Damn! Something has taken over my IE Hompage.

My home page has on IE6 keeps resetting itself and I have not been able to fix it.

Here is what I have tried:
1. Reset the home page back to ATS.
2. Deleted Cookies - History - Cache files.
3. Regedit - searched for "homepage" and reset the two entries that I found back to www.abovetopsecret.com...
4. Repaired IE through the Add/Remove programs menu in the control panel.
5. Ran Spy-Bot Search and Destroy
6. Used Norton System Doctor to repair system problems.
7. Ran Norton Anti-virus.
8. Searched *.bat, *.ini and *.dat for any reference to the intruding search engine
9. Searched the startup menu for anything that might be resetting the page.

I have run out of ideas and it makes me angry everytime I see that stupid search engine.

Does anyone know what I need to do to fix this problem?

Holy hell, you've really gone through alot of angles there... Have you tried reinstalling IE?

Hrm, it sounds like some software on your machine, that doesnt show up as spy-ware is resetting the homepage. Two questions, First: what is the homepage being reset to? and Second: what was the last piece of software you installed before this started happening?

There are quite a few websites that can do this (change your homepage) (including that spear game link, so watch out for that one...one of it's pop-ups did that to me here on the work computer)...

I haven't installed any software in the last year. I am at work right now and don't remember the adress exactly.
It opens up to something and immediately re-routes to the search engine, something like: www.crappysearchengine...%20%20%20%20%20.about.blank



I have not reinstalled IE, I have been afraid of losing the other configuration items that I do want.

[Edited on 14-10-2003 by AZLS1]

Only thing I can think of you didn't try yet...as it sounds like you tried everything else....

Originally posted by AZLS1
I haven't installed any software in the last year. I am at work right now and don't remember the adress exactly.
It opens up to something and immediately re-routes to the search engine, something like: www.crappysearchengine...%20%20%20%20%20.about.blank



I have not reinstalled IE, I have been afraid of losing the other configuration items that I do want.

[Edited on 14-10-2003 by AZLS1]

Hey, yeah, I've been having that same problem too. Resets my home page to www.globe-finder.com... Some stupid ass bull# site. The only thing I can think of that would be causing this is spy-ware.

I would use a ad-aware program, but I don't like how the program works because it finds cookies and sees them as ads. So when I erase everything it finds, I have to log in to all of the sites I use, which is a pain in the ass.

[Edited on 10-14-2003 by 10DeadInside10]

Originally posted by 10DeadInside10

Originally posted by AZLS1
I haven't installed any software in the last year. I am at work right now and don't remember the adress exactly.
It opens up to something and immediately re-routes to the search engine, something like: www.crappysearchengine...%20%20%20%20%20.about.blank



I have not reinstalled IE, I have been afraid of losing the other configuration items that I do want.

[Edited on 14-10-2003 by AZLS1]

Hey, yeah, I've been having that same problem too. Resets my home page to www.globe-finder.com... Some stupid ass bull# site. The only thing I can think of that would be causing this is spy-ware.

I would use a ad-aware program, but I don't like how the program works because it finds cookies and sees them as ads. So when I erase everything it finds, I have to log in to all of the sites I use, which is a pain in the ass.

[Edited on 10-14-2003 by 10DeadInside10]

THAT'S IT - "Globe-Finder" is where it ends up.

I just got done cleaning TONS of spyware off a friends PC, I can't believe how much was there.

I use ad aware (www.lavasoft.nu) - think they have a 'free' version you can download. Also, make sure you update it before running so it's aware of new spyware.

in regedit look for: HKEY_local_machine\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\run

that's the registery equivilent of the 'start up' menu/folder. Hard to say what to look for to delete - use caution since it's the registry and all.

Check your firewall and see what programs are accessing the web when this happens...

This is one of the symptoms I was having, and I strongly believe, based on volume of data being sent back out of my machine by applications that I never OKed, that it was a keystroke logger of some type.

Originally posted by dragonrider
Check your firewall and see what programs are accessing the web when this happens...

This is one of the symptoms I was having, and I strongly believe, based on volume of data being sent back out of my machine by applications that I never OKed, that it was a keystroke logger of some type.

That is a really worrisome thought.

Global finder sucks c0ck....... go to this site and get cws shredder near the bottom ...sorted
This hijack happens thru a loop hole in active-x or sumat posing as an official microsoft download that why ppl get duped into installing it

www.spywareinfo.com...

cwshredder.zip

[Edited on 15-10-2003 by Teflon]

Originally posted by Teflon
Global finder sucks c0ck....... go to this site and get cws shredder near the bottom ...sorted
This hijack happens thru a loop hole in active-x or sumat posing as an official microsoft download that why ppl get duped into installing it

www.spywareinfo.com...

cwshredder.zip

[Edited on 15-10-2003 by Teflon]

Teflon is correct. I found the web shredder last night before I read this reply. It worked when Ad-Aware and Spybot, etc... failed.

cwshredder

You might want to check for viruses also, they have been known to screw with IE.