IE 6 unexpectedly closes

[Maureen]

I recently went to a website that I have a link to it
saved. It is a site I make purchases at routinely. When I
click on the link, IE opens, attempts to go to the site
and then promptly closes totally. No browser window left
open, no error messages, just gone. I can still go to a
multitude of different sites, I can still order at
diffrent sites but it concerns me about how this one is
acting. All of my updates are current, I also have curent
dat files for McAffee and scan regularly with AdAware.
I've never seen IE act this way so I am truly puzzled.
Please advise.

 

[Jan Il]

Hi Maureen

It is likely you have parasites, spyware, adware, malware, or hijackware on
your system causing the problem, which your antivirus will not detect, as it
does not have the same definitions. Download and install, then you *MUST*
update the programs prior to running to be sure they have the latest
definitions, then run the programs below. They are free and very effective.
Be sure to run both SpyBot and Adaware, as what one does not detect the
other may. It is important that you follow all directions carefully:

You can go to the links below to check your system for parasites
http://aumha.org/a/noads.htm
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/parasite.htm

IMPORTANT:
Before trying to remove spyware, download a copy of LSPFIX from
the URL below - some malware may kill your internet connection when it is
removed, this program will enable you to regain your connection.
http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm

It is important that you run the programs in the order that they are listed
here. The first three programs will clear your machine of all other items so
that you can have a clear HiJackThis Log for the experts to read and analyze
for you.

(NOTE: If you can not download these programs from the Internet, if your PC
has CD read capabilities, go to another computer with CD-ROM burning
capabilities. Create a folder on the hard drive of the other computer called
HOLD, download the programs to that folder, then burn that folder to a CD.
Copy the HOLD folder to your HD and then install the programs from there
and run them. After you have IE access again, update all programs where
possible to get the latest definitions and run them again to be sure there
are no lingering items on the system.

CWShredder: Free
http://tinyurl.com/2l9kl
or
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4086.html

SpyBot Search & Destroy: Free
http://download.com.com/3000-8022-10289035.html?tag=lst-0-2
or
http://majorgeeks.com/download2471.html

AdAware: Free
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/
or
http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads31.html

(If needed: AdAware Manual updates only):
Scroll down to Updates Available -
http://lavasoft.element5.com/support/download


HiJackThis: - Free

Go to
http://computercops.biz/downloads-cat-14.html ,
or
http://tinyurl.com/2oce8
or
http://tinyurl.com/2atxk

and download HiJackThis. Unzip to a folder other than your Desktop or the
Temp folder, doubleclick HiJackThis.exe, and hit "Scan".

When the scan is finished, the "Scan" button will change into a "Save Log"
button. Press that, save the log some place you remember where it is.
Most of what it lists will be harmless or even required, so DO NOT fix
anything yet.

Open a the copy of your log in NotePad and made a copy. Then you can go here
to post you log:
http://forum.aumha.org/

Go to the HiJackThis section on the forum list and click to open. You can
post as a guest. It's also a good site to keep for reference. The experts
there will analyze the log and report back the results. Please allow at
least a few hours or a days time for a response.

Remember, you must return to the HJT site to get your answer. It is a good
idea to click the "Notify" box so that you will get an electronic
notification by e-mail to let you know when a response has been posted.
But, you must still return to the site of your answer

Help with Hijackware & Scumware Information:

HijackThis Quick Start Help
http://www.tomcoyote.org/hjt/

The Tutorial if you want to know more about the results or the .log file.
http://www.merijn.org/htlogtutorial.html
also
http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htm
http://aumha.org/a/quickfix.htm
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm

Here is information on how to help protect your system:

Practice Safe Hex
http://www.claymania.com/safe-hex.html

This program helps control parasites, spyware, adware, and malware that may
get on your system:

SpywareBlaster: Free
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

Hope this helps.

Jan

 

[Guest]

I have done all that you suggested and am still having
difficulties. It is just with one particular site and the
reason I am so concerned is because I use my credit card
at this site. Is there a way to test the site? it is
http://www.cigarettesexpress.com

 

[Jan Il]

Hi Maureen

I have done all that you suggested and am still having
difficulties. It is just with one particular site and the
reason I am so concerned is because I use my credit card
at this site. Is there a way to test the site? it is
http://www.cigarettesexpress.com

I have tried the site and it opened for me with no problem. If you don't
have any malware or other, if you have a Hosts file, then it may be blocked
by that. To check do the following:

Windows/host (it will not have an extension, and if there is more than one,
choose the one that says Application in a column to the right) . If you
don't find one, then disregard the rest. If you do, then follow the
instructions below.

If so, then right click on it and select Open with.....when the window
opens, scroll down the list to Notepad. Once it opens in Notepad, scroll
down the list to see if that site is in the list. If so, DO NOT delete it,
just go to the very front of the line to the left and enter # in front of
the line so that it looks similar to the one below, as the entries with # in
front will be ignored.

# Entries with other comments are searchable via Google.

Then click the save button and close. Then try the site again.

HTH

Jan

 

[Guest]

Hi Jan,
Thanks so much for sticking this one out. I have more than
one computer in my home as I work from home doing support.
Go figure. I can access the site mentioned from my laptop.
There is a second site now affected by this strange
occurance. This one is a government site I truly need to
access regularly. It was not bookmarked either. I checked
the host file, the only thing listed is a local host
starting with 127. I'm perplexed as I didn't make any
changes myself to this pc. It is W2k with McAfee, adaware,
and now the other products mentioned in this post earlier.
I've cleaned everything. I am going to attempt it now in
safe mode. still having the issue. still appreciate any
and all suggestions.

 

[Jan Il]

Hi Maureen

Hi Jan,
Thanks so much for sticking this one out. I have more than
one computer in my home as I work from home doing support.
Go figure. I can access the site mentioned from my laptop.
There is a second site now affected by this strange
occurance. This one is a government site I truly need to
access regularly. It was not bookmarked either. I checked
the host file, the only thing listed is a local host
starting with 127. I'm perplexed as I didn't make any
changes myself to this pc. It is W2k with McAfee, adaware,
and now the other products mentioned in this post earlier.
I've cleaned everything. I am going to attempt it now in
safe mode. still having the issue. still appreciate any
and all suggestions.

First, I think we need a some second opinions, so run the programs below and
see what they find if anything, different programs have different
definitions. Be sure you ran SpyBot along with the AdAware, as they look for
different things, so it is best to run the both.

Trend Micro Housecall - Free
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/housecall/start_corp.asp

Other on-line scans:
http://www.claymania.com/anti-virus.html

Download and run

McAfee Avert Stinger
http://tinyurl.com/2esu7
or
http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/

You might also try the following and see if it will help.

Turn off Sun Java in IE6 in Tools | Internet options |Advanced tab.

Uncheck the box marked:
"Use Java 2 v1.4. for <applet>"

Test it on www.thesun.co.uk

Then try the site again.

You didn't mention which Windows version you have. Also, do you have a
firewall? If you have Windows XP, turn the firewall off and try the sites.
Try disabling any other fire wall you have and see if you can any better
luck . Also, have you installed or uninstalled, or downloaded anything at
about the time the problems started. If you have run a clean AV scan and
all the programs that I provided, and the problem persists, then it is
something with your settings. Sometimes ISP's can do an update and the
customers don't know it.

Also do the following:

How to check HOSTS file

Windows/host (it will not have an extension, and if there is more than one,
choose the one that says Application in a column to the right) . Right click
on it and select Open with.....when the window opens, scroll down the list
to Notepad. Once it opens in Notepad, scoll down the list to see if that
site is in the list. If so, DO NOT delete it, just go to the very front of
the line to the left and enter # in front of the line so that it looks
similar to the one below, as the entries with # in front will be ignored.

# Entries with other comments are searchable via Google.

Then click the save button and close. Then try the site again.


If still no joy, then try this one:

Unresponsive links - Links won't respond

Courtesy of Frank Saunders - MS MVP

From http://www.fjsmjs.com/OE/nolinks.htm

1. Click Start, and then click Run.

2. In the Open box, type:

regsvr32 urlmon.dll

3. Click OK, and then click OK again when you receive the following message:

DllRegisterServer in urlmon.dll succeeded.

4. If that doesn't fix it, see this article:

http://www.mvps.org/inetexplorer/answers.htm#new_window

5. If you are using WinXP try this:
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/reg/IE_Default_Browser.reg

You can also try this:

Go to Start/run, and type SFC (msconfig for WinXP).
Choose 'Extract One File From Installation Disk' ("Expand File" for WinXP).
Type oleaut32.dll, not worrying about its location. Then, click Start.

Next to 'Restore From', type in or browse for the file's location, which is
probably in the Win98 (i386 for WinXP) folder of your installation CD-ROM
(typically D:\Win98), or in your Windows\Options\Cabs (Windows\i386 for
WinXP) folder, as the case may be.

Then, next to 'Save File In', enter C:\Windows\System (C:\Windows\System32
for WinXP), and click OK. System File Checker (or msconfig) looks for the
file, saves it as you requested, and then tells you that 'the file has been
successfully extracted'.

You may need to reboot.

Post back the results of the above. If you have another site that won't
open, something on your system is still amiss.

Hope this helps.

Jan

 

[Maureen]

Yippee!!! or not. It was the Java that was causing all the
grief. Now I just recieve the message "Your current
settings prohibit running active x controls on this page.
As a result the page may not display correctly" OK, so
what do I do when I need to use Java? I only installed it
as it is a necesary part of another program I need to
learn to support. suggestions?

 

[Jan Il]

Yippee!!! or not. It was the Java that was causing all the
grief. Now I just recieve the message "Your current
settings prohibit running active x controls on this page.
As a result the page may not display correctly" OK, so
what do I do when I need to use Java? I only installed it
as it is a necesary part of another program I need to
learn to support. suggestions?

 

[Jan Il]

Hi Maureen

Yippee!!! or not. It was the Java that was causing all the
grief. Now I just recieve the message "Your current
settings prohibit running active x controls on this page.
As a result the page may not display correctly" OK, so
what do I do when I need to use Java? I only installed it
as it is a necesary part of another program I need to
learn to support. suggestions?

Alllrighty Now!! We are getting close.

Sorry about the first send, I forgot I already had Reply on and.......<sigh>

Ok. Try the information below and see if this helps with the nagging Active
X issue.

Active x Errors and Settings

ActiveX Error Message
http://www.kccsoft.com/etraining/technical.asp#activex

http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/acxen.htm

See: "Various Registry Fixes."
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm

Then we'll address the Java situation.

Jan