"About: Blank" - ASBeta is a fraud

[ChopperZB]

This is getting ridiculous. I run AS Beta in safe mode
and XP mode. I run it till it's clean, and every other
time connecting to the internet, my browser gets taken
over by "About: blank" with all the ads loaded in.

This is the same thing that kept happening when I first
started and couldn't get rid of the iSearch toolbar.
ASBeta is a joke.

I never had so many infections, spyware and popups as I'm
getting since installing AS Beta 1!

 

[Bill Sanderson]

What product do you recommend that can clean this?

If you want help--look for about:buster 4, and CWShredder.

 

[ChopperZB]

This is everyone's answer to problems ... go get another
cleaner. I'm already running Norton, PC Doctor, and Spy
Bouncer, in addition to ASBeta. How many have to be
downloaded or purchased? I'm going from nothing on the
computer after a clean, straight to a Microsoft "Zone"
site, finish, and I get the stuff reoccuring. Nothing
but Microsoft sites, and I get hit with this stuff. I
want to know why this is happening, not how many cleaners
I can install on my computer. This is why I say the
stuff's a joke. You download ASBeta, and, because of
that, you have to add a ton of other stuff to make ASBeta
work right? Ridiculous.

 

[Steve Dodson [MSFT]]

Please try these items.

1) Boot in safe mode and run a deep scan a few times
2) Do a full scan with antivirus with latest signatures in safe mode
3) In advanced tools, click browser restore and restore all the settings
back to defaults
4) Boot back to normal mode and install all critical updates
5) If that still does not work, please send us a suspected spyware report
(tools -> suspected spyware report). The more information you provide here,
the faster we can analyze what is going on.

I understand the frustration of being told by people saying you need another
product. I agree that Antispyware should take care of it for you, but it is
a beta product and I think that's why some people want you to try other
products. Spyware is a big cat and mouse game because as soon as we remove
one threat, another one is sure to come around. Let me know if those steps
work for you.

--
-steve

Steve Dodson [MSFT]
MCSE, CISSP
PSS Security

--

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Note: For the benefit of the community-at-large, all responses to this
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originated.

 

[JohnF.]

The problem is that if you don't clean out your temp files and internet temp
files as well as remove any trojans that may be reloading these hijacks, you
may never get rid of them, no matter which program you use. I spent Monday
cleaning a users computer that required effort beyond anything that all the
other cleaners could provide. You have to id the processes that are running
in the background and relaoding the registry and your browser with the
spyware - kill those processes and then delete the hidden files and you will
get somewhere. Then get your machine updated and secured before roaming the
interent again.

JohnF.

 

[Bill Sanderson]

I see you've already tried much of what Steve recommends.

There are new definitions apparently available today--5703--although I've
been unable to acquire them from the server--they may, in fact, be available
tomorrow.

I recommended those other cleaning apps because my sense from watching posts
here is that Microsoft Antispyware doesn't do this job properly yet.

I agree with your feeling that the product SHOULD do this job, and have
great confidence that the team working on improving it does as well. They
need the suspected spyware reports, among other things.

If this product can't do the job say so via the suspected spyware reports,
and look for other help for the situation in place.

 

[ChopperZB]

This just keeps getting worse. You guys are full of it!
I can't even send a report from ASBeta. I fill it all
out, it scans, and then states an "error occurred
submitting scan results. Check Internet proxy settings
and try again". B.S.!!!! I set all the internet
settings to default. My proxy settings should be
compatible and I can't send it.

I've spent HOURS on this crap. Running scans, deleting
the internet files and temp files. Both, in safe mode
and regular mode. I can't start up normal XP without it
already taking over.

Even connecting to this spot from ASBeta, a popup shows.
See what I get for downloading garbage.

 

[ChopperZB]

Yah, yah, yah. I did all that. No change. Browser
hijacking occurs. It's there every time I boot up in XP
after doing scan after scan after scan in safe mode.

And, by the way, I also can't a "suspected spyware
report". The stupid thing states "error occurred
submitting scan results. Check Internet Proxy Settings
and try again". That's a big help ... I'm an non techie,
reset all my defaults and somehow my "proxy settings" are
wrong? B.S.!

-----Original Message-----
Please try these items.

1) Boot in safe mode and run a deep scan a few times
2) Do a full scan with antivirus with latest signatures in safe mode
3) In advanced tools, click browser restore and restore all the settings
back to defaults
4) Boot back to normal mode and install all critical updates
5) If that still does not work, please send us a suspected spyware report
(tools -> suspected spyware report). The more information you provide here,
the faster we can analyze what is going on.

I understand the frustration of being told by people saying you need another
product. I agree that Antispyware should take care of it for you, but it is
a beta product and I think that's why some people want you to try other
products. Spyware is a big cat and mouse game because as soon as we remove
one threat, another one is sure to come around. Let me know if those steps
work for you.

--
-steve

Steve Dodson [MSFT]
MCSE, CISSP
PSS Security

--

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
Use of included script samples are subject to the terms specified at
http://www.microsoft.com/info/cpyright.htm

Note: For the benefit of the community-at-large, all responses to this
message are best directed to the newsgroup/thread from which they
originated.

This is everyone's answer to problems ... go get another
cleaner. I'm already running Norton, PC Doctor, and Spy
Bouncer, in addition to ASBeta. How many have to be
downloaded or purchased? I'm going from nothing on the
computer after a clean, straight to a Microsoft "Zone"
site, finish, and I get the stuff reoccuring. Nothing
but Microsoft sites, and I get hit with this stuff. I
want to know why this is happening, not how many cleaners
I can install on my computer. This is why I say the
stuff's a joke. You download ASBeta, and, because of
that, you have to add a ton of other stuff to make ASBeta
work right? Ridiculous.

.

 

[Bill Sanderson]

Yah, yah, yah. I did all that. No change. Browser
hijacking occurs. It's there every time I boot up in XP
after doing scan after scan after scan in safe mode.

And, by the way, I also can't a "suspected spyware
report". The stupid thing states "error occurred
submitting scan results. Check Internet Proxy Settings
and try again". That's a big help ... I'm an non techie,
reset all my defaults and somehow my "proxy settings" are
wrong? B.S.!

Sorry to hear that--the bug in doing these reports really is a pain. It is
clearly a bug--I've got what appear to be identical machines one of which
displays this issue and another does not. They are both on the same
network--no difference in proxy settings.

 

[Bill Sanderson]

I'll freely admit you've done what you can with this beta app for your
problems.

You are going to need to dig deeper to get rid of your problem.

It is definitely possible to get your machine cleaned.

If you want to work most expeditiously--look for nearby messages from Ron
Kinner in this group and send him an email.

You can work with HijackThis logs exchanged with him, or posted into an
appropriate public forum, and get cleaned.

 

[JohnF.]

You have a trojan that hides in memory and on the hard disk. It took me a
few hours on Monday to kill off one on one of my users computers but now
that I have done it, it can be done much quicker.

How are you are looking at running processes and the registry?

You can beat this in short order if you are willing to do some manual work.

Let me know.

JohnF.