MSN Hijacked my browsers default settings

[Girard Ibanez]

When ever I change my homepage to initialize in the Google Page, using

Tools, Option, and selecting the default page...

Then when I close MSN and reclick the IE icon... I get MSN homepage.

I am using FF but when working with web pages, I also use IE for test purposes and usually have MyGoogle preference page has my default.

Not sure where to look to bypass IE and have my own default preference.

[codeexploiter]

Load IE.

Load http://www.google.com

Select Tools->Internet Options

Click on Use Current button, it will copy the currently loaded page as the home page.

Don't click Use Default button as it will load the default home page mentioned by the Microsoft in the browser.

Click Apply and Ok

Close IE and reload IE now you'll get the google website as your home page

[Girard Ibanez]

I did that ....


It always reloads back to MSN :(

There's got to be a MSN spyware on this computer ...not sure where.

[NXArmada]

Windows

[codeexploiter]

If you belive that there is some browser hijacker in your machine then it is better to use a browser hijacker remover.

There are lots of products available on the net to do this.

[djr33]

....but be careful. Lots of spyware claims to be pc protection or the like, then makes you pay to have it remove the "spyware"... to remove itself. Annoying.

[codeexploiter]

I think http://www.download.com does a good job nowadays. They are offering good reviews about the product as well as they are closely monitoring the user reviews also.

I personally used one product from their site which was Browser Hijacker Remover (BHR) which done the job for me that time.

Yes i agree with you lots of spywares are there claiming that they can improve the performance of PC.

[tech_support]

Use Spybot Search and Destroy

1. Run it
2. Remove it
3. Protect yourself by using Quarantine

[djr33]

Spybot is great.
Why remove it?

[codeexploiter]

:D Yes it is great and free too

[tech_support]

Spybot is great.
Why remove it?
I meant remove the spyware, not the program (Why would you?)

[djr33]

Ha, ok. Misunderstood.

And, just for the record, I'm quite skeptical that MSN hijacked the computer. No hacker would set it to MSN... no point. Therefore, unless miscrosoft has decided to start doing stupid illegal things, makes no sense.
Just reinstall IE if you must.

[codeexploiter]

i still feel that he misses something thats why it is going to MSN. I too rule out the browser hijacking from MSNs part but by default IE sometimes starts with MSN but once you specify it will change.

[djr33]

Right. That's why I suggest reinstalling IE.
IE is stupid anyway.
The answer: Use Firefox. http://mozilla.org Enjoy!!

[BLiZZaRD]

Crap Cleaner (http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/) is a great tool as well. It lets you remove those pesky items from your add/remove programs list that wont leave, as well as a thourough cache clearing, including disk cleanup and all browsing stuff from ALL browsers at once, AND it has a great registry cleaner.

It is free as well.

[boxxertrumps]

....but be careful. Lots of spyware claims to be pc protection or the like, then makes you pay to have it remove the "spyware"... to remove itself. Annoying.
my mom always downloads the most random stuff and then gets angry at me for messing up her comp.
one time, she downloaded a game and a few days later, about every 10 minutes a IE window pops up with ads for products akin to viagra. and once in a while a spyware remover program came up in the ads. my dad tried to fix it but he had nuked some startup files and we had to get the computer wiped. this was before Ryan, the freindly neiborhood ThinkTank employee told us about Avast & Spybot.
More recently, (this morning), my moms computer refused to connect to the internet but my dads and mine are fine.
Praise Karma.

[codeexploiter]

Why don't you trying use a firewall if you have any serious problems? I would suggest a free firewall (ZoneAlarm) from zonelabs. If you don't want a free item then you can go for Zone Alarm pro, it is good and the safety is based on how you configure the firewall.

McAfee SiteAdvisor is another useful tool using which you can identify malicious web sites (don't expect 100%)

[tech_support]

Right. That's why I suggest reinstalling IE.
IE is stupid anyway.
The answer: Use Firefox. http://mozilla.org Enjoy!!
or www.getfirefox.com

[boxxertrumps]

More recently, (this morning), my moms computer refused to connect to the internet but my dads and mine are fine.
Praise Karma.
My Mom blamed me, because the virus disabled the ethernet card. i have no clue how she fixed it, she doesnt know anything about computers. Damn Karma.

[codeexploiter]

People should start consider Information security a bit more seriously now.

[ttnnkkrr]

fire fox for every thing is the answer of idiots
fact is some sites just dont work correctly in other browsers
in your internet options set all tabs to defaults
for god sake man do get rid of msn explorer and msn its as bad as aol any more it take over the whole pc
when developing sites you do need as you mentioned to test in ie as well as fire fox they are the 2 primary browsers on the web now any how
aside from that go thru your add remove programs and uninstall anything that you dont intend to have
here are a couple web sites i highly recommend
use spybot and ad-aware the others are a risk
doxdesk.com/parasite
computers.howstuffworks.com
look up parasites and adwares

my final suggestion is as follows
use a fire wall zone labs is as good a recomendation as you can get if you must purchase a product do not use mcgafee use norton
use and maintain a good virus scanner the only free one i recommend is "avg"
a bad antivirus can cause you no end of problems

if you use all of the information i have given even if you dont get rid of the msn stuff you should be fine

[boxxertrumps]

Virus Writers practice on Norton, I recommend a less widely use program like avast. The most popular program is always the target.

[tech_support]

fire fox for every thing is the answer of idiots

You calling me an idiot?

[djr33]

yeah. Seriously.

You have some information, but isn't very detailed, and your phrasing is harsh.

[codeexploiter]

I think it is better to find out a solution for one problem rather than using another product to solve it.

[djr33]

Yeah. I agree.

However, using firefox is a better idea.
Use IE if you need it for a particular site or to test, but using FF will help you not to get viruses in the first place, so this won't be a problem.

[the-disturbed]

UGH, i work in tech support for Road Runner, i get this kinda thing everyday, maybe sumone already said this in this thread, but i was to annoyed with the original problem to read past the first page:

FF: Tools > Options > type google.com in the location field, DO NOT CLICK USE CURRENT, click ok at the bottom

IE: Tools > Internet Options > type google.com in the address field, DO NOT CLICK USE CURRENT, click ok at the bottom

after thought: again sumone might have mentioned this, but if you have anti-virus/spyware software or firewalls running, there's a very good chance they are blocking this change, try disabling all security software, change the homepage, THEN TURN IT ALL BACK ON