I Explorer Bug? Fix ?

[Perturbed]

I've had a problem with I Explorer. I installed spyware,
ran virus check and everything is cleared according to
the software.

I then received the following message which provides
instructions on how to clean the system. My concern is
that the message is from the corrupted whatever and if I
follow them, I will damage my system.

What do you think ??

"If you see this page your hosts file has been hacked.
Please use the instruction below to clean your machine.

You cannot reach the site you where trying to reach
without following this procedure! - Please follow the
steps provided in this document and make sure to download
all patches for your computer from the Windows Update
Site which can be found here:
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com

1. Start regedit,
find
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersio
n\Run ,
delete starting of svchost.exe file,
reboot your computer,
delete file svchost.exe in windows directory.

2. Reboot windows and start in
SAFE MODE (F8 key on keyboard before windows starting),
delete file winlogon.exe in directory: C:\Documents and
Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

3. Clear your 'hosts' file.
How to edit your hosts file: locate it first, either by
browsing to the directory (as shown above) or by
hitting "Start - Search - select all files and folders -
type in 'hosts' (without the quotation marks) and hit
search. When the file is found, click with your right
mouse button on the file and select 'Open With...' This
will bring up a list of programs to edit the file with.
Select Notepad from that list and click OK. - Remove all
lines from the file and type in: 127.0.0.1 localhost. Now
close the file and save your changes.
For Windows 95/98/Millenium machines: Locate the file
hosts in your C:\Windows directory. Just delete it or
edit it with a text editor like notepad and make sure
there is only one line there:
127.0.0.1 localhost
For Windows 2000 machines: Locate the file hosts in your
C:\Winnt\System32\Drivers\Etc directory. Just delete it
or edit it with a text editor like notepad and make sure
there is only one line there:
127.0.0.1 localhost
For Windows XP machines: Locate the file hosts in your
C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Etc directory. Just delete it
or edit it with a text editor like notepad and make sure
there is only one line there:
127.0.0.1 localhost"

Thanks in advance for the input

 

[Guest]

Those instructions are not harmful in themselves. I have
never seen them myself, but I have performed similar steps
to remove spyware and virii/worms.

The svchost.exe file is used in XP or 2000 to run
services. If you have Windows 98, the scvhost.exe file is
a virus. It is usually in your Windows\System folder.
Delete it if you have Windows 98, otherwise run a virus
scanner rather than deleting it yourself. Anything in the
registry key specified in the instructions will run every
time the computer is booted. On Windows XP or 2000,
svchost.exe isn't necessarily the problem, but it could be
running a malicious program, so removing it from the
registry key will prevent that program from running the
next time you boot your computer.

Your hosts file specifies IP addresses for host names.
The line "127.0.0.1 localhost" means that when you
type "localhost" into your browser address line, for
example, your browser goes to IP address 127.0.0.1, which
is the local machine, i.e. your computer. Some programs
use this funtionality, and I can't think of a single
reason not to list this in your hosts file. Some anti-
adware software uses the hosts file to block spyware and
ads. They add spyware and ad server names, but with your
local IP address (127.0.0.1), to prevent your browser from
connecting to those sites. Usually that is a good thing.
If your hosts file has entries in it that you don't
recognize, feel free to remove them, especially if this
isn't a work PC. If it is, check with your network admin
before changing this file, as you may need it to use your
work network.

B. T. Smith