AAAAARRRRGGGHHHH!!

[snogged]

I have some sort of hijacker/virus on my computer.

As of right now, it's only impacting my ability to conduct searches on Google and Yahoo. I can type in a URL with no problem, but anytime I click on a link it re-routes me to a different site.

My anti-virus program (I use Avast-the Free Version) is not getting rid of it.

Do any of you know a good program I good try? (Preferably a free one?)

Comments

[peasantings.livejournal.com]

I don't know if you have a Mac or PC, but I have a PC, and what I do when I get viruses now is to recover my computer from about a week ago. It deletes the viruses.

It's what a computer guy taught me.

[snogged.livejournal.com]

I have a PC.
Never done a system recover though.

How does one accomplish this?

[peasantings.livejournal.com]

This should be a pretty decent & quick guide on how to do it.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/What-is-System-Restore

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/System-Restore-frequently-asked-questions

The best part about this, is that you don't lose any files. So if you downloaded music or wrote a paper recently, it should be okay.

[jewelledfairy.livejournal.com]

I use AVG, and sometimes I visit TrendMicro. AVG is installed on the computer and TrendMicro is mostly run from the internet (though it did have to install a file or two on my computer). Both are free, or at least have free versions.

[snogged.livejournal.com]

What's TrendMicro?

[jewelledfairy.livejournal.com]

After looking it up, TrendMicro is a company name. Their free pc scan is called HouseCall. I've used it and it found some things that my other scanner missed. Here's a link: http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

[eleniangel.livejournal.com]

Seconding AVG, I really liked that program when I was using it. Currently my family pays for Norton Internet Security, so I mooch.

[da-phoenix13.livejournal.com]

Oh no!! That really sucks. :(

For a long time on my old PC I had this program called Spybot - Search and Destroy, which is free to download and legitimate. It got to be more annoying than helpful once I had Norton back on my computer, but it couldn't hurt to give it a try! Good luck!

[snogged.livejournal.com]

Thanks, hun!

[mordere.livejournal.com]

I had that. It took me a couple months to get rid of. By the time I noticed it (i hadn't been googling much), it had gotten to the blatant popups advertising "windows defender" stage, and hijacking firefox to tell me that I needed a firewall.

I used Spybot, Malwarebytes, and Avira antivirus. Over and over. Run all three, wait a day or two, run all three again.

Also, if you're googling stuff, you can click on where it says "cached" under the name of the page. That still opened for me.

[snogged.livejournal.com]

I'll look into Avira as my dad told me to download Malwarebytes so I've got that covered..

And yep...the cached thing works for me too.

Thanks, babe!

[rua1412.livejournal.com]

Spybot & destroy is awesome for virus.
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware too! Both are free.

[snogged.livejournal.com]

I have both now so cross your fingers that it works.

[rua1412.livejournal.com]

Fingers crossed!

[sueworld2003.livejournal.com]

I had that on my Mac a year or so ago. It's called page jacking and can easily be got rid of with a bit of freeware. I'm afraid the one I downloaded won't work for a PC though. :(

[snogged.livejournal.com]

I really need to get a Mac...

[velvetwhip.livejournal.com]

Spybot and Malware Bytes are both great (and free).

http://download.cnet.com/Spybot-Search-Destroy/3000-8022_4-10122137.html

http://download.cnet.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware/3000-8022_4-10804572.html?tag=mncol;1


Gabrielle

[snogged.livejournal.com]

Thanks hunny!

[spiletta42.livejournal.com]

I see many excellent suggestions above. I'll add Stinger to the list -- it once saved me when other options failed, and it was a browser hijacker I was fighting at the time.

http://www.mcafee.com/us/downloads/free-tools/how-to-use-stinger.aspx

[snogged.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tip.
It seems to be gone for now though.

[dragonydreams.livejournal.com]

I'm probably too late, but I'll toss in my two cents. I usually try Malwarebytes first (free). After my last virus, I also installed Microsoft Essentials which is also free and seems to do a good job of catching stuff.

[snogged.livejournal.com]

I attempted to download Microsoft Essentials, but I think the fact that I'm on a burned copy of Microsoft makes me ineligible for their security.

[dragonydreams.livejournal.com]

Shoot. I hope one of the other suggestions people made works.

[onikoneko.livejournal.com]

I've gotten those before, they are a pain. Something I've found that works really well is to make a backup profile on your computer. The virus is usually localized, so when it shows up, you can go to your backup profile and access Google/Yahoo/whatever else was blocked from there and download whatever you need.

Other than that, AVG is by far the best thing to use, I've found. Also a good temporary solution is to open up task-manager, look through your running processes, pay close attention to the more recently altered ones with names that are jumbles of letters and no descriptions, and see if they pop up whenever you try to access whatever's getting blocked by the virus. Shutting those processes down can give you a little breathing space to look up a solution.

Be really careful not to accidentally shut anything vital down, however.

[snogged.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tip, hun.

[spike7451.livejournal.com]

What a pain! Hope you get it sorted soon.

[snogged.livejournal.com]

It seems to be gone right now.

[loquaciousambie.livejournal.com]

I hope you find a solution, because mine has been doing this for a really long time now and I can't make it go away. Generally, when it redirects I quickly backspace/go back and re-click the link and it'll take you where you want to go, but it is so annoying! Wish mine worked how it should.

[snogged.livejournal.com]

Spyware Search and Destroy seems to be helping out in spades.