about:blank homepage?

[JupezPB]

Does anyone have this about:blank crap as your homepage? It's my homepage and every time I change my homepage and click out of internet, it goes right back. This thing is a huge hassle..anyone know how to fix this?

[Neurosis]

http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-Personal-Edition/3000-8022_4-10319876.html?tag=lst-0-1

Download and use as needed.

[JupezPB]

I scanned and everything...it did nothing.

[Presto333]

try going to downloads.com and get spybot. It sounds like u got some spyware there.

[Paintballjc]

I had that too.... Nothing will get rid of it! I tried spybot and Ad-aware.... it sucks! Just download Mozilla Firefox and delete internet explorer and it will solve your problem

[JupezPB]

um...I thought you had to pay for that stuff?

[Presto333]

nope, its all free

[JupezPB]

Awesome. Is it harder to use or anything? Also, where do I go to get this? Do I download it?

[Presto333]

its almost exactly like internet explorer. to get it go to mozilla.org and download it, then just install it and its rdy to use. I would also advise going into ur control pannel>add/remove programs>windows components, and removing internet explorer, cause thats where most of the spyware comes from.

[Raoul]

A couple peeps at werk got it, and I got to clean it up..... it's impossible. Save your docs/settings/etc. and wipe out the drive and re-install.

One tip, you hafta turn off System Restore. Booting into Safe Mode (jab the F8 at the end of the POST) allows you to run AdAware to get rid of most of it. But I spent a whole day on one machine and couldn't get rid of it.

[Zinn]

Try to remember when it first started.....what site(s) did you go to? what did you install prior to the issue?

If you haven't already.....
1.) Delete all your cookies, history, and temp internet files;
2.) Check for installed programs (under add/remove programs), if you see one unusual/unfamaliar to you uninstall it, or if you have System Restore (WinXP), see if you can back up your system to just prior to the problem (SysRestore creates a 'check-point' prior to any program installs....if it's inabled);
3.) Uninstall/reinstall Internet Explorer;
4.) If all else fails, then follow Raouls suggestions, but you may have to get/pay for a decent adware/spyware removal program, not just a spyware/adware detection program that does not get rid of it (it just tells you that your computer is 'infected') for future occurrences(sp). I recommend and use BulletProofSoftware (www.BulletProofSoftware.com).
Or you could just stop surfing porn ;)

[JupezPB]

I have Mozilla...I love it. It actually seems to be faster too...somehow. Anyways, thanks so much all.

[splatman2k]

Or you could just stop surfing porn ;)

:confused: :confused: :confused:

[JupezPB]

meh...I doubt that's why it did all of that. Also, how do you "stop"???

[Zinn]

I'm not sure you can.

[JupezPB]

Yeah, it's hard. Not many can..only the strongest can.

[Raoul]

Zinn, and everybody else.... I've been there done that.

I found a bunch of stuff (one name "Windows Update") in the Add/Remove programs. The problem was, I had already gone through the Registry and deleted a bunch of StartUp stuff, so when I went to Remove one of the offending proggys, it just re-installed itself again.

I looked at creation ddates of the files in the Windows and Windows/System32 folder and found a bunch of stuff. THe problem was, there was remnants already running that would re-create everything. Even if I went into Safe mode, and cleaned it all out (even the stuff I thought needed to go) when you'd restart, it would re-install itself before re-booting.

It was a never ending battle, so I gave up. Fortunatly, I can save the important files/mailboxes/etc. off and re-do the Op-Sys fairly easy... it's just that it takes so dang long to re-install XP Pro (what we use at werk), then get all the patches (33 at last count), install Office 2k3Pro, and all it's patches (a dozen or so), install the Novell Client (off their website), install our propietary software, copy all the docs and stuff back, setup the accounts/printers/shares again... it's a pain!

Oh, and get this.... he got it from a .JPG on an eBay auction!!!! I was able to go to the particular auction and get infected on a machine I was blowing away anyway.

I contacted eBay about it, it was nasty! I'll betcha I spent 6 hours messing with that machine...

Anyway, a good site that gave me a lot of info (and is FREE) is www.housecall.antivirus.com It's the TrendMicro site. You can do a full virus scan from that page, or you can type "about:blank" in the Search feature and it'll give you info on *trying* to get rid of it.

One more thing, do the dang updates from Microsoft. Then do what somebody else said, get Mozilla Firefox and be rid of the danged hassle forever! I'm converting everybody at werk to it!

Good Luck, Men!

[Zinn]

Thanks for all the info, Raoul, but I find it hard to believe the only solution is to format the hard drive and start from scratch.

[Raoul]

If I could'a found the proggy that kept re-installing itself, I would'a had it. The problem was, even if I would kill proggys that were running in Taskman, they would start themselves back up again. I could'nt find the one that was running it all.

Oh and believe me, the LAST thing I wanna do is re-format... that's the very last thing on my list of fixes, well, it's right above "Use The Ford Tool"!

[Zinn]

A short search on dogpile.com......http://www.free-web-browsers.com/remove-about-blank.shtml

[Raoul]

Yea, it installed that Cool Web Bar, and some Web Acellerator thing, and about 6 other things.....

Maybe I just ran into a real nasty one....

[kangaroodent]

I'm guessing it's changing what about:blank means in the language... Seems like it at least.

[Zinn]

viruses are often modified. For example, there have been an awful lot of different e-mail viruses that do the same things in different degrees...the "I love me" virus for one.

[Raoul]

It was called the "I LoveYou" virus. I had somebody at werk actually open one, thinking it was from a match-making site he was signed up with.... I laughed so hard. Then his boss told him he'd can him the next time he infects his machine!