Computer issues

[Plaidfish]

HELP
at some point in the day I got hit w/ something that won't let me set my homepage...I keep getting a message (looks like an ad to me) asking if i want to know how to stop spyware software and all that.....my homepage is about:blank that's what the address bar says and it's a blank page w/ an MS search bar in it.......I ran spybot search and destroy and it found some stuff but I think there's more on here still...I ran virus scan from McAfee's site and it came up w/ zero virus.......anyone else have suggestions on what I can try.....whatever this is seems to be preventing me from accessing my office from home......

 

[Throttle]

Go to download.com and get Ad-aware. The Se Plus software is better but it costs money so just go with Ad-aware. Let us know how it works.

Scott.

 

[comp75]

ad-aware works ok but I don't think that is what you got hit with. Google for a program called hijack this. You have a browser hijack. Not to bad to deal with. Run both if possible.

 

[jon2]

You got spyware issues.

Go to run in your start menu and type MSCONFIG

Your start up config will pop up.

switch the tab to START UP and look at what "new" Programs you have now added.

Care ful not to mess your config file up.

 

[HumboldtBlazer]

Adaware, Spybot, and Microsoft's AntiSpyware tool. And if you have some tuff stuff get Spy Sweeper trail version but make sure to uninstall it when finished.

 

[beason]

plaid i pmed you .. pm me back and ill try to help..

 

[jon2]

If you did what I suggested this will only tell what you have on your start up list. You will need to remove it with, Spysweeper and the Microsoft "BETA" software. IMO is the best available to the consumer.

 

[Error401]

If you're running 2K or XP, go to microsoft and download their anti spyware program. Get ad-aware and hijack this. The MS prog and ad-aware are fairly safe and do a good job of cleaning up crap. HJT is another story. Be very careful of what you select for removal, as not everything that it brings up is crapware. When in doubt, use google to find out more info on the specific things HJT lists.

More than likely you got a flavor of sp.dll. That's a real PITA. When you get AAW installed, reboot in safe mode and scan with AAW. Set explorer to view hidden and system files and go manually delete the stuff in windows\temp, docs and settings\"profile"\local settings\temp and temp internet files. If you've installed kazaa, morpheus, limewire, ares, or any of those other p2p progs, you've done this to yourself (read the EULA for these programs and look for the "you agree to also install all kinds of shitware" clause). sp.dll and the about:blank thing will reoccur if you don't get it all out. Run regedit and do a search for "pendingfilerename", there are a couple referrances in the registry, but the one you want to modify is the one that has a bunch of listings that rename and copy stuff out of temp folders. When you find that entry, double click it (to edit it) and hit the delete key to clear all of the values in that entry, then close regedit. Reboot in normal mode and scan again with all of the utils. Do not open IE until you go to control panel, internet settings, and change your homepage to something else (ie google).

If you still can't get rid of it, you might need to take it to a computer shop and have a tech really work it over. I feel your pain bro, I clean this poop up for a living, day in and day out.

 

[Rolex]

Go to the top of this forum where there's a red sticky labeled "Attention..Popups" WoodiE has a link there for 4 free downloads for adware. I installed them a while back. Some are removal tools, and some are blockers. I highly recommend using them. What you got might not be removed by these programs. Some are deeply rooted in there.
If you have IE set to open to a blank page, it will say About:Blank in your address bar. If there is ANYTHING on the page such as ads or links, your browser has been hijacked.

 

[Plaidfish]

jon I have 2kpro No MS Config...I loved that screen in NT and 98.....
I tried the ad-aware software most of you suggested....I still have the IE issue.....I miss 98se I knew it so well.....I'll be trying some other stuff later but I need to do other things right now...thanks for the suggestions guys.....Error I will be trying what you posted but man what a PITA that is gonna be....

 

[Rolex]

If you run "Hijack This" you need to print out the log file and submit it to someone to check. I believe it only tells you if you have a problem, but the download can not remove it.
If you got it through Grokster or another peer to peer site, look through their forums for that problem. They hijack your browser and your home page, and you need a link to a program download to remove it. Then you have to find other files and folders and remove them manually. With Grokster, they were under Jupiter, and others hidden under Xupiter. Good luck, it took me 2 very long days to get back to normal.

 

[Error401]

jon I have 2kpro No MS Config...I loved that screen in NT and 98.....
I tried the ad-aware software most of you suggested....I still have the IE issue.....I miss 98se I knew it so well.....I'll be trying some other stuff later but I need to do other things right now...thanks for the suggestions guys.....Error I will be trying what you posted but man what a PITA that is gonna be....

If a friend has an XP machine, search for msconfig.exe and put it on a floppy (or mem stick, or cd), then put it in your windows dir. it will run on 2k, it just wasn't included in the install.

yes, it is a pita.

 

[Plaidfish]

I haven't DL any P2P progs since audiogalaxy.......I doubt it was from any of those.....is hijack this free? My connection is so slow I don't want to search for anything...can someone paste a link to Downloads.com to the page that would have it....please

 

[Error401]

Give me a couple of minutes and I'll put msconfig up on my site as well as some other stuff.

 

[Error401]

Ok, here's the tools I use:

http://www.error401.com/utils/

the ones to get are msconfig, lsp fix (fixes the winsock lsp entries, use this one with utmost care), cwshredder (cleans out cool web search), hijack this (in the HJT folder), the mMS antispyware installer, spybot s&d, msvbvm60 (often missing and required for some of these utils), reg clean (use with care), and reg seeker (better than regedit for looking for stuff in the registry).

Ad aware can be found at www.lavasoftusa.com (look for the download link on the left side).

if you have any questions about using these, pm me and I'll swap emails with you.

 

[jetmechG550]

Went through something similar not long ago. Had to do a bunch of poop to clear up the machine. Does 2K Pro have a system restore? If it does, you will need to turn it off. You may have to run your anti-virus in safe mode as well as run ad-aware several times in a row to clear the machine. You'll also need to dump all your temp files. I found all the help I needed on the Norton website. Unfortunately I can not remember what the name of it was. It was a real pain in the ass.

 

[Buncrana]

Ok, here's the tools I use:

http://www.error401.com/utils/

the ones to get are msconfig, lsp fix (fixes the winsock lsp entries, use this one with utmost care), cwshredder (cleans out cool web search), hijack this (in the HJT folder), the mMS antispyware installer, spybot s&d, msvbvm60 (often missing and required for some of these utils), reg clean (use with care), and reg seeker (better than regedit for looking for stuff in the registry).

Ad aware can be found at www.lavasoftusa.com (look for the download link on the left side).

if you have any questions about using these, pm me and I'll swap emails with you.

What? No About Buster? ALso, AdAware recently changed their detection defs to allow WhenYouSave to stay on your computer, bad form on their side. SpyBot has been found to be very reliable and much easier to use than AAW.

 

[wannarunem]

About:blank Sucks!!!!!

HELP.....my homepage is about:blank

This is one pain in the ass spyware program ..i had it once on my machine...it is a NIGHTMARE!!!!!! :boxing:

Read post 10 in this thread:

https://www.rcnitrotalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21851&highlight=about:blank


Heres a little more info for you.


https://www.rcnitrotalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23239&highlight=about:blank

Spy bot, ad-aware, search and destroy... etc..all those programs do not work in the effort to get about:blank off your machine unless they made revisions to their software. When my computer had it...about:blank was untouchable from those programs. They will will "work" for a few minutes..but the menace comes back since those programs do not delete about:blank out of your registry...and thats where it hides. It will rename itself in your registry to keep from getting detected too. It took me several MONTHS to figure out what i needed to do to get it off my computer.

This is the only method i found that will kill about:blank....DEAD!!!! :sniper:

..but only attempt if you feel comfortable digging in your registry

http://www.akadia.com/services/about_blank_virus.html

 

[Error401]

What? No About Buster? ALso, AdAware recently changed their detection defs to allow WhenYouSave to stay on your computer, bad form on their side. SpyBot has been found to be very reliable and much easier to use than AAW.

Hadn't heard of that one, but thanks for the link (I'll probably be using that util from now on).

Here's an article that was on yahoo news a couple days ago that probably explains why AAW and some of the other antispyware utils are "missing" some of this crapware:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1738&e=2&u=/zd/20050314/tc_zd/147243

Unfortunately we (me and the guys I work with) have noticed that all of the utils are "overlooking" more and more of these. It pains and suprises me, but the MS util seems to catch nearly all of it. But, alot of times you have to pull your boot drive and do a pre-clean on it on another machine (termed a scan machine). We scan drives this way using the MS util, AAW, and NAV. We also go through the drive deleting the obvious stuff (temp files, obvious spyware program directories and individual files in the windows and system/32 folders). Then we put the disk back in the original machine and scan some more, and some more until it's clean. On average it takes about 3 hours to clean a machine.

 

[Plaidfish]

So basically everyone is saying I'm fiddlesticked right????
can i back up files like .DWGs and Mp3 files I have had on my PC from before this happened and just reformat my drive or should I consider everything on there corrupt?....I swear this is the biggest pain in my ass I have ever had on my PC.....I've managed to run it for 6 years w/o getting a real virus or anything like this, and I don't have ANY virus software on my home PC.....I used to DL stuff from Napster, Audio galaxy and Kazaa and WINMX when they all started and never got nailed......all I use my home pC for is E-bay, E-mail & RCNT now.....I'll surf a little but not much at home......I wanted to see the hotbodies site and just typed hotbodies.com and all hell broke loose I got like a few dozen or so pop-ups and after the dust settled I had this issue......