For some reason I can't log onto any search engine website.

I mean any.

I can get onto any other type of site.

Anyone ever have this happen or have a clue why this is going on?

Originally posted by dlemond
For some reason I can't log onto any search engine website.

I mean any.

I can get onto any other type of site.

Anyone ever have this happen or have a clue why this is going on? my best guess is spyware -

there are a couple of nasty browser hijackers that will do that, although usually they will send you to THEIR search site instead... or just to an advertising page... it certainly wouldnt hurt to run Spybot and AdAware

the other thing could be if you use any MSN services (MS Messenger, Hotmail) they can reset your default search settings and screw it up royally ... just reset your settings - its different in each OS, but for XP/IE 6:

turn on the 'Search' bar ctrl+E or on the menu View>Explorer Bar>Search
click on "Customize" at the top right
click on the "Reset" button
make any custom changes you want
if that doesnt work delete your temp internet files and reset your Web Settings on the Tools menu

you could also download "HijackThis!" and run it to find out exactly what all your search settings are and, what Browser Helper Objects are installed,

and if you try a different browser (Mozilla, mozillaFirebird, Netscape, AOL, Opera) you can isolate whether it is a problem with Internet Explorer or something else (most likely it IS though)

10

Originally posted by .simpson_10.
10 ? :confused: ?

Originally posted by robyrob
? :confused: ?

Ignore him. He seems to have a brain deficiency that renders him totally annoying.

Originally posted by Original Prankster
Ignore him. He seems to have a brain deficiency that renders him totally annoying.

:rofl:

Originally posted by Original Prankster
Ignore him. He seems to have a brain deficiency that renders him totally annoying. i wasnt sure if he was rating my advice, my avatar, or the 2 inches of white space at the bottom of the page

I tried adware and resetting my settings, but nothing has changed.

What a pain in the rear.

I wish I could help you dlemond, but I'm technically challenged. :confused:

Originally posted by .simpson_10.
10
woops i thought i was in the rate the avatar thread.:doh: :doh:

Originally posted by .simpson_10.
woops i thought i was in the rate the avatar thread.:doh: :doh:



ohno: ohno: ohno:

Originally posted by Original Prankster
Ignore him. He seems to have a brain deficiency that renders him totally annoying.

OH MY GOD I KNOW!!!! I DON'T LIKE HIM ONE BIT! ALL THE POWER TOO YOU!!!!

Originally posted by .simpson_10.
woops i thought i was in the rate the avatar thread.:doh: :doh:

:rolleyes: This one has 1 page and the avatar one has like 29 pages...

Originally posted by PZelda: VICKI!!
:rolleyes: This one has 1 page and the avatar one has like 29 pages... HEY - at least i finally got a 10

Originally posted by dlemond
I tried adware and resetting my settings, but nothing has changed.

What a pain in the rear.
it does sound pretty frustrating,

what actually happens when you try to go to www.google.com ?
what browser and OS are you using?
what problems does
Spybot (http://security.kolla.de/news.php?lang=en) find?
it may be time to try HijackThis! (http://www.tomcoyote.org/hjt/) there are instructions on the site and a tutorial, you just want to run it and find out if there is anything nasty in there, and it will let you reset ALL your web settings
i would also suggest trying another browser - mozilla firebird doesnt even need to be installed, so it is probably the lowest risk to try out get it and info
here (http://texturizer.net/firebird/index.html)
if you still have the same problem in a different browser it has to be either spyware or a virus.....

Originally posted by robyrob
HEY - at least i finally got a 10

:rofl: True :D

OK, from the main page on www.spywareinfo.net :

Are you trying to get to Google?
Your computer is running software that doesn't allow you to use Google.

The above is a message that many thousands of unfortunate browser hijack victims have been seeing recently, while trying to use certain major search engines. Someone has released a browser hijacker that exploits flaws in the Internet Explorer web browser to drop a bad HOSTS file on infected machines.

A HOSTS file is used to tell Windows that a web site is located at the IP address listed next to its name. When you load a web site, Windows checks this list to see if the site is listed there. If the site is not listed, Windows then checks your ISP's domain name servers to find the IP address of the web site.

This bad HOSTS file tells Windows that google.com, altavista.com, yahoo.com and other major search engines are located at the hijacker's IP address. Thankfully, it would seem the web host that owns that IP address terminated the attacker's account. Most likely, the attacker was running a pay-per-click search portal of his own and was hoping to profit from his victims.

In the place of whatever used to be at that address, someone has placed a link to a particular post at TweakXP's message board, that has instructions on fixing a HOSTS hijack. Unfortunately for TweakXP, so many victims clicked through to go to the page that it overwhelmed their web server.

What's the fix?

This is the easy part. Download
Hosts File Reader (http://members.shaw.ca/techcd/VB_Projects/HostsFileReader.exe) to the location of your choice on the computer. Run the program, click the "Read Hosts File" button, click the button labeled "Reset Defaults" and click "Save Changes". That kills the hijack.

After you have done this, update the antivirus program on the computer and run a scan. There are several trojans exploiting both of these flaws and most likely the machine is infected with one or more of them.

**************

Spybot Search & Destroy also provides a way to reset the hosts file, add a new spyware/adware blocking Hosts file, and then set it to read only so it can't be hijacked again.....

:grr: - does anyone ELSE get this?