Google Highjacked!!!!

[The 47th Ronin]

Hi,


I have a problem where whatever I type to search on google, it only gives me like commerical sites, like the sort of crap you find if you were searching for porn on it.

For example, If i type baseball, it will only link me to gambling sites etc. It is clear, therefore, that there exists some spyware on my computer that is doing this. However, I have both Ad-Aware and Sypbot - both updated - and tes the problem remains.

What should I do?

Thx

[DR]

a) Please don't swear - please edit your post.

It is down to adware - Someone will be able to help - I can't remember how to solve it.

[directhex]

1) stop using internet explorer
2) ???
3) profit











more usefully, it's down to rather nasty exploits, most of which are from a company called CoolWebSearch, and masquerade as search toolbars. CWShredder tried to remove such exploits.

internet explorer exploits.

using IE is much like having unprotected sex with every website you visit.

go & download opera or mozilla firefox, and this won't happen again.

[Rythmic]

Just to check - have you actually got the proper spybot, or the spyware one that pretends to be spybot?

[acidrainy]

We get this problem quite often on the Tech Help-desk(tm)

Ad-aware appears to be the only one to remove it, spybot just plays Lego with it :/
Unfortunately I have no idea why your ad-aware is not working


Looks like you ill just have to download a proper browser mate, sorry.
(btw, this is a really good one! http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/ )

[Skii]

Often you will only be able to delete the program that hijacks your browser by booting up into safe mode and then manually deleting the registry entry that is causing it. I last had that problem with a nasty little bugger called 'Omegasearch' which Adaware and Spybot merely tickled with a feather duster.

The url to google won't be www.google.co.uk anymore, it will be something else - you need to do a search based on whatever that new address is - you won't be the only one who has the problem and you should be able to find the appropriate fix / steps somewhere.

Bottom line, don't use Internet Explorer, its exploited to buggery and more risk than its worth - download Mozilla Firefox as advised above.

[Falcon2004]

I suggest Opera, recently migrated to it and its the best I've ever used, it even gives you the option to be consulted about what cookies to allow onto your computer, once you block one, it wont let it thought again unless you specificaly say for it to.

Falcon

[Stoo]

firefox is superb

[Lee H]

doh - I was gonna suggest using spybot but you've already tried that

I would also try another browser - I have opera and Firefox installed on my home PC for both webdev and checking works websites for any bugs or special features as we tend to call them

If you really want to remove the bilghter from your system and both the 2 spyware deleters are failing then the alternative suggestion is to use the windows system restore and check for when it was installed and restore to a date before that , or go the whole hog and format the machine

hmmm format..... theres nothing better for getting system performance back to good levels after using windows for a few months lol

[directhex]

cwshredder will fix it, but honestly i'd rather lie & say it's unfixable if that's what's needed to get people off IE

[turkster]

Just to say it again Firefox is brilliant.

Security is good, you can specify cookies that you want to allow etc. I love the tabbed browsing, it just makes so much sense. The search bar is also neater and mure compact than IEs and can hold most search engines. The bookmark toolbar is very nice specially seeing as it recognises site icons . It also works in Linux

[Alex]

Can you get the google toolbar in FireFox?

[turkster]

Yep it comes as standard a small little box next to the address bar. Very compact and neat with the option to add other search engines such as Gigablast etc.

[Alex]

Hmm, running FireFox now. That was relatively painless, especially as it lists all the normal needed plugins with their appropriate URLs next to them.

[The 47th Ronin]

Thanks Guys much appreciated. I have firefox now and its kinda cool. So i will stick with it. I will also be re-formatting my hard disk this summer after i have finished my exams. This is perhaps then a useful omen for ditching IE once and for all

[directhex]

\o/

don't stop now, install linux