Grrr... aargh! Scream! Cannot access sites I used to

[Lynda Jean Harlow]

Running XP Pro on a 2.1GHz AMD PC with 512MB RAM, 120GB Drive, CD,
CD-RW...

PROBLEM: I used to go to several sites regularly and can no longer
access them (browser says it found page, downloading page, then goes
to a white screen and it says done). Thought maybe the site was down,
but it pulled up fine on my Mac and another PC.

This issue happened after being hit by several viruses (including
haxdoor.k (shudder)) and my browser hijacked, and 35 ad/spyware
installed (see issue below called VENT).

It's not a firewall issue, because I can access the sites with Firefox
(which I used to use all the time until I found it has java/javascript
problems). The issue seems to be with IE .

I've tried everything, including winsock fixes, but nothing seems to
allow me to go to those pages.

What to do?

Jammer

VENT:
Last Wednesday, (2/23) I went to a site that was very bad to me. In a
matter of seconds my MSAS (MS Antispyware) went crazy, Zone Alarm
popped up and my system shut down. On restart, XP Pro ran like
molasses and I got constant Zone Alarm and MSAS windows. I ran MSAS
and the system rebooted (everytime!). The hijacked page goes to a site
that downloads a file and executes it (discovered the downloading on a
Mac, didn't see it happening on the PC).

Ran TrendMicro Virus scanning and found 15 virii (clean on Monday
previous). One, haxdoor.k, was the hardest to remove. It took two days
to clean my system.

Once haxdoor.k was discovered, I searched for how to remove it. Two
days later it was gone (not the easiest to remove, but once you find
all the files, remove them, edit the registry and keep trying it
eventually goes away).

Ran Windows updates all the way through SP2. Some programs now fail to
run properly.

I was glad to go home on Friday. Monday, 2/28, I ran MSAS and it's
like it was the first time it was installed (going through the 4 or 5
step setup process) and I was constantly getting notification
(everytime I closed the message, denying the intrusion) that my
internet security was being set to low.

When I didn't run MSAS I never got those messages. I went into safe
mode and manually removed MSAS from the Program Files, and ran
RegMechanic to clean the registry. Rebooted and reinstalled MSAS and
everything works okay except my programs and browsing issue.

I have to now reinstall MS XP Office, Adobe CS... and several other
packages.

 

[Leythos]

This issue happened after being hit by several viruses (including
haxdoor.k (shudder)) and my browser hijacked, and 35 ad/spyware
installed (see issue below called VENT).

MS shows how to secure your Windows XP machine, including XP and even IE,
and the first place to start is by locking down IE and then not running as
an administrator level account.

I hate to say this, but you need to boot into safe mode, install a quality
antivirus scanner, update it, then do a full scan of your computer. You
should also run AdAwareSE on remove anything it shows as questionable.

If, after that, you can't get your machine clean, you might be better off
with a wipe/reinstall - I know people hate to hear that, but you won't
really know if you got it clean unless you wipe/reinstall the entire
system.

Once you get the machine clean, create another account with limited rights
to use when browsing the web. You should not be browsing the web unless
you run IE in high-security mode, and using an alternative browser (as
even MS suggested months ago) is a more secure option.

Good Luck.

 

[Chris A. Kusmierz]

Maybe your hosts file was altered?

http://accs-net.com/hosts/how_to_use_hosts.html

HTH
Chris

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP\)]

First, be sure your antivirus software has the latest definitions and run a
virus scan. As has been noted elsewhere in this thread, if you don't
currently have antivirus software installed, you would be well advised to do
so in order to help minimize the chances of being infected again.

Second, download, install and run Ad Aware:
www.lavasoftusa.com

The above are precautions to make sure there is nothing left behind that
might be the source of the issue.

The following assumes you have an actual XP CD as opposed to a restore CD or
restore partition supplied by your PC manufacturer.

Go to Start, type sfc /scannow in the run box and press enter. Note, there
is a space between sfc and the forward slash. You will be asked for your XP
CD. Be aware, upon inserting the CD the XP setup screen may appear, this is
not a part of sfc /scannow, rather it is being invoked by autorun. Simply
minimize the screen and allow sfc to continue.

If the above fails to resolve the issue, try a repair install as follows:

Be sure you are well backed up in case there is a problem from which you are
unable to recover. NOTE, while a repair install should leave your data
files intact, if something goes wrong during the repair install, you may be
forced to start over and do a clean install of XP. If you don't have your
data backed up, you would lose your data should that eventuality occur.

Assuming your system is set to boot from the CD-ROM drive, boot with the XP
CD in the drive. If it isn't or you are not sure, you need to enter the
system's BIOS. When you boot the system, the first screen usually has
instructions that if you wish to enter setup press a specific key, when you
see that, do so. Then you will have to navigate to the boot sequence, if
the CD-ROM drive is not first line, set it first in the boot sequence. Save
your settings and exit with the XP CD in the drive. The system will reboot.

Boot from the CD. If your system is set to be able to boot from the CD, it
should detect the disk and give a brief message, during the boot up, if you
wish to boot from the CD press any key.

Once you have pressed a key, setup should begin. You will see a reference
asking if you need to load special drivers and another notice that if you
wish to begin the ASR (Automatic Recovery Console) depress F2. Just let
setup run past all of that. It will continue to load files and drivers.

Then it will bring you to a screen. Eventually, you will come to a screen
with the option to (1) setup Windows or (2) Repair Windows Installation
using the Recovery console.

The first option, to setup Windows is the one you want and requires you to
press enter. When asked, press F8 to accept the end user agreement. Setup
will then search for previous versions of Windows. Upon finding your
version, it will ask if you wish to Repair your current installation or
install fresh. Press R, that will run a repair installation. From there
on, follow the screens.