Do I have the Google Redirect Virus or is my Java wonky?

kookbreaker

Evil Fokker
kookbreaker
Joined
Aug 23, 2001
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OK, I have a problem where I go to google (I haven't tried other search engines yet) type in a query, click on a result and I end up on a different page. Thing is, page is usually related to the search string. I clicked link covering the Google redirect virus and ended up on a page advetising a malware removing product.

Thing is, I don't have any of the other 'symptoms' of the GRV, and the files every site lists as being the source of the problem are not there. I ran a virus scan and nothing showed up. I wonder if I have a problem with java instead. I have been having trouble loading dynamic pages all day and a few will not load at all (such as web-based email replies). I wonder if java has been opening the ads on pages when I click on them without bothering to wait for a click?

ANy thoughts?
 
I had a similar problem a couple of months ago, and it was indeed a malware infection -- and a particularly stubborn one.

There are lots of different types of malware that can cause this, and many of them can elude some/many virus detectors. My advice is to go to the majorgeeks.com forum, and follow their instructions. They're fast, helpful, and free.
 
Followed it all, rebooted aaaaand crashy. Won't even boot up in safe mode. I hope this just involves a rewrite of the system. Will know when I meet my IT friend this evening.
 
:(

Can you get the recovery console, which should have been installed by Combofix, it is a boot option right after the bios.

If you can go there , and if you have about an hour, type 'chkdsk C: /r', without the scarce quote marks, but it sounds like a system issue, which malware can cause. And good luck, if you did everything in the "read and Run me first" then you likely have a bad boot sector if the operating system.

If you can do a 'repair install' so you can recover data and then do a fresh install.

Good luck.
 
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I'm turning it over to my friend at this point. He's head of a college IT department so he has some experience with this sort of thing. I may owe him a few dinners after this. Or a telescope.
 
kookbreaker said:
I'm turning it over to my friend at this point. He's head of a college IT department so he has some experience with this sort of thing. I may owe him a few dinners after this. Or a telescope.
Click to expand...

It's still more cost-effective than buying those stupid extended protection plans that Best Buy and other retailers like to foist on you.
 
I spent the better part of three days getting that thing (GRV) off of my sister's laptop! I started with the usual things -- run anti-virus from a clean boot, etc., but I could not get rid of it.

Towards the end, I was so frustrated that I failed to keep notes of exactly what I was doing, but it was primarily MalwareBytes' procedure. I went a few steps deeper and removed several other things, such as Flash, Shockwave, and Google browser add-ons.

Finally, I spent some time educating her about malware and browser redirects. Good thing, too. Just the other day she asked me about some "virus warning" on her screen... yet another fake web page. I pointed out to her that it was displaying a "Windows 7 Security Warning", yet she has Windows XP.
 
Well he did the check and found there was nothing wrong with the hard drive, so it seems that the virus or the repair just screwed up the windows login. So apparently if I get a Windows XP Home boot disc I can actually fix this.

Trouble is, Dell does not include any such useful thing when they sell you the computer. They include an operating system disk for restoration but it won't boot off that.
 
Um, they will send you the OS install disk in the mail, after you fill out the paper work to show that you are the original owner, it took about fifteen minutes and they got mine to me the next day.
 
Whether it's an XP disc or some form of cloned image, this 'restoration' disc has to be bootable to be of any use, methinks. Have you checked your BIOS is set to boot from CD first? Or, often when booting a Dell system, pressing F12 when the Dell logo is on the screen will allow you to choose the boot device.
 
Turns out I was using the wrong disc and had one. I had heard about them sending a disc but I didn't need to use it. Now hopefully it will be repair time. Maybe.
 
Having had a recent fresh install problem, I had to reseat the RAM, it kept acting wierd.

(Poor disk got boogered up over the summer in a battle between an expired Panda, a new Forefront and gosh knows what music player. The CONFIG file crapped out, so I booted with UBCD4WIN , recovered the files and did a fresh install with a full format. Silly thing kept saying it could not find this or that file. Reseated the RAM and off it went. It was getting a new image when I left the Open House tonight.)
 
Update: I started dong a repair on the system on Sunday. Everything looked dandy so I brought the computer down for use on Monday. I plugged in the peripherals (receipt printer, PIN pad, label maker) and..crash!

I had to put everything back to the laptop and run the store from there. Meanwhile I started trying to solve the problem by letting the system do all its updates (119 and a Service Pack). When the store closed I plugged in the peripherals one in a time and it didn't seem to have any trouble with them. I was 'lucky' in that it was a very, very poor day for the store and didn't have to do a lot of inventory adjustments.

It seems to be working now, but I the virus is still there. I am hesitant to go after it, but sooner or later I will need to do something.
 
Sad times, back up your data and do a clean install, it does speed it up, but put the drivers on a flash drive before hand.

:(

There is the ultimate power house, Combofix, but you have to follow the directions exactly. Back up your data either way.
 
Yes, Combofix can remove malware that other scanners can't. And it's very easy to use actually.
 
El Greco said:
Yes, Combofix can remove malware that other scanners can't. And it's very easy to use actually.
Click to expand...

It is but it is also easy to blow up your machine, I goofed with it once and had to reinstall the OS.
At work there was machine where it deleted some of the sys files, or the infection had infected some of the sys files. It blew it up. One time I did it (I ran it incorrectly), another time the malware blew up the machine.
 
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