Google Hijacked!

**healimonster** · 01-01-2004, 05:20 PM

Recently some odd things have been happening with my PC.

My homepage was changed to some search page I have never been to. I am very diligent about not clicking yes to any pop up or download box, so this kinda shocked me. Who knows though, maybe late at night drunk I might have by accident so I didn't dwell on it.

Then twice today when I go to Google did a search for a store chain. the search finished and i clicked on the store I wanted. Instead of going to the stores home page I was brought to another search page for some random searching website.

I thought it was an error on my part so I did it again searching for a different chain and when I clicked on the link I was brought to another search engine.

What gives?

Any one had this problem?

Any idea how my computer got this problem?

**TheKiler** · 01-01-2004, 05:35 PM

Spyware... use spybot.

**Smurfette** · 01-01-2004, 05:39 PM

Originally posted by healimonster@1 January 2004 - 17:20
What gives?

You've got some nasty program on your computer doing that.

Any one had this problem?

Plenty of people.

Any idea how my computer got this problem?

Someone installed a program they shouldn't have.

TRshady · 01-01-2004, 05:41 PM

Originally posted by TheKiler@1 January 2004 - 17:35
Spyware... use spybot.

Agreed, or Ad-aware as I prefere to use.

**Snee** · 01-01-2004, 06:05 PM

Originally posted by TRshady+1 January 2004 - 18:41--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (TRshady @ 1 January 2004 - 18:41)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-TheKiler@1 January 2004 - 17:35
Spyware... use spybot.

Agreed, or Ad-aware as I prefere to use. [/b][/quote]
Use both, and also spywareblaster, it's a great preventive proggie, which works nicely together with Spybot.

Also Immunize yer system with Spybot, while yer at it.

EDit: link for Spybot

EDit again: and get this too, just in case: hijack This

**chinook_apache** · 01-01-2004, 07:00 PM

i have had these search page problems too.
i havent ever used spybot or adware or what have you...
all i do is go in to the registry and delte the files from there...it works a treat and everything is back to normal...so say i type an invalid url address it will not redirect me to a seach page but it will give me the orginal 404 error or the page cannot be displayed.

should i be using the ad ware destroyers if i can over come via the regsitry?

**I.am** · 01-01-2004, 07:03 PM

well all Spybot does is finds the keys in the registry matching to its database(having common spyware's and adware's) and gives you the option to delete it.

**Snee** · 01-01-2004, 07:13 PM

Originally posted by chinook_apache@1 January 2004 - 20:00
i have had these search page problems too.
i havent ever used spybot or adware or what have you...
all i do is go in to the registry and delte the files from there...it works a treat and everything is back to normal...so say i type an invalid url address it will not redirect me to a seach page but it will give me the orginal 404 error or the page cannot be displayed.

should i be using the ad ware destroyers if i can over come via the regsitry?

With spybot and spyblaster you can prevent them from ever getting into your registry.

Also, hijackthis and such lets you find more than you'd find on your own.

And apart from that, it's rather easy to miss an entry here or there, or miss something that doesn't make much of a nuisance of itself, if you only do it manually.