"Fake Google" keeps hijacking my homepage?

My computer seems to be having an issue...





Everytime I start up Internet Explorer, instead of my usual homepage, Google comes up. Only, this isn't actually Google...its an identical website, but when you click on a search result, it redirects you to some other website compeltely unrelated to the search.





This happens any time I go to Google, even when I type "google.com" in myself, rather than going there through the homepage that keeps forcing itself on me.





Is this a known virus? Has anyone ever experienced this "fake google"? How the heck do I get rid of it (spyware and adware detectors aren't picking it up)?

"Fake Google" keeps hijacking my homepage?
You could have spyware on your computer. Here are some removal tools you can use:





Spybot Search %26amp; Destroy.


http://www.safer-networking.org/...





Ad-Aware


http://www.lavasoftusa.com/





Yahoo Toolbar comes with Anti-Spy technology


http://toolbar.yahoo.com/





Spyware Doctor


http://www.pctools.com/spyware-doctor...





Webroot Software | Spy Sweeper Anti-Spyware


http://www.webroot.com/





Pestpatrol


http://www.pestpatrol.com/
Reply:Dude, it's called Trojans. Your computer has very large amounts of it. It will keep on hijacking your computer whenever you will go on the internet. The best way to do this is taking to a computer know-it-all person and ask for a help to get rid of it. Or you may need a stronger Anti-Spyware software like Norton or McAffee to get rid of that junk. And one last thing, beware of the viruses, worms, TROJANS and hijackers when you look up in the you-know-what websites.
Reply:Chances are that there is a piece of software on your computer acting as a "proxy" it is redirecting all traffic designated for google.com to their website, and returning the results.





First thing is install firefox, firefox is a free web browser that tends to be more secure then Internet Explorer and easier to use.


visit http://www.firefox.com/ and download it and install it onto your computer.





Now we need to remove all the junk probably in your startup. Open the start menu, choose run, type in 'msconfig' without the quotes. A simple little program opens up. goto the startup tab and uncheck all the boxes. reboot your computer. This is disablabling all those things that startup when your computer turns on, which may include this spyware program.





Next once you have tried it out, if you are still having problems, then you need to move to the next level of crap removal. Get your hands on a copy of toolbarcop. this program looks at all addons which have been added to internet explorer and allows you to easily remove them. WARNING%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt; THIS COULD BE DANGEROUS %26lt;%26lt;%26lt;%26lt; check for anything that sounds phishy and choose remove.





let me know what you find at this point and how things are going.
Reply:Did a quick search found this. Hope it helps.
Reply:Try this. If the AVG and AdAware don't do it then use the Smitfraud Trojan sites at the bottom.





This procedure works for all Malware. Use any AntiVirus or AntiSpy program you choose.





Download and Update Ewido (now called the AVG Antispyware). Do not run:





http://www.ewido.net/en/download/...





Download AdAware SE and update. Do the setup. Do not run:





http://www.filehippo.com/download_ad-awa...





AdAware SE Setup:





1. Select "use custom scanning options" then select "customize". Make sure the following options are enabled: "scan within archives," "scan active processes," "scan registry," "deep scan registry," "scan my IE favorites for banned URLs," "scan my Hosts file."





2. Select the "tweak" option. Under "scanning engine," make sure "unload recognized processes and modules during scan" is enabled. Enable "scan registry for all users instead of current users."





3. Under "cleaning engine" turn on "always try to unload modules…," "during removal unload explorer and IE if necessary," "let windows remove files in use at next restart," and "delete quarantined items after restoring."





4. Use the "select drives and folders to scan" option to ensure that your entire hard drive is scanned (if you have more than one hard drive, scan all of them (of course, do not include floppy and CD/DVD).








TEMPORARILY SHOW HIDDEN FILES AND FOLDERS.





1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.





2. Click Appearance and Themes, and then click Folder Options.





3. On the View tab, under Hidden files and folders, click "Show hidden files and folders", and clear(uncheck) the "Hide protected operating system files" check box.





IMPORTANT: Files are hidden by Windows for a very good reason. It is not wise to experiment with these files. Unfortunately, to successfully remove modern spyware we must turn this protection off temporarily. Please turn the protection back on when you have finished cleaning your system.








EMPTY INTERNET EXPLORER BROWSER CACHE:





1. On the Internet Explorer Tools menu, click Internet Options.





2. On the General tab, in the Temporary Internet Files section, click the Delete Files button. Select the Delete all offline content check box in the confirmation dialogue box that appears, click OK. Click OK again.





RESTART IN SAFE MODE:





To do this you need to hold down or repeatedly tap the F8 key while the computer is booting (when the computer is displaying a black screen with white text). When the boot menu appears, use your keyboard arrows to select "Safe Mode."





Safe Mode can look quite ugly. The color may look bad, and all of your desktop icons will be very large. This is normal.











START THE SCAN WITH YOUR ANTI-VIRUS OR ANTI-SPYWARE PROGRAM.








When the scan and removal are completed REBOOT COMPUTER. This will restart you in normal mode. DON'T FORGET TO RESET HIDDEN FILES AND FOLDERS.








NEW RESTORE POINT.





The RESTORE POINTS may be infected with the Malware and cannot be used.





HERE'S HOW:





1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.





2. Click Performance and Maintenance, click System, and then click on the System Restore tab.





3. Select the Turn Off System Restore check box, click Apply, then restart your computer.





4. Return to the System Restore Tab and turn System Restore back on.








TO SET A NEW RESTORE POINT:





1. Click the Start button.





2. Point to Programs, then navigate to Accessories, then System Tools, then click System Restore.





3. Choose Create a restore point, and then click Next.





4. In the Restore point description box, type a name for your restore point, and then click Next.





5. Click OK.





NOTE: If you are using Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) and are unable to access the Internet after removing Malware, there is a command that may fix the problem. It works by resetting the winsock catalogue. Click on Start, then Run and type CMD in the box. Click OK. Type "netsh winsock reset" (no quotes)into the DOS window that appears.








ADDITION INFORMATION ABOUT TROJANS:





There are Trojans that fall into the Smitfraud family. These require the use of a specialized program for removal. Here are two sites that specialize in removing these:





http://www.internetinspiration.co.uk/rog...





http://siri.urz.free.fr/Fix/SmitfraudFix...
Reply:Make sure your spyware is up-to-date and updated. Have at least two different spyware programs, and then (this is important): disconnect from the internet and run a full scan, one right after the other. Do the same with an anti-virus program or two. Restart your computer after each search.
Reply:One of the first things I do when ever this happens to me, would be check the add remove software in the control panel. Then from there I would remove it from DOS by using the command line interface commands. Or to make it simple, I would do a system restore to an earlyer time after I have checked to ADD REMOVE software in the control panel.