all of a sudden i can't get to certain websites. BUT i
can from a different computer on my home network. i've
been able to access these sites in the past. maybe my IE
has some settings that are changed? any ideas?
Judy,
One possibility would be a browser or dns hijack.
Search your entire system drive, including hidden and system folders, for file
"hosts". There is one legit copy, in C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\. Open
the legit copy, using Notepad. There normally would be just one non-comment
line (a line not starting with "#"):
127.0.0.1 localhost
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)).
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.
