the system is clean.
      7. Launch Internet Explorer and browse the Web to verify Winsock was not broken while removing
      spyware. If you cannot browse the Web, run the WinSockFix utility and perform another Web test.

      Ad-Aware – http://www.lavasoftusa.com
      CWShredder – http://cwshredder.net/bin/CWSInstall.exe
      Spybot Search & Destroy – http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/
      WinSockFix – http://www.spychecker.com/program/winsockxpfix.html

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