Can't change my Internet Homepage

bredred · Post by **bredred** » Tue Mar 23, 2010 12:23 am

I was downloading various programs - testing programs for putting dvd's onto ipod. It seems that one of the downloads had something embedded and now my Internet Homepage is defaulted to forumswatcher.com. I can't get rid of it - it is greyed out and not able to be altered......as per the photo. Anybody got any ?? as to how i get rid of it - i just want google as my homepage. Thanks.

big-all · Post by **big-all** » Tue Mar 23, 2010 12:27 am

system restore to when you loaded it[a highlighted date]

bredred · Post by **bredred** » Tue Mar 23, 2010 12:36 am

Thanks Big-all, but i can't do that - its my works laptop and its only system administrators who have access to do that.

If thats the only way of doing it then i guess i'm stuck with it.......

dave.m · Post by **dave.m** » Tue Mar 23, 2010 12:37 am

When you did the downloads did you just click on 'Full Install' or something similar?

You should ALWAYS select CUSTOM INSTALL and read every page before clicking 'Next' because a lot of free software comes with addons that are ticked by default to install extras. Just untick the things that you do not want and click Next.

That is the way they get paid for the free programs.

Either do as BA says and do a system restore or just uninstall the program and it should take the browser hijacker with it.

dave

bredred · Post by **bredred** » Tue Mar 23, 2010 12:42 am

Thanks Dave. I'm pretty sure i removed all the programs and its still there - i guess i can try removing others and see what happens. Is there any way of identifying what program has caused it?

It may be that i'll have to resign myself to it and doubtless i'll get my wrists slapped if i have to hand it in to IT

dave.m · Post by **dave.m** » Tue Mar 23, 2010 12:47 am

As it is a search engine, does it show in Add/Remove list in Control Panel?

If so uninstall it from there

dave.m · Post by **dave.m** » Tue Mar 23, 2010 12:52 am

On that Options page you showed, in the Search box Change Search Default click Settings and see if you can delete it from there.

dave

bredred · Post by **bredred** » Tue Mar 23, 2010 1:10 am

Thanks Dave. I have attached a copy of the screen that came up when i clicked on the Search Box, but i don't really know what to make of the info on it. Also had a look at the control panel, but could not see anything that i should be removing.....

dave.m · Post by **dave.m** » Tue Mar 23, 2010 1:38 am

OK it is not showing as a search facility. With your laptop being in Administrators control it may be difficult to change much.

You could ask the IT guys to get rid of it and suffer their comments or:

download MalwareBytes' AntiMalware using the BLUE button for the FREE version.

* Double-click mbam-setup.exe and follow the prompts to install the program.
* At the end, be sure a checkmark is placed next to the following:

o Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
o Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

* Then click Finish

If an update is found, it will download and install the latest version.

* Once the program has loaded, select > Perform Quick Scan, then click > Scan.
* When the scan is complete, click > OK, then > Show Results to view the results.
* Be sure that everything is checked, and click > Remove Selected.
* When completed, a log will open in Notepad. Save this log to My Documents in case it is needed for reference.
Reboot as required.

It may not run with you not having Admin Rights but if it does see if it clears anything.

dave

bredred · Post by **bredred** » Tue Mar 23, 2010 3:54 am

Great advice there Dave - its all sorted now. I did a full scan and it took about an hour and a half. I have attached a snapshot of the results and you can see the offending bad boy at the bottom.....!! There were 30 items in total and i've deleted them all.

I now have google as my homepage.

Thanks!!

dave.m · Post by **dave.m** » Tue Mar 23, 2010 10:05 am

Glad to hear that MBAM got it sorted.

You can keep MalwarebytesAntiMalware (MBAM) installed and update it every week and run a quick scan weekly after updating. Only takes about 3 minutes and checks for anything untoward.

Remember my advice about installing anything you have downloaded, always select CUSTOM INSTALL and read each page before clicking NEXT.

dave

DIY_Johnny · Post by **DIY_Johnny** » Tue Mar 23, 2010 10:08 am

well done Dave, installation programs that do that are a pain in the a**e!

bredred · Post by **bredred** » Tue Mar 23, 2010 11:15 am

Good advice - i will scan it regularly. I often do a virus scan but it's never clocked those malware things. I'll download it onto a few family computers as well. Thanks again.

dave.m · Post by **dave.m** » Tue Mar 23, 2010 12:01 pm

Antivirus programs will not pick up on malware or spyware because they are totally different infections.

Antivirus works by having the definitions of as many viruses as the provider knows about. That is why they must be updated very frequently to get the latest descriptions, but most antivirus programs, even the free ones, do the updates automatically.

Antimalware and antispyware programs look for different types of infections to viruses so they find most malware but do not look for or find a virus.

dave