On Mon, 24 May 2004 15:22:27 -0700, "Carlos"
|>About a week ago an ISEARCH toolbar installed by itself in
|>my desktop, I haven't been able to delete it. Also it
|>automatically sets my homepage to isearch.com everytime i
|>open IE6.
|>
|>Does anyone know how to uninstall this kind of toolbar?
|>
|>Thanks,
|>Carlos
Your browser has been hijacked by "malware". To fix this, do the
following:
1. Using Windows Explorer, find a file on your computer called
'hosts'. This file is in different places in different versions of
Windows, so you'll need to find it using the Windows Explorer search
function.
2. Rename the 'hosts' file to something else, such as 'oldhosts'.
3. Go to
www.lavasoftusa.com, and download their Ad-Aware program.
This program is free for non-commercial users.
4. Now, immediately UPDATE this program.
5. Run the program and remove all the various spyware it identifies.
The instructions are easy to follow, and the program is excellent.
Explanation (you don't need to know this, but in case you're curious
about what happened):
Unscrupulous people create programs (called 'malware') that invade
your computer, either by being bundled together with stuff you want
(such as screen savers, desktop wallpaper, utilities, and so on), or
else by outright infection like a virus.
Once they get into your computer, some of this malware does everything
it can to prevent you from getting rid of them. ISearch, for example,
removes your ability to right-click your IE toolbar and customize it,
which would allow you to remove or inactivate their toolbar.
Since malware is virus-like (or worm-like, or whatever), many
antivirus Websites have tools to detect them. Also, special-purpose
programs such as Ad-Aware exist that focus on just this sort of pest.
In order to prevent you from accessing these Websites and getting the
tools or information you need to remove them, some malware edits the
file called 'hosts'.
The 'hosts' file is a tiny file buried deep in the Windows folders
somewhere. It is normally not used for much of anything. Despite
this, it can become really troublesome if someone edits it.
The file is used to tell your computer where to look, when it
encounters certain Website names. Malware can tell your computer to
go looking in the wrong place for various Websites that have antivirus
software or other tools you need. ISearch had a list of over 100
Websites that were being redirected, including Symantec, McAfee, and
Lavasoft.
To get your toolbar back, you don't absolutely *have* to fix the hosts
file. However, unless you fix it, you won't be able to access any
antivirus Websites.
Good luck...
