Spyware Problems - No Internet Access Afterward

[Nate]

I could not access the Internet (DNS error, cannot find
server) after using MSFT's spyware (Beta version).

Details follow...

I downloaded MSFT's spyware successfully last Friday
(1/14/05). I ran it, and it discovered approx 42
problems. I chose to delete or quarantine the majority
of these. After I did this, I could not access the
Internet (DNS error, "cannot find server" message). I
called my ISP provider and we could not get the Internet
to work. I was connecting to the ISP fine via my DSL
connection.

Today, I used my PC system to restore to a prior date.
This enabled me to get my system back to the point where
I could use the Internet (pre MSFT spyware).

It is great to see a MSFT product for spyware. It looks
like it picks up stuff that may be missed by Norton and
Spybot. However, running the product made the Internet
unavailable to my PC. This was a problem. In addition,
Microsoft may also be "overreaching" when MSFT spyware
changed my start page for the Internet automatically via
spyware.

 

[Robear Dyer, MS MVP]

See:

After you run Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware (Beta), you have network-related
problems, or you receive an error message:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/892350

 

[Bill Sanderson]

Nate - this occurrence may have been due to the removal of either spyware
which hooked the Winsock LSP stack, or an innocent component detected as a
false positive.

Microsoft has a KB article about how to fix this damage:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/892350

This is very easy to do in XP SP2, particularly.

The issue of resetting the home page has been reported a number of times
here, and I don't understand what is happening clearly. When I installed
the program, as part of the initial run and setup, I got a set of dialog
boxes asking me for the default settings for both my own home page, and an
all users home page. I set those to my current home page, and haven't seen
any issue of an automatic reset.

I have seen the program complain about a browser hijack, and offer to set
the home page back, when I have changed my home page intentionally, but not
registered the change with Microsoft antispyware in any way. I expect this
feature to work better in the released version.

 

[Ron Kinner]

WinsockZpfix.exe (XP and maybe Win2K)

http://www.iup.edu/house/resnet/winfix.shtm

or

lspfix.exe (all versions )

http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm

should fix the problem.

Ron Kinner MVP

rkinner AT att DOT net
" AT " = "@"
" DOT " = "."

 

[Nate]

Thank you to everyone for the advice. I will try running
the MSFT Spyware program tomorrow, and use your advice if
I run into difficulties again.

I have Windows XP and I am pretty sure I have SP2 as well.

Nate