Homepage hijacking

[Kevin]

I have tried every solution that has been provided to
people with the same using the newsgroups dating back to
Aug 15, 2004. I have installed and ran, ad-aware se, spy-
bot, spy blaster, hi jack this, to name a few. I have
also paid $75.00 for technical support to HP and was
advised it was a software problem and they won't help me
with it after charging me the money, RIP OFF! I am at my
wits end with this problem. What else can I do? Would a
destructive recovery take care of it? I would appreciate
any help I can get with this matter. Thank you, Kevin

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

Can't Change My Home Page - It Keeps Resetting!
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/answers.htm

Home Page Setting Changes Unexpectedly, or You Cannot Change Your Home Page Setting
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;320159&Product=ie600

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect Your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspx

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| I have tried every solution that has been provided to
| people with the same using the newsgroups dating back to
| Aug 15, 2004. I have installed and ran, ad-aware se, spy-
| bot, spy blaster, hi jack this, to name a few. I have
| also paid $75.00 for technical support to HP and was
| advised it was a software problem and they won't help me
| with it after charging me the money, RIP OFF! I am at my
| wits end with this problem. What else can I do? Would a
| destructive recovery take care of it? I would appreciate
| any help I can get with this matter. Thank you, Kevin

 

[Juan]

Kevin,... have you configured Spybot to protect your home page?
First off, allways update Spybot and Ad-aware before running them,
To configure Spybot, change it to Advanced Mode and in;
- Tools\IE Tweaks\check the three options to protect your; hosts file,
home page and IE Control Panel. Before doing this, go to your favorite
homepage, and in Internet Options\General, click on Use Current.
- Tools\Resident\check both Tea Timer and SD Helper to protect overall
system settings and block bad downloads.
- Tools\System Startup\uncheck anything you don't recognize as system
related.
- Immunize\check Enable permanent blocking of bad addresses in IE.
- Settings\Ignore Products\All Products... Scroll down, everything should be
unchecked.
- If you are still having trouble deleting the hijacker, run both Spybot and
Ad-aware in safe mode, with the Internet connection wire unplugged.

A Description of Safe Mode Boot Options in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315222&Product=winxp

Prevent Browser Hijackings
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/data/prevention.htm


Hope this helps.

----------Original Message--------------------

 

[Guest]

Spybot's home page protection Does not protect against this type of
hijacking,That only blocks the current user from changing it, the current
user is you. read the help files that were included with spybot.

 

[Juan]

Spybot's help file reads:
I can't access my IE settings any more! FAQ #024
Internet Explorer tells you to contact your administrator when
you try to access the IE settings?
This can happen if you use Spybot-S&D in advanced mode and you
have used the Immunize feature without reading all the text ;
(THIS IS IN TOOLS\IE TWEAKS, NOT IN IMMUNIZE)

Please start Spybot-S&D again in advanced mode (if you are not
in the advanced mode, you can change the mode in top menu bar) and go
to the ie-tweaks page. There you'll see a group Miscellaneous locks.
Untick the checkboxes in front of both Lock IE... options. You may need
to close all Explorer windows, and maybe even restart Windows before
these changes take place.

Hint: this lock function has been added mostly for multi-user
environments where you wouldn't want other users of your computer to
change your IE settings. If you are the only user of your computer, there's
no real need to enable them. (but it doesn't hurt to be extra carefull)..

Browser hijacker Dictionary:
A browser hijacker is a small program or registry setting that is
responsible for changed IE start and search pages. If your browser starts
with a different start page (one you haven't changed yourself), you most
probably got hijacked. Intelligent hijackers do not only change these
pages, but also add a small file that will restore the hijacked settings
upon each system start. Hijackers often use ActiveX installation programs
and/or security holes
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I have tested Spybot myself and have recommended it, and have found it does
exactly what you say it doesn't do .. It does find and deletes hijackers
(those that installed before you installed Spybot) it also protects against
them downloading. If you configure Spybot to block and send a warning,
you'll see that dozens of parasites are trying to download to your computer
in just a few hours. If you read Settings\Ingnore Products, you can see it
does
find and delete and therefore also blocks browser hijackers... In Immunize
there's a Bad download blocker (hijackers are bad downloads)... The start
page blocker prevents other users (and hijackers if ever one manages to
infect your computer) from changing your start page, it also prevents you
from changing it, but that's no problem.... if you remember what you
configured....


--------------Original Message----------------

 

[SpywareRemovalGOd]

Make sure you have the latest and greatest updates to Ad-
Aware, Spybot, Hijackthis, CWS Shredder, and WinsockFix.

Run Ad-aware first. It finds the files on the hard drive
best. Then run Spybot which finds registry entries
best. Then run HiJackThis, CWS Shredder, and finally
WinSockFix.

Make sure you run all of these when and ONLY when you
have booted to safe mode. (hitting F8 at powerup and
selecting Safe Mode at the prompt) It's the best way to
ensure most things won't be in memory when you're trying
to clean them.