Start Page Hijack

N

Nismo

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Mar 10, 2000
Messages
1,413
I had some Spyware that hijacked my start page in IE. Nothing would take it away. Well, I followed some registry removal steps online and it worked!

One of the steps was to change this value:
If you FIND “Start Page” on XP regedit, they told me to change that value from the spyware file to “about:blank”. This would set it up for a blank start page. They also said to delete files in system32 and remove a couple more reg entries.

All is good, but I still can’t get a home page to stick. I tried editing the “Start Page” value from about:blank to www.google.com and it works for that browser session, but when you close all IE pages, wait a while and reload IE, it’s back to “about:blank” for the start page value.

How can I fix this?
 
I've done the Ad-Ware/Spybot thing.

The search page is NOT what I mean. I mean the home page or start page. How can I get those back from about:blank?
 
Nismo said:
I've done the Ad-Ware/Spybot thing.

The search page is NOT what I mean. I mean the home page or start page. How can I get those back from about:blank?
Click to expand...
start123123.jpg


control panel > internet options
 
You want CWshredder.exe It will remove and eradicate Cool Web search / about : blank
 
Well if that's the best there is, so be it, it's better than nothing. All the more reason to make sure you keep a useable backup of your system. :)
 
I just fixed this last night, the search page is how its getting back on. For whatever reason, thats invoked when you launch IE and that is the "action" the hijacker needs to put its settings back. Try it and see if it comes back. Even if it does, thats part of it.
 
"Russian spam crime lords" :D

Try rebooting in safemode and unplugging your network cable then run everything the others suggested.
 
I've spent about half a day wrestling with a real nasty spyware hijacker on a laptop someone brought in from home. I ran spybot, adaware, cwshredder, hijackthis and nothing was getting rid of this pest. It turns out I found the fix at PC Hell. This particular new variant of CoolWebSearch actually created a service in windows xp called "network security service". Most folks including myself would never have guessed spyware would create a running service in windows and name it in such a sneaky manner.
If you're experiencing a redirect in your browser to "res://randomname.dll" when you hit the home button, check PC Hell for the fix. It's a hassle to remove, but it worked. I believe this will also fix the "about:blank" issue.
 
Mister Natural said:
If you're experiencing a redirect in your browser to "res://randomname.dll" when you hit the home button, check PC Hell for the fix. It's a hassle to remove, but it worked. I believe this will also fix the "about:blank" issue.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the hint. I have two machines that have this at work and can't remove that stupid thing. I'll try this out tomorrow.
 
hehe, you know...oddly enough. Never occurred to me to change my browser. Last time I tried Netscape I hated it, so I never tried again. Trying Firefox right now. So far, I like, thanks guys.
 
BLenderhedd said:
hehe, you know...oddly enough. Never occurred to me to change my browser. Last time I tried Netscape I hated it, so I never tried again. Trying Firefox right now. So far, I like, thanks guys.
Click to expand...
Congrats. You will never look back. In fact, you will come to despise Microsoft's idea of integrating a browser in their operating systems...if you don't already.
 
sniff, i made a difference for someone.. it makes me feel... the same as if i never done it.
 
FanZ said:
sniff, i made a difference for someone.. it makes me feel... the same as if i never done it.
Click to expand...
What a hero!
It's always nice to know that you are simply dazed by the whole affair.
 
I am having some issues at work with a PC. I have ran CWshredder, hijack this, spy bot ad-aware..and now when i open IE, 2 windows open up, one normal page that goes to the correct start page and another instance of IE that is pointing at some lesko ad... Now, even when I close IE completely i see these pages pop up and then they disappear also...Spy bot reveals 2 DSo exploits..I fix them and they come back each time I reboot...Ialso noticed that when I reboot and go back into spybot that the immunize feature to block bad downloads in IE Silently option in unchecked, eventhough i installed....you guys run into anything like this before..?
 
There are some nasty variations making the rounds......

Just dealt with one today.....CWshredder didnt do it.....uninstalling Java VM didnt do it......registry corections didnt do it...... :(

Installing Nutscrape Navigator did it. :rolleyes:

Its kind of a workaround and not a real fix, but what the hell, the guy can get on the net again.
 
Needs more optimized firefox. See my sig:p

Edit: Why did you bump this?
 
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