is something wrong with my computer?

Question

okay so i windows 7 and lately when i search things on google it redirects me to random pages. i wasn't sure what was going on till i looked up "google redirect virus" on this site http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Web%20Search/thread?tid=6df7e15519290612&hl=en
this one guy that commented on there said something about a "hosts" file so i did his directions, but i wasn't sure what to do after you delete the other IP addresses. so i just saved it in OS (C:). but then later when i thought everything was fixed it started happening again. i pressed start in typed C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts in the search box. i clicked the host file and found that the only IP address in there was local host. but then why does the redirecting still happen? sorry if this was all confusing. its pretty hard for me to explain anyway. i don't know that much about computers. thanks for reading this and i hope you'll help:)

Answer 1

It's certainly a virus, and anything that digs into your host file can be very difficult to remove. I would try using Combofix. Be sure to read the instructions/disclaimers first. If the virus will let you, download the file from bleepingcomputer.com (don't download it from anywhere else) and save it to your desktop. Right click on it and "Run as Administrator"



Don't interrupt the process once it starts. Combofix can seem to "hang" from time to time and it can take awhile to complete. Let it go through all 50 stages, etc.



Good luck.

Answer 2

First of all, you need to reset your HOSTS file to make sure that everything's normal and that there are no unwanted entries:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/972034



Next, run these three in exact order:

http://support.kaspersky.com/viruses/solutions?qid=208280684

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/anti-virus/rkill

http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free



After completing a full scan, check your computer's TCP/IP and DNS settings:

1. Click on Control Panel > Internet Options > Connections > LAN Settings. Make sure that only the "Automatically detect settings" box is marked. The rest (including the Proxy Server) should be left unmarked.



If you are also using another browser like Firefox, click on the orange Firefox tab > Options > Advanced > Network > Connection Settings. Select No Proxy.



2. On Windows 7, click Start and type "network and sharing center" (w/o the quotes) and hit Enter. Click on Local Area Connection > Properties. Scroll down and click on TCP/IPv4. Click Properties. Under the General tab, select "Obtain an IP address automatically" and "Obtain DNS server address automatically". Click on OK to close.



If you have a router, check its IP and DNS settings also. They should be set to 'Dynamically/Automatically obtain from the ISP' unless your ISP has some specific requirements. Consult your user's manual for setting the router.



Note: Care should be exercised when using Combofix as suggested by the other person. It should only be used with expert assistance. If you don't know what you are doing, you could make things worse.

Answer 3

If some of the answers here are hard to follow or you don't possess the skills to fix it yourself there is a tool made specifically for removing this redirecting virus. It's around $29 or so. You can read more about it here:



http://fixredirectvirusreview.blogspot.com/

Answer 4

It's a Google redirect virus. Scan your computer with Hitman Pro or Combofix.

http://www.surfright.nl/en/hitmanpro/

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix



More information about the redirect virus:



http://deletemalware.blogspot.com/2010/02/remove-google-redirect-virus.html



http://ask.metafilter.com/100853/Oh-that-nasty-Google-Redirecting-Virus

Answer 5

I can't help you fix this specific problem, but let me give some general advice to avoid future software problems.



Your computer/os is obviously compromised and the most logical thing to do is saving your userdata and restoring a "known to be good" systembackup. This procedure is universal for any software problem you might encounter so being able to perform it would be handy!! No need to look for fixes, just 1 simple procedure to fix all your software problems. No enourmous computerknowledge required just the knowledge to restore a systembackup, and guess what: that's exactly what you and a lot of computer-novices often can't do don't or like doing because it's to risky or cumbersome, or they don't have the means for it. For instance restoring your system using a recovery partition or recovery diskset would require reinstallation of all applications you installed yourself.



As oposed to older computers that used to come with the os installation media (best) newer pre-built computers generally come with either just a recovery-partition (reasonable) or just an option to make a set of recovery disks (not that good at all because one can forget doing that).



The fundamental difference to having the original installation media and something like a recovery partition is that a recovery-partition is a systembackup and the original installation media is not. Restoring a systembackup generally is easier then reinstalling, so that's good, but reinstalling can be usefull sometimes, for instance after doing a major hardware upgrade, so the lack of having the original installation media is generally a disadvantage.



Having no original installation media AND no systembackup of an as fresh as possible (no applications installed) windows installation, is a recepy for disaster!



Having the original installation media but no systembackup is just plain unhandy but can always be rectified by reinstalling and then making a systembackup. Unhandy and time-consuming, but not a disaster. Note that a windows restorepoint is no real systembackup (you could try restoring one though, if you have restorepoints), because it's a part of windows. A real systembackup in my opinion can only be a complete image of the systempartition, which is what is contained in a recovery partition and in a recovery diskset.



So asume you got lucky and managed to solve your problem (at least it may look like that) , and then what? Wait for the next problem to occur?



So my advice is:



1: Try to find out how to create a fresh windows installation on your computer (after first backing up all userdata to an external medium like an external hdd or usb-stick!). It doesn't matter how you manage to do that. You might try to restore a recovery-partition. You might buy a new windows and install it (**warning! be carefull to first find out how to install all hardware drivers also, and do this in advance!) or you might be able to order a recovery diskset from the manufacturer of your computer (sometimes this is possible, especially with newer computers). **warning! using either a recovery partition or a recovery diskset wil destroy all userdata and require reinstallation of all applications you installed after buying the computer!



2: Get this utility (40 dollars) and learn how to use it:

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/bootit-bare-metal.htm

If you install this utility before trying anything drastic (like restoring a recovery partition) and use the integrated "image for dos" utility to create a (verified) image (compressed copy) of the partition that holds your current windows installation you already have a systembackup to restore if something goes wrong when trying to achieve point 1. Also this utility can be used to backup your userdata. This utility is also essential for easily restoring systembackups. Restoring a recovery partition is cumbersome to say the least because u'll need te restore all applications you ever installed, while this utility allows you to make your own systembackups with the applications already in them, drastically simplifying the restore-process. PS: if you ever decide to make your own system-images do not backup the swapfile (would be a gigantic waste of space) , but keep the swapfile in a different partition.