Cannot connect to Internet Explorer

[Mr Incognito]

2 weeks ago I had a Trojan Virus on my PC. McAfee said that this had been
succesfully removed. However, whenever I logged on, after about 15-20 mins
the whole system would freeze. I managed to get this problem sorted by
contacting the manufacturers (DELL) who disabled some of my startup
applications and installed Malwarebytes AntiMalware and SuperAntiSpyware.
After running scans on these and removing various infections, it seemed to be
working again. However, for the last 4-5 days , when I have been trying to
connect to the internet, internet explorer will not load up and I cannot
receive/send e-mails. When I go into Network Connections it appears that I
am actually connected but at no point can I get the explorer up and outlook
express just freezes when I try to recieve e-mails. I would be most grateful
for any help on this matter, thank you.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

[crosspost to IE General]

Always state your full Windows version (e.g., WinXP SP3; Vista 64-bit SP2;
Win7; Win7 64-bit) as well as your IE version when posting in an IE-specific
forum or newsgroup. Please do so in your next reply.

You've got much more work to do!

NB: If you had no anti-virus application installed or the subscription had
expired *when the machine first got infected* and/or your subscription has
since expired and/or the machine's not been kept fully-patched at Windows
Update, don't waste your time with any of the below: Format & reinstall
Windows. A Repair Install will NOT help!

Microsoft PCSafety provides home users (only) with no-charge support in
dealing with malware infections such as viruses, spyware (including unwanted
software), and adware.
https://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?&prid=7552&st=1

Also available via...

Consumer Security Support home page
https://consumersecuritysupport.microsoft.com/

Otherwise...

1. See if you can download/run the MSRT manually:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx

NB: Run the FULL scan, not the QUICK scan! You may need to download the
MSRT on a non-infected machine, then transfer MRT.EXE to the infected
machine and rename it to SCAN.EXE before running it.

2a. WinXP => Run the Windows Live Safety Center's 'Protection' scan (only!)
in Safe Mode with Networking, if need be:
http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/center/howsafe.htm

2b. Vista or Win7=> Run this scan instead:
http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/center/whatsnew.htm

3. Now run a thorough check for hijackware, including posting requested logs
in an appropriate forum, not here.

Checking for/Help with Hijackware:
• http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
• http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/tshoot.html
• http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/Malware_Defence.htm
• http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

**Chances are you will need to seek expert assistance in
http://spywarehammer.com/simplemachinesforum/index.php?board=10.0,
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/viewforum.php?f=5,
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/cleanup,
http://www.bluetack.co.uk/forums/index.php,
http://aumha.net/viewforum.php?f=30 or other appropriate forums.**

If these procedures look too complex - and there is no shame in admitting
this isn't your cup of tea - take the machine to a local, reputable and
independent (i.e., not BigBoxStoreUSA) computer repair shop.

 

[AlexK]

I had the same problem and there is only 1 working method for me. I have to
have extra pre-installed internet browser in case of failure from IE. The
most working method is to reinstall whole windows to get rid of
junk-infection collected in Internet. It would be great to have possibility
to uninstall and install back from the Windows set up disk just only IE but I
don't know if it is possible theoretically when in practice it's absent.

 

[Mr Incognito]

Thanks very much PA Bear and AlexK for your informative responses.

I have Windows XP Media Center version 2005 and IE version 6.

I did have valid antivirus software (Mcafee) at the time of the virus and
also had automatic Windows Updates enabled.

Since my initial post:

As I could not connect at all to IE, I decided to do a system restore to the
date just after the trojan was removed and my connection was working. I
managed to connect briefly (although Outlook still crashed when I tried to
receive e-mails) and run both the MSRT Scan and the Safety Center's
protection scan as advised. Neither of these scans found any infection. I
also checked out some of the other websites and dowloaded Microsoft Security
Essentials, which has also found no evidence of infection. I also tried to
run a Highjackthis scan but it would not run on my PC.

Yesterday, I downloaded and installed IE version 8 thinking this might sort
things out but I got the same initial problem where I could not connect to IE
at all. However, quite bizarrely I logged on today and have managed to
connect to IE (hence the post) and also received e-mails in Outlook Express.

As good as it is to be connected, I very much doubt the problem is sorted.
So, if the problem recurs, would you advise that I try and re-install Windows
to it's original settings? And also, would any documents etc I wish to save
and transfer back after re-install still be infected?

Again thanks for your advice and any further advice would me much appreciated.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

See...

Help: I Got Hacked. Now What Do I Do?
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc700813.aspx

System Restore cannot come to the rescue here.

You should not have more than one anti-virus application installed and
loading at boot. Chances are that Microsoft Security Essentials did not
install properly and isn't working properly either.

Upgrading (e.g., to IE8) in hopes of fixing an ongoing problem is seldom a
wise idea. And chances are that IE8 didn't install properly and isn't
working properly either.

What should you do next? See Step #3 in my first reply and/or the link to
free support from Microsoft in dealing with such infections.