Cannot display certain websites

[Matt Wills]

Recently, something is preventing me from
using/displaying certain websites which previously gave
me no problem. For instance, I cannot get to Google.com
at all: I get "The Page Cannot Be Displayed." I can get
to Yahoo.com, but once I enter a search term, I get "The
Page Cannot Be Displayed." I can access numerous other
sites just fine.

Other computers in the office have no trouble accessing
these pages (all using IE6 on XP Pro). Something has
obviously happened to mine.

My boss seems to remember being instructed to edit a file
deep in the Windows folder when this happened to him, but
he can't locate the print he usually saves. Can anyone
offer any solution?

 

[Smile Extender]

Most likely a virus (qhost/delude ro whatever).

 

[AD]

Talk to your Network Administrator, please tell me you
have one... If not, the Newtwork consultant that takes
care of computer issue there. There may be a Proxy server
blocking you from certain websites, or you may not be
connected to that server to access those sites. No person
not being there can know how the network is set up, you
need to talk to the person in charge of IT at your company.

 

[Walter Harris]

I have the exact same problem!!!!!!

 

[Matt Wills]

That would be me. I don't believe the network has
anything to do with it. As descibed in my original post:

1. The network consists of two other computers running
the same system (XP Pro) plus a Windows 2000 Server, all
of which can access the sites that I cannot access from
my own machine.

2. Prior to last Thursday, I had no problem accessing
these sites.

If it was a network thing, nobody would get to those
sites.

It is obvious that something has affected only my machine
(Worm? Trojan Horse?) despite having an active firewall
and anti-virus software (PC-Cillin).

Both Symantec and Trend offer free tools that supposedly
clean out whatever is causing this symptom (or at least a
similar one). Neither of them did anything but take well
over an hour each to scan everything and find nothing.

Matt

 

[H Leboeuf]

http://www.f-secure.com/v-descs/delude.shtml

NAME: Delude
ALIAS: Trojan.BAT.Startpage.a
Delude is a trojan that is available on a web page. The web page contains a
code that uses a vulnerability in the Internet Explorer (MS03-032) to
execute.
More information about the vulnerability, including a fix, is available from
Microsoft at:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/security_bulletins/ms03-032.asp
VARIANT: Delude.A
The HTA code available on a web page downloads a file "partyboy.exe" from an
ftp site and runs it. This file is is packed with UPX. It is a batch file
which was compiled to executable binary (".exe") using a BatToExe tool.
When executed, it changes the Internet Explorer start page to find-now.info.
It prevents access to the most major search engines such as Google, Yahoo,
Lycos, MSN and AltaVista. To do this it replaces the following file:

More:

http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/trojan.qhosts.html
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/trojan.qhosts.removal.tool.html
http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_100719.htm
http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/analyses/trojqhosts1.html

 

[Matt Wills]

Corrupt HOSTS file, probably due to the Trojan-QHOSTS.

Delete or rename the HOSTS file, restart, and done.

Not a network thing.

Matt