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US Warns All Web Surfers to Not Use IE!!

thew

By thew
in The Tailgate

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Sebowski

Sebowski

Posted
Posted
Originally posted by Dan T.

I've been hijacked, and I can't get rid of the F*cker. I've tried Adaware, CWShredder, Hijack This, Spybot Search and Destroy.

It's tenacious. It regenerates on startup and hijacks my browser to something called "solongas". I'd like to strangle the f'er that created this scumware.

Try downloading and running "Bazooka" It helped me when Hijack This and Spybot couldn't. It should tell you what to delte from the registry. Also, if spybot is detecting it, but not removing it, you can figure out how to do it manualy. If there is an exclamation mark after the adress of the problem like this:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/................./{090813-093801!

Ignore the exclamation mark and delete the matching value. Hope that made sense.

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JimboDaMan

JimboDaMan

Posted
Posted
Originally posted by Tarhog

I'll confess, I doubt I'll change over, but since Netscape 7.0 came with my Sony Vaio (the default is IE), can anyone tell me if theres any benefit to using Netscape?

Pretty much the same benefit as using Firefox (mozilla): nowhere near as many viruses written for it.

Whether or not you plan to use it, every IE user should download Netscape and Firefox (or another browser of choice) just in case.

And I don't think you can actually uninstall IE under any version of Windows, at least not without downloading some utility to do it for you.

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indygo

indygo

Posted
Posted

Another Mozilla Firefox fangirl here. Been my browser of choice for a long time. It's not perfect, though, and sometimes I find for sites that are heavy on multimedia presentations, I have to open IE to see the site as it was designed. Just remember Mozilla is a constant work in progress and keep IE or another browser handy just in case.

Originally posted by Fred21Smoot

Alright guys. everytime I try to download mozilla from both its website and download.com i get a screen that looks like this http://searchpage.cc/. I have no clue what to do and i also tried saving the target as....but that doesnt work either. Can anyone tell me what is wrong.

You've got a spyware/adware problem. I'll adapt an article I wrote elsewhere a while back if it helps. Seems like there are a couple of folks here that might benefit from a bit of a cleanup. This stuff is downright insidious and can make your Internet life hell.

If you have reason to suspect that...

  • your computer has been hacked;
  • your computer has been infected with a virus, trojan, or worm;
  • your Internet browser has been hijacked (e.g., home page has been changed, strange popups appear, search functions don't work as expected, etc.)

...try all the following steps to diagnose (and possibly repair) any problems:

Run a full scan on your computer with an antivirus program that has been recently updated with the most current virus definitions.

To update your antivirus program if you are running Norton Antivirus, use the LiveUpdate function within the program. If you are using McAfee, the Auto Update function should be set up to retrieve updates regularly. If Auto Update is not set up or if it hasn't retrieved updates in the past day or two, you can manually download updates from McAfee's web site. If you are using AVG Antivirus, you may double-click the AVG icon (the yellow, black, green and red square) in your system tray, click the Update Manager tab, and and click the "Update Now" button to get the latest virus definitions, or you may manually update by visiting the AVG web site. If you are using another antivirus product, search the help documentation within your product for how to update.

It is of utmost importance to have recent updates before running a scan of your system. Antivirus programs use internal lists of known viruses to check against you system in order to detect problems. Virus authors are always writing new viruses, and if you don't have the most recent updates for your product, it will be unable to detect the newer threats.

If you do not have an antivirus program installed, you may want to consider installing one of the free antivirus software packages outlined here. Be sure to check their license agreements, as most of the free editions of these products are good only for personal use and not for use on servers.

If your antivirus program doesn't seem to be functioning properly, you should try one or two of the free online scanners that are available. Some types of malware ("malicious software") can actually disable or damage many of the popular antivirus programs.

It is also a good idea to use an online scanner in addition to your own antivirus program if you feel your own program is not detecting a problem that you believe is virus-related. No one antivirus program will detect all viruses all the time. And to be truly sure you are free of infection, one product is not enough. Once you get a clean scan from your installed antivirus program, run one of the online scanners to make sure nothing was missed.

If a scan reveals a malware problem, write down the names of the infections found on your computer and allow the antivirus program to fix them if it can. There are some viruses that are difficult or impossible to remove with a regular antivirus scanner. You may want to make use of some of the free virus removal tools available for some of the most popular viruses if your antivirus program is not successful in removal and repair.

Run a full scan of your computer with a spyware detection program that has been recently updated with the most current spyware definitions.

If you do not already have a spyware detection program, download and install one of the free ones. We recommend Spybot Search & Destroy or Ad-Aware. Spybot S&D has a better record for detection and removal of spyware; Ad-Aware is easier to use for novice computer users. There is a detailed tutorial for using Spybot S&D here. Ad-Aware states for new users...

If you are new to Ad-Aware, we strongly recommend that you read the Help file before attempting to use the software for the first time. After you have read the manual please be sure to update your reference file to the latest release and be sure to configure the RefUpdate feature (recommended) to automatically search for new updates on a weekly basis.

When you install your spyware detection program, be sure to update it after installing and before you run it for the first time. There should be instructions and/or prompts when you first run it to help you get updates. Be sure you read through any tutorial materials. Also, it is best to restart your computer in Safe Mode before running a full spyware scan. This will enable the spyware program to perform better repairs in many cases.

If your system is infected with a particular spyware called "CoolWebSearch," you will find The CoolWebSearch Chronicles to be of particular interest to you. Merijn has written a program especially designed to eradicate this spyware from your computer, since it is too insidious and unpredictable to be fully repaired by some spyware scanners.

As with antivirus programs, no one spyware detection program will catch everything. To truly clean your system, run one antispyware program and then another.

As for prevention, SpywareBlaster has been recommended to help keep spyware from being installed in the first place. The same developer also offers SpywareGuard that can be used in addition to SpywareBlaster. SpywareGuard runs in real time to constantly protect your system.

There is an excellent spyware primer article at PC Magazine that is a must-read for all Internet surfers. Click here to read it.

To prevent reinfection and to protect your system, familiarize yourself with basic security practices and implement them on your system.

Many of the worst viruses and spyware take advantage of vulnerabilities (security holes) in popular software, like Internet Explorer, in order to spread and install themselves. Software manufacturers typically stay on top of these vulnerabilies and release patches for them. However, virus and spyware authors are also up-to-date on these vulnerabilities and are constantly writing new malware to take advantage of them. Some viruses are able to reinfect a system even while the user is busy attempting to remove the problem.

To protect your system and your personal information, you should follow the basic security practices outlined by Microsoft here. A current antivirus program will protect you from viruses, trojans, and worms. Getting computer updates regularly by using Windows Update (i.e., getting the patches mentioned previously) will keep malware from being able to exploit software vulnerabilities. And using an Internet firewall will alert you whenever programs or hackers are attempting to get into or out of your system without your permission. Two firewalls that have been used and recommended by our users are ZoneAlarm and Kerio Personal Firewall. Both are free for home use.

One thing I would add to Microsoft's three security basics is the need for a reliable spyware scanner. Spyware scanners pick up threats that antivirus products do not. Running one on your system periodically will help keep spyware problems at bay.

Another helpful little utility is Mike Lin's Startup Monitor. You can install this small utility on your computer and always be alerted when anything attempts to register itself as something that runs automatically whenever Windows starts up, which most spyware and virus programs do attempt to do. (I use it myself and like it enough that I didn't mind at all donating to his tip jar.)

If your problems persist, you may want to use a diagnostic utility and seek more help.

HijackThis is a great utility for tracking down and eliminating spyware/adware on your computer, but sometimes it takes a tech-head to decipher and use it properly. There are several good forums manned by spyware experts out there who can decipher your HijackThis log and help you rid your system of the stuff. I'm not affiliated with SpywareInfo forums in any way but have seen them help many people with spyware problems that seem impossible.

Happy and safe computing to all!

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indygo

indygo

Posted
Posted
Originally posted by Fred21Smoot

Thank you indygo. I appreciate it.

No problem at all. Hope you get things fixed with minimal heartache.

Originally posted by jbooma

FYI Firefox and Mozilla are not as secure as IE and yes their will be viruses for that to. Right now no one cares but as soon as more people switch that will change.

Jbooma brings up a good point. Lack of mainstream popularity is the biggest reason why the bad guys aren't prodding Mozilla Firefox for holes to exploit. When 95% of the world uses IE, why bother writing malicious software for Firefox? If 95% of the world were using Firefox, it would be the browser under attack.

That being said, Firefox does have a couple of benefits, though. For one, it is not directly integrated with your computer's operating system the way IE is, which means a hacker could possibly do more system-wide damage to your computer through IE. And Firefox doesn't use the Microsoft Java plug-in, which is a bit more buggy and exploitable than others. You also have better control over cookies with Firefox. But the Mozilla folks also love to say Firefox is more secure because it doesn't support ActiveX, which is a feature that can allow good OR malicious programs to run on your computer through your Internet browser. ActiveX settings can be easily changed in Internet Explorer, though, to make it more secure.

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jbooma

jbooma

Posted
Posted
Originally posted by indygo

No problem at all. Hope you get things fixed with minimal heartache.

Jbooma brings up a good point. Lack of mainstream popularity is the biggest reason why the bad guys aren't prodding Mozilla Firefox for holes to exploit. When 95% of the world uses IE, why bother writing malicious software for Firefox? If 95% of the world were using Firefox, it would be the browser under attack.

Now if only MAC users would believe that :laugh:

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RabidFan

RabidFan

Posted
Posted

Just changed to Mozilla.....but I'm still getting a popup from my Viruscan citing "adware/apropos and ezula" and it says "file moved but is not cleanable" and when i run adaware or spybot it does not detect these to be removed. A coworker suggests its in my registry....is there a free download program that I can delete this with without having access to my registry? Thanks,

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jbooma

jbooma

Posted
Posted
Originally posted by RabidFan

Just changed to Mozilla.....but I'm still getting a popup from my Viruscan citing "adware/apropos and ezula" and it says "file moved but is not cleanable" and when i run adaware or spybot it does not detect these to be removed. A coworker suggests its in my registry....is there a free download program that I can delete this with without having access to my registry? Thanks,

try search and destroy bot i believe it gets rid of all adds:

http://www.download.com/3000-8022-10122137.html

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indygo

indygo

Posted
Posted
Originally posted by jbooma

Now if only MAC users would believe that :laugh:

:laugh: Mac users don't have much to worry about when it comes to popularity putting them at risk at this point. That being said, though, our Mac has up-to-date virus protection on it!

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indygo

indygo

Posted
Posted
Originally posted by RabidFan

I currently have Spybot Search and Destroy 1.2 and it is not finding these to delete when I scan. Any other ideas?

Didn't you say your virus software moved the files? I guess you're using McAfee's virus software? It may have moved them into a "vault" and renamed them. I'm not sure how McAfee handles that adware. If it did move the files, though, Spybot S&D probably won't detect them.

You could try Ad-Aware if you like, but I don't know if it would work, either, since McAfee claims to have moved the files.

McAfee also gives no information at all on their site about how to handle removal, either. How irritating. I don't have McAfee, so I can't check how to look for the files, but is there a way for you to look at what's in the "vault" or "quarantine" and delete? If so, restart your computer in safe mode and delete any of those files out of McAfee's vault area.

If not, then I don't know what to tell you except to follow the tedious manual removal instructions, which should be the most thorough way to solve the problem.

Restart your computer in safe mode and follow the removal instructions for each of those adware problems at the following links:

http://www.pestpatrol.com/pestinfo/a/apropos.asp

http://www.pestpatrol.com/pestinfo/e/ezula.asp

http://www.pestpatrol.com/pestinfo/e/ezula_toptext.asp

Maybe somebody else has an easier idea?

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BG

BG

Posted
Posted

I have had great experiences with Pest Patrol on my computer. However, I am very safe about what sites I visit, have my firewall and antivirus up to date constantly. Lately, I've been getting alot of intrusion detections and PestPatrol is saying my computer is clear. Im going to try some of the reccomendations here to see if I can get rid of any remnant stuff on my computer. Any other ideas would be sick...

My roomates computer is another story alltogether. That thing is at a standstill right now from adware, trojans and possibly the Klez virus. Maybe a new version?

I ran PestPatrol and found over 300 different bugs, deleted them, but no matter what, for the last few days, every time I open it back up, something new is on there.

I tried to update the virus defs, but it doesn't find anything. It is also saying that Live Update has been uninstalled.

Man, this is a b*tch, and the computer is about 3 x as fast as mine...

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