Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.security_admin (
More info?)
Dave wrote:
> Hi,
> my browser home page is hijacked, ( to ipassist.bz ), strange things
> are if I manual open any web page, all the links within the page are
> also pointing to ipassist.biz/searsh.php.... so my browser basically
> useless now, how can I get rid of it ?
>
> Also once reboot computer, the background is set to the something like
> ("virus alert, your computer has been infected by virus" which I know
> is a hoax.
> How to recover ?
> hijackthis and adware do not seem to help in this case.
> THanks
> dave
When you say that HJT and Ad-aware don't help, are you running the scans
in Safe Mode? Here are general malware removal steps. You need to do
everything with updated tools in Safe Mode. If you can't get the tools
you need on your computer because of the hijacking, get them from
another known-clean machine with a good Internet connection and a cd
burner.
First delete all Temporary and Temporary Internet Files. To do this, go
to Control Panel>Internet Options>General tab. You'll see where you can
delete cookies and files. For Temporary files, Start>Run cleanmgr
[enter] and then:
1) Scan in Safe Mode with current version (not earlier than 2004)
antivirus using updated definitions.
Before you remove malware, get LSPFix or WinSockFix for XP - see links
below.
2) Remove spyware with Spybot Search & Destroy and Ad-aware. These
programs are free, so use them both since they complement each other.
There is a new version of CWShredder from Intermute. I would not
install the other Intermute programs, however. Alternately, there are
CoolWebSearch malware removal steps at SilentRunners.
Be sure to update these programs before running, and it is a good idea
to do virus/spyware scans in Safe Mode. Make sure you are able to see
all hidden files and extensions (View tab in Folder Options).
If the malware remains even after you used Ad-aware and Spybot, you can
scan with HijackThis. HijackThis is an excellent tool to discover and
disable hijackers, but it requires expert skill. See below for
HijackThis links, including sites where you can post your HJT logs. A
combination of HijackThis and About:Buster works well in removing the
About:Blank homepage hijacker. Again, this is an expert tool and
novices should get help with it.
3) If you are running Windows ME or XP, you should disable/enable System
Restore after the system is clean because malware will be in the
Restore Points. With ME, you must disable System Restore completely.
With XP, you can delete all but the most recent (presumably clean)
System Restore point from the More Options section of Disk Cleanup
(Run>cleanmgr).
4) Make sure you've visited Windows Update and applied all security
patches. Do not install driver updates from Windows Update.
5) Run a firewall.
Links to help with malware:
Software/Methods:
http://www.safer-networking.org - Spybot Search & Destroy
http://www.lavasoftusa.com - Ad-aware
http://www.intermute.com/products/cwshredder.html
http://www.tomcoyote.com/hjt/ - HijackThis
http://www.intermute.com/spysubtract/cwshredder_download.html
http://www.silentrunners.org/sr_cwsremoval.html. - SilentRunners
http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm - Repair Winsock 2 settings after
removing spyware
http://www.spychecker.com/program/winsockxpfix.html - WinsockXPFix.exe
HijackThis:
http://www.aumha.org/a/hjttutor.htm - HijackThis tutorial by Jim
Eshelman
http://aumha.net - forums
http://spywarewarrior.com/viewforum.php?f=5 - Spyware Warrior HijackThis
forum
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/
http://forums.tomcoyote.org/
General:
http://aumha.net - look under "Security" for various forums
http://rgharper.mvps.org/cleanit.htm
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
http://www.aumha.org/a/parasite.htm - The Parasite Fight
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm
Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
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