Restoring Address-Bar Search Functionality...

[¿WhyMe?]

Hi. My computer got infected w/ one of those spam/spyware addressbars & search
pages. I deleted all that junk, but now my addressbar search function doesn't
work anymore.

Used to be that I could type something in the address bar and an MSN search
would be performed. But now, typing "SearchTerm" in the address bar merely
attempts to go to the URL http:///? SearchTerm.

Also, I had set up a Google Search to be performed if I typed "g SearchTerm".
That doesn't work, either, and instead of performing a search, it attempts the
URL http:///? g SearchTerm.

I tried applying the registry edits that Kelly has posted in her Corner, but
they did not fix the problem at all. What else should I do??

You can respond here or e-mail amore_amaro @ hotmail.com.

Thanks in advance!!
~A.

 

[Altrus]

Hi,

Spyware, or other such programs can cause problems like the one you are
experiencing.

You would be best served by downloading utilities to remove this programs.
With the programs gone, you should be able to use your computer as normal.

AdAware is a good place to start, it will automatically detect and remove
all the spyware programs it detects, and is user friendly. You can download
AdAware from:

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/

Once you download and install the program, *_ensure that you have updated it
with the latest definition_*. This will ensure that you will be protected
against the latest versions of such programs.

To ensure removal of other maladies that AdAware may have missed, download
CWShredder. You can think of this as a companion to AdAware, and it should catch
some varients that AdAware missed. Download CWShredder here:

http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/files/cwshredder.zip

To learn more about Spyware, how to deal with these situations, and how to
better prevent them, you may be interested in the following article:

http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm

If you are unable to view the above sites, you may need to delete your Hosts
file. You can rename your hosts file through the following steps:

1) Click on Start, then find files or folders.

2) Type the following: "hosts"
(and yes, include the quotation marks).

3) Delete the file following files:
C:\windows\hosts
C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc


Regards,

Altrus




| Hi. My computer got infected w/ one of those spam/spyware addressbars &
search
| pages. I deleted all that junk, but now my addressbar search function doesn't
| work anymore.
|
| Used to be that I could type something in the address bar and an MSN search
| would be performed. But now, typing "SearchTerm" in the address bar merely
| attempts to go to the URL http:///? SearchTerm.
|
| Also, I had set up a Google Search to be performed if I typed "g SearchTerm".
| That doesn't work, either, and instead of performing a search, it attempts the
| URL http:///? g SearchTerm.
|
| I tried applying the registry edits that Kelly has posted in her Corner, but
| they did not fix the problem at all. What else should I do??
|
| You can respond here or e-mail amore_amaro @ hotmail.com.
|
| Thanks in advance!!
| ~A.
|
|