Problems with Homepage

mummybear_2

PLEASE HELP!!!!! I am a complete dunce when it comes to computers.......and am struggling to overcome this problem.....

Have Windows XP, have adware, spybot, and from yesterday Spyware Blaster......Also Norton Anti-virus, and firewall with Windows XP package.

Main problem is our homepage keeps defaulting to address about:blank.....tried to reset web settings but just keeps defaulting back to this!

Also, probs with lots of pop ups!, and finally if do a search sometimes defaults to !!!!!! site searches....

Getting really peed off with this invasion of privacy.....can anyone give me step by step advice on how to rectify....

Sorry if I sound really thick, but you could write what I know about computers on a postage stamp and still have plenty of room to lick it!

Ta v much......

alexj2002

Can I suggest you download Mozilla Firefox and use it instead of Internet Explorer.

It has a built in pop-up blocker and tends not to be affected by websites that change your homepage etc.

Find Firefox at https://www.mozilla.org/firefox

Fran

Mummybear,

(Edit: Misleading info removed)


To choose what you have as your homepage:

Start/Network & Internet Connections/Internet Options

and you should be on the General heading. Choose your home page eg: Google, mse or whatever - enter the address and ok.

Have you got the latest updates for your Norton Antivirus?

Fran

I use Mozilla too which I prefer to Internet Explorer. I'd be interested in an answer to your question though as you want to know how to solve the problem not just pretend it isn't there!

LincsLad_3

One thing you could do is disable the xp firewall as I believe it's not very good and also can conflict with other antiviruses.

Sorry Fran, but even the Windows XP Firewall is better than NO firewall, which is what mummybear would be left with if she turned off the XP one!

Let's not confuse anti-virus software with a firewall; they perform totally different functions although both are security-related. Both Norton Anti-virus and a firewall (either the XP one or another such as Zonealarm) should run quite happily together. Anyone who connects to the Internet should make sure they have a firewall in place at all times.

Anyone who wants to read more on firewalls and how they work, or on Computer Viruses, could do worse than start with the following links:
Firewalls

Computer Viruses

OK, on the original problem which Mummybear has... and it could be a malicious TrojanHorse program called CoolWebSearch which is doing the rounds at the moment, and can be difficult to remove as ther is no automated means of doing so (that I am aware of).

It is suspected that CoolWebSearch is distributed by pop-up ads which exploit known security holes in Microsoft Windows. So the best way to guard against CWS is keeping up to date with the security patches and updates available from Microsoft. Especially this one: MS03-11

There are many variants of CWS, some nastier than others. Some other 'symptoms' of CWS infection are:

Problems in Internet Explorer:

* Massive slowdowns of Internet Explorer
* Illegible URLs or addresses in Internet Explorer
* Redirections to alternate sites when mistyping URLs
* Startpage & search page changed on reboot or changed to any one of the affiliate sites
* Start page and/or search pages changed to activexupdate.com in the Internet Explorer Trusted Zone
* Popup's with 'enhanced results' when doing searches on Google, Yahoo and Altavista
* Redirections to any one of the affiliate sites
* 'Customize Search Assistant' closing after opening
* Slow scrolling in IE
* Homepage changed to 'http:///'
* Redirections to "run search" when mistyping URLs or to *.masspass.com
* Internet Explorer pages hijacked to ie-search.com
* Tons of bookmarks added to IE Favorites
* Browser Helper Object (BHO) added to Internet Explorer called 'winshow.dll' or 'BrowserHelper.dll'


Problems with Adult Content:

* Redirections to a variety of adult sites, telephone dialers etc.
* Bookmarks to !!!!!! sites added to the favorites list (including potential child !!!!!! links)
* Adult sites appearing incomplete in Internet Explorer
* Redirections with mistyped URL's to adult sites
* Targets of hyperlinks on website's changed to !!!!!! sites


Problems with Windows:

* After rebooting, CWS variants are reloaded
* Errors indicating a missing file called 'msinfo.exe'
* Errors from the file 'info32.exe'
* Errors from the files 'iedll.exe' or 'loader.exe' on startup
* Message about a 'runtime error' at startup
* DOS window flashing by at system startup
* Fake error message about the file 'msconfd.dll' at startup
* Anti-spyware removal tools and programs closing a few seconds after opening



As I said, removal of CWS (if that is what the infection is) is not straightforward and involves deleting certain .dll files and making changes to the Windows Registry,

Probably the most comprehensive pool of knowledge available on this topic is on the Spyware Info site, I really would point you towards their Malware Removal forum at this link.

Best of luck with getting it all sorted, remember, you are not alone - this malicious piece of scumware is afflicting thousands of PCs. >:(

mummybear_2

Good evening,

Thank you so much to anyone who tries to help me.....I certainly need it, and do appreciate your time and guidance.

Mummybear...... ;D

Fran

LincsLad,

I didn't read the post properly, thought she had another firewall. :-[ Is it right that the windows firewall can conflict with other firewalls though?

Mummybear,

Hope you get it sorted!

LincsLad_3

Is it right that the windows firewall can conflict with other firewalls though?

I think that it can cause problems in certain cases, but it is more likely to be a case of 'too much medicine' rather than a pure conflict as often happens if folks run two anti-virus programs.

You were quite correct in your original statement though that the standard XP Firewall is not a great performer. The XP SP2 one may prove to be better, but I will stick with Zonealarm for now.

Anyway, I hadn't intended to hijack the thread so....

Mummybear - have you visited the Spyware Info forum to ask for help yet? Let us know how it all goes.

StrikeEagle

Ye the XP SP1 firewall isnt so great coz it runs at IP level, so you can attack it via IP Spoofing, but the new SP2 one is stateful like zonealarm so it can maintain knowledge per connection.

pav_2

I had a smilar problem, this was caused by spy ware planted in my computer and everytime i connected it pulled in pop ups and web pages, it even installed programes like Golden palace Casino. I was getting fed up with it all untill I installed Ad-aware 6.0 which is a free share ware prog. and it found 146 spys planted in my system. Since then I have had no problems.

scheming_gypsy

Can I suggest you download Mozilla Firefox and use it instead of Internet Explorer.

It has a built in pop-up blocker and tends not to be affected by websites that change your homepage etc.

Find Firefox at https://www.mozilla.org/firefox

isn't that a case of ignoring the problem though? spyware / whatever has infected her machine so instead of sorting the problem you're advising her to ignore it using a different browser