Google Problems?

[tcmtech]

Lately I have been having more trouble with the internet search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Dogpile taking me to things completely unrated to what the links I click on are related too in regards to my general search.

Most of the time when it happens I keep getting redirected to different advertising sites and and other junk information or para-science information places.

I did a search for Honeywell controls looking for specs on a thermostat I have and when I click on related links the search brings up I keep getting redirected to information related to that global warming para science crap and other climate change idiots scaremongering sites instead of the Honeywell corp site or to places that sell the the thermostat but have no information on it.

I have also been having this problem with other general search links for other subjects as well. For a test I tried the electrotechonline.com link instead of going directly from my favorites menu and it keeps going to some holistic health and medicine supply site instead of here when I click on it.

Has anyone else been having or seeing this happen more often lately as well?

 

[Mikebits]

Sounds like your PC may have some sort of malware on it. Try getting spybot or something like that.

 

[tcmtech]

My brother is the top service tech in the top computer center in the area so my main computer is loaded with all the most current and up to date business grade protection stuff all the time.

I have seen this happen at times with my other computers as well and they are only connected to the network for updates or when my main system is being fixed which is rare.

The redirecting issue is just annoying because it seems to not be consistent either. On my last attempt the electrotechonline link from my last two Google and Yahoo search tests went right here without a problem.

 

[killivolt]

download a free version of Ccleaner

CCleaner - Home

Download is on the right of the page and about 1/3 from the top it's in blue and say's download ccleaner now.

What it will do is check for certain cookies and remove most adware spyware malware installs.

After that use the registry scan and fix any issue's.

 

[Hero999]

I did a search for Honeywell controls looking for specs on a thermostat I have and when I click on related links the search brings up I keep getting redirected to information related to that global warming para science crap and other climate change idiots scaremongering sites instead of the Honeywell corp site or to places that sell the the thermostat but have no information on it.

I'm not surprised that the global warming alarmists stoop to this to get people to read their propaganda.

My brother is the top service tech in the top computer center in the area so my main computer is loaded with all the most current and up to date business grade protection stuff all the time.

Sorry, but that doesn't mean much.

Anti-virus software doesn't provide 100% total protection against malware. 1000s or PCs need to become infected before the software developer for the anti-virus program releases an update to detect and destroy the virus.

This means that you still need to be very careful about what you download and install on your computer. The problem with anti-virus is it tends to make people complacent - they think because they keep it up to date, they don't have to worry about security but in reality they couldn't be further from the truth.

I don't believe in memory resident AV, it just slows my PC down. I just scan files I'm unsure about and scan my computer every now and then.

I have seen this happen at times with my other computers as well and they are only connected to the network for updates or when my main system is being fixed which is rare.

The redirecting issue is just annoying because it seems to not be consistent either. On my last attempt the electrotechonline link from my last two Google and Yahoo search tests went right here without a problem.

Yes, you definitely have the Google redirect virus, like someone else I know. It seems to have been going around a lot recently. I don't think it's dangerous, it's just an inconvenience.


I Googled it and looked for ways to remove it. Unfortunately most solutions involve installing other software. I would recommend you don't download and install anything you're unsure of because it could contain a virus much worse than Google redirect. If you're really stuck and don't know, ask your brother to help you fix it.

Google redirect virus - Google Search
**broken link removed**
**broken link removed**)

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

My brother is the top service tech in the top computer center in the area so my main computer is loaded with all the most current and up to date business grade protection stuff all the time.

Sounds like it isn't at all? - you have a virus/malware, it's a well known issue.

 

[transistor495]

Try re-installing the browser itself.

 

[Hero999]

Sounds like it isn't at all?

As I said above, even if he did have all the protection software in the world running on his PC it wouldn't 100% guarantee it's virus free.
Antivirus software - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[smanches]

Most AV stuff only catch about 50-60% of the stuff out there. Mostly because people don't report them.

 

[tcmtech]

download a free version of Ccleaner

CCleaner - Home

Download is on the right of the page and about 1/3 from the top it's in blue and says download ccleaner now.

What it will do is check for certain cookies and remove most adware spyware malware installs.

After that use the registry scan and fix any issue's.

I just finished running the Ccleaner program and it did not find a single thing.

I had the same results with my other AV programs after putting into full deep scan modes.

My protection stuff says I am clean.

 

[Hero999]

I've done away with memory residend antivirus altogether and never looked back. In my experiance antivirus software has caused me more trouble than viruses and malware.

I use ClamWin AV which isn't a resident scanner. I scan all software I install and don't install anything I'm unsure of.

 

[smanches]

Could be DNS cache poisoning at your ISP. That would cause the same behavior.

Trying using 4.2.2.1 as your primary DNS for a short period and see if it clears up.

 

[tcmtech]

I dont understand what that means but I do know our local ISP is sort of a curse word in local computer tech circles.

So I will assume its something going on with them, Again.

 

[killivolt]

tcm , which browser are you using ?

 

[killivolt]

I've done away with memory residend antivirus altogether and never looked back. In my experiance antivirus software has caused me more trouble than viruses and malware.

I use ClamWin AV which isn't a resident scanner. I scan all software I install and don't install anything I'm unsure of.

I found this on the Knowledge base at Microsoft Support

Please Help - Wierd Problems with Google

It was solved when the host file was restored. I'm not sure where to get it or what that is ?

Edit: In addition to that Microsoft has their own Malware remover and it didn't even get it.

It was only resolved when they reinstalled the host file as it was Hijacked.

 

[smanches]

The host file on Windows is in c:/Windows/system32/drivers/etc/ It should really only have a single line in it (besides comments), if it has more, it might have been hijacked.

 

[killivolt]

The host file on Windows is in c:/Windows/system32/drivers/etc/ It should really only have a single line in it (besides comments), if it has more, it might have been hijacked.

Do they put a exe on it or is it just something that is HTML or XML

Edit: I think I know they might put direct it to another file that was loaded and run the script from there.

 

[smanches]

The host file is like a little mini-dns. It's used for static name to IP address mapping only on that machine.

But, many viruses will put all kinds of common domains in them, then redirect them to whatever website they want.

 

[killivolt]

The host file is like a little mini-dns. It's used for static name to IP address mapping only on that machine.

But, many viruses will put all kinds of common domains in them, then redirect them to whatever website they want.

I went in and found the (Host file) on my home computer. At work I have a Mac Dual boot but

I don't have a good 2nd monitor, so I can't run windows right now.

So, if someone were to fix it with what is in the Knowledge Base. Basically they would get the Host File and replace the corrupt file with

the generic TCP/IP Host file originally installed on the system?

 

[smanches]

Here is a default windows host file. Just the one entry for localhost.

# Copyright (c) 1993-1999 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.
#
# For example:
#
#      102.54.94.97     rhino.acme.com          # source server
#       38.25.63.10     x.acme.com              # x client host

127.0.0.1       localhost