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  • #2288225

    MS Explorer hijacked

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    by borg7of9 ·

    I have an XP system, completely updated to SP2, with AV and now running zonealarm. The browser seems to be hijacked, and keeps going to a seach page, but not all the time, say one time out of 5 or 10 times. Also there is a tool bar and many pops up that I can not get rid off, that are really slowing down the system

    I enabled POP up blocker in XP

    However, the following sites are listed as expections

    Lop.com
    mysearch.com
    http://www.iop.com
    http://www.mysearch.com

    of course I remove them, but they keep re-appearing. I also removed the tool bar from Add/remove programs, and this also keeps re-appearing.

    I have run the most recent SPYBOT and it removed many threats, but still these keep showing up. I would like to recover the system, without having to do a complete re-install. Any suggestions?

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    • #3316415

      Reply To: MS Explorer hijacked

      by willcomp ·

      In reply to MS Explorer hijacked

      Have seen this critter before and am trying to remember fix. In the interim, here are some recommendations:

      Install, update, and run Ad-Aware SE. Ad-Aware has been greatly improved.

      Run Spybot in Advanced Mode and check BHOs under Tools. Then open BHOs and remove any that are suspicious. Won’t keep them from being recreated.

      Run Spybot and Ad-Aware with System Restore disabled.

      If Spybot and Ad-Aware keep finding same files, check names and location and try to delete manually in safe mode.

      Dalton

    • #3316399

      Reply To: MS Explorer hijacked

      by thechas ·

      In reply to MS Explorer hijacked

      The mal-ware writers are getting craftier.

      Many of them specifically block Ad-Aware and SpyBot from removing them.

      Another tool is hijack this:

      Slot Online

      and:

      http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html

      Fighting mal-ware is getting to be as bad as fighting viruses.

      Once you clear out the mal-ware, check the ZoneAlarm settings and make sure that they are not listed as allowed programs.

      Chas

    • #3316393

      Reply To: MS Explorer hijacked

      by borg7of9 ·

      In reply to MS Explorer hijacked

      Thanks guys, my zone alarm does not have any mal ware programs ticked off, and the problem is that spybot does not seem to be able to clean this stuff up. So now, it does not report it, much less clean it.

      As suggested I will try advanced options, and I did not think to disable system restore, which I should have done.

      If anyone has any specific help on the problem, much appreciated.

    • #3316390

      Reply To: MS Explorer hijacked

      by zlitocook ·

      In reply to MS Explorer hijacked

      Try going to http://www.webroot.com They have a great spy remover program. They also let you do a free spyware search and distroy on your computer. It is the same company that makes window washer.

    • #3316363

      Reply To: MS Explorer hijacked

      by jonno112 ·

      In reply to MS Explorer hijacked

      What you need is hijackthis, adaware won’t remove some of the above because there in your system files and your registry.

      You may need to use google and know your services list fairly well.

      Try this link
      http://forums.majorgeeks.com/forumdisplay.php?s=f30375f8ca323a3f9a6a343dc4bcf7ea&f=35

      This will get you started properly and give you experience for next time.

      Let us know how you go.

    • #3316350

      Reply To: MS Explorer hijacked

      by house ·

      In reply to MS Explorer hijacked

      I’ve seen this before. It is a hijack attempt. Check your tasks for strange entries.

      Use the housecall.trendmicro.com site. They will scan remotely for malware.

      You are very lucky to not have any worms in your system.

    • #3316258

      Reply To: MS Explorer hijacked

      by sgt_shultz ·

      In reply to MS Explorer hijacked

      of course you have scoured add/remove programs for unwanted search and toolbars. i say chas, this is way worse than viruses ever were. had recently your symptoms and posted them here. no help from the ususal suggestions so i googled the address i was being hijaaked to and gingerly examined some links (be all patched up first, ok 7?) in my case was malware nicknamed midaddle. google that and see write up of crafty white hat who figured out this program had many reinstallers so you had to root all out to destroy. plus great overview of registry entries that can hijaak you. i followed his instructions and it worked on my customer. he has paypal set up on his site and earns his bucks imho. so post more info.

    • #3316134

      Reply To: MS Explorer hijacked

      by trockii ·

      In reply to MS Explorer hijacked

      Go through the registry, search and delete all instances of each. Then clear out your internet history along with Temporary Internet Folder. That should fix your computer.

    • #3290762

      Reply To: MS Explorer hijacked

      by lowlytech ·

      In reply to MS Explorer hijacked

      Always turn off system restore after removing unwanted programs and files or your system may install them again when you reboot.

    • #3300018

      Reply To: MS Explorer hijacked

      by borg7of9 ·

      In reply to MS Explorer hijacked

      Hi, THank Chas, I have still not completely gotton rid of it, but Hijack was a great and http://www.spywareinfo.com have been of great help. I am being helped by the forum there, as this is taking a few more steps than usual!

      At least I am on my way to fixing it, thanks

    • #3294186

      Reply To: MS Explorer hijacked

      by laquangthong ·

      In reply to MS Explorer hijacked

      Try adaware:

      http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

      If it doesn’t work, go: Start -> Run -> msconfig -> Start up
      Uncheck everything, then reboot. Run adaware again, then go into msconfig and check everything again.

      Hope this help,

    • #3346122

      Reply To: MS Explorer hijacked

      by rcom ·

      In reply to MS Explorer hijacked

      Lop.com is installed as the Sponsor Program for Messenger Plus!

      There’s uninstallers online for it. http://lop.com/help.html

      mysearch removal instructions:
      http://tinyurl.com/52kqk

      hijack this is good for finding this crap. But be careful what you remove.

      Slot Online

    • #3343108

      Reply To: MS Explorer hijacked

      by borg7of9 ·

      In reply to MS Explorer hijacked

      This question was closed by the author

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