Internet explorer Home Page Problem

[Phil]

My home page automatically keep reverting back to some
unknown page that cannot be displayed. I set my home
page and it automatically goes back to this unknown
page. Please help. Phil (e-mail address removed)

 

[Guest]

You need to change it in the registry.... it is being changed because of a virus/trojan more than likely
Under "HKEY_LOCL_MACHINE / SOFTWARE / Microsoft / Internet Explorer / Main Start Page key should show you wherer you are going. If it does not have what you want you should change it to the original default http://www.msn.com/. I would also run a virus check to see what has changed your address. If you don't trust your own AV go to www.trendmicro.com and runthe Free online virus check (HouseCall) .

 

[Chuck]

My home page automatically keep reverting back to some
unknown page that cannot be displayed. I set my home
page and it automatically goes back to this unknown
page. Please help. Phil *email_address_deleted*

Phil,

How current is your virus protection? Try these free online virus scans:
<http://www.bitdefender.com/scan/license.php>
<http://security.symantec.com/ssc/home.asp>
<http://housecall.trendmicro.com/housecall/start_corp.asp>

Now check for, and learn to defend against, additional carriers of infection.

First, download LSP-Fix from <http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm>, and CWShredder
from <http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4086.html>. Both free.

Next, run CWShredder. Have it fix all variants.

Now check for, and remove, spyware. Get HijackThis
<http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=3155> and Spybot S&D
<http://security.kolla.de/index.php?lang=en&page=download>. Both free.
1) Install and run Spybot. First update it ("Search for updates"), then run a
scan ("Check for problems"). Trust Spybot, and make all recommended deletions.
2) Install and run HijackThis. Do NOT make any changes immediately. Save the
HJT Log.
3) Have your HJT log interpreted by experts at one or more of the following
forums (and post it here):
<http://forums.net-integration.net/>
<http://www.spywareinfo.com/forums/>
<http://forums.tomcoyote.org/>
<http://www.wilderssecurity.com/>

If removal of any spyware affects your ability to access the internet (some
spyware builds itself into the network software, and its removal may damage your
network), run LSP-Fix.

Harden your browser. There are various websites which will check for
vulnerabilities, here are three which I use.
http://www.jasons-toolbox.com/BrowserSecurity/
http://bcheck.scanit.be/bcheck/
https://testzone.secunia.com/browser_checker/

Harden your operating system. Check at least monthly for security updates.
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

Block possibly dangerous websites with a Hosts file. Three Hosts file sources I
use:
http://www.accs-net.com/hosts/get_hosts.html
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
(The third is included, and updated, with Spybot (see above)).

And Phil, please don't contribute to the spread of email address mining viruses.
Learn to munge your email address properly, to keep yourself a bit safer when
posting to open forums. Protect yourself and the rest of the internet - never
post your address unmunged.
http://www.mailmsg.com/SPAM_munging.htm

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.