Help , My browser has been hijacked ?

[glamwales]

Hi - please excuse errors , I write this at 5.06 am !

For the last 2 days I ve had web pages opening by themselves -usually upto 45 at a time which really screws up my system. I assumed this was a virus, but my norton is clear and I have all the firewalls etc upto date. A chat with norton , told me it might be that my browser has been hijacked ?

Ive tried numerous things , but a system restore to jan seems to have solved the problem. I have since added ad aware and done scans.

I just wonder if there are guys here who knows what else I can do ? Im a bit worried about the safety of using my pc now for stuff like banking and passwords etc ?

Any Ideas

Neil

 

[coldspot]

Donw load this and run it. It will open a log where you can see what is running on your pc. It is the only way I know to fix a hijack.

Trend Micro HijackThis for Windows - Free download and software reviews - CNET Download

Download Trend Micro HijackThis latest version for Windows free. Trend Micro HijackThis latest update: December 17, 2024

www.download.com

 

[vulcanchef]

download and install "spybot search and destroy" it's the best anti spywear tool i've ever used , you'll be suprised how many nasties it finds lurking on your pc

Home of Spybot, Your Digital Identity Protection - Spybot Anti-Malware and Antivirus

Spybot offers a unique technology for your security. Far beyond antivirus Spybot searches and destroys unwanted software and protects your privacy.

www.safer-networking.org

 

[jaxsunst]

Unfortunately, this happened to me at work. The windows it was opening was showing graphic porn.

The only way our guys got rid of it completely was to wipe and start over with the computer.

 

[cleanteamofny]

If you are using IE 7, it's just a glitch that will happen from time to time.

Go to Control Panel/Internet Options/ make sure your all your Security options are set to Default,
then go to Browser History and clear Cookies, and Temporary files and History.
Reboot computer, then Defrage and if you are still having problems with multiple windows opening,
go to Start, My Computer/ Right click on C Disk Drive/Properties/and Check both boxes in Error Checking/Start then reboot to let run.
When complete, check for Windows Updates.

Also, are you running Windows Live One Care and MSN Spy Sweeper?
If you are, delete the MSN Spy Sweeper for there is compatibility issues that will cause this......

 

[brant_ix]

After Your Computer Verifies Clean...

Tech Support Bitch says...

Go to all your websites and CHANGE your passwords just to be on the safe side.

~Brant

 

[glamwales]

thanks for the advice ... I am using 6.0 tho . The restore seems to have done it and I have also run a number of cleaners now ,

thanks ,

 

[mistereric]

a suggestion

Hey Glam, are you using Internet Explorer? You might get a little more security with Firefox. I have had better luck with Firefox on windows. Just a thought.

 

[DADoES]

Defrag is over-rated

Running defrag has nothing to do with cleaning virus infections. I rarely run defrag and my systems are doing fine. One system at work is nearly 10 years old (dual 333Mhz), running virtually 24/7 (never shuts down except for maintenance such as blowing out the dust, replacing the tape drive a couple times, extended power failures that outlast the UPS, etc.). I've never even reinstalled Windows on it.

SpyBot, AdAware, and HiJack are all good per my experience with them, limited though it may be. One thing we always did when cleaning a system is sort the OS folders (Windows, WinNT, System32) in descending order by date (make sure Explorer view is set to show ALL files and extensions) and look for suspicious files with recent dates, or dated at about the time the problems started. If you don't know what is a particular file, try right-clicking on it, Properties, Version tab, and check what are the details. Almost all legitimate files will have version/revision numbers, publisher's name and so forth. Viruses and malware may not have that info stated. Also Google the file name.

 

[badata]

you run defrag to "organize" your computer NOT to get rid of viruses!

 

[cleanteamofny]

Steve and Michael you both are correct, but in order to run windows efficiently, run Defrage once in a while to keep windows at peak performance.
Most computers seems to get slower and slower because the hard drive is looking for data that is scattered all over the drive and when everything is in line, performance is increased.

A little tool that puts Windows Defragmentation to shame.
It works with XP and Vista:

Quick defrag tool</p>

The link below is just information that everyone should know but don't!
The webpage may take a while to load.......

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1766519,00.asp

 

[whirlcool]

A friend of ours has a computer that he wanted me to look at. It was running very slowly. I installed Adaware on it and uncovered over 1000 infections of spyware on it. But the latest free version of Adaware no longer supports the "select all objects" option. You have to delete the files one at a time.
So I got rid of Adaware and downloaded Spybot Search And Destroy and it only found 10 infections. Hmmm. After deleting these the computer didn't show any signifigant increase in speed.
I told the guy to spring for the Adaware pay for it version.
Has anyone else made any comparisons of Spybot vs Adaware. I thought they were direct comptetitors?