(Solved) certain website won't stop making itself the home page

[fishandchips]

Everytime I startup up the computer and access microsoft internet explorer, a certain sexhound.com has registered itself as the homepage and everytime i change it, it comes on after i reboot

 

[TonyKlein]

Hi,

I have (what I hope) is the complete to-do list for ya:

Close Internet Explorer and Outlook Express.
Go to Control Panel/Internet Options, and clear your temporary Internet files.
Now click on Settings/show files, and delete your cookies.
Or, if you're running IE 6.0, delete your cookies on the Privacy tab.

Now go to Start/run, and type Msconfig. On the Startup tab, look to see if you can find one or more of the following entries:
SWPortal, SWCaller, Sp.dll, winn32.html, and/or MSKernel32 (Win32.hta).
If you find one or more of these things, uncheck them.
Now click OK, close Msconfig, and reboot.

Now open Internet Explorer, and go to your favorite Start Page.
Go to Internet Options, General tab, and click 'Use current'.

If after rebooting there's still no change, lets move to phase 2:

Go to Start/run, and type Regedit.
Navigate to HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Control Panel
Is the subkey called 'Control Panel' indeed there, rightclick it, and choose delete from the context menu.
Close Regedit

Now go to Control Panel/Internet (options)
Go to the 'Programs' tab, and click 'reset Web Settings'.
Go to the 'Security' tab, and set all ActiveX options that are now set to 'allow', to 'prompt'.
Also uncheck 'Enable install on demand' on the 'advanced' tab.

Now open Internet Explorer, and go to your favorite Start Page.
Go to Internet Options, General tab, and click 'Use current'.

Now if you want to avoid having to do this all the time, here's a useful reg hack:

After changing your home page to the one you prefer, immediately do the following:

Go to Start>Run, type regedit. Navigate to:
HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\
Right-click on the Internet Explorer key, choose new>Key, name it Control Panel. Right-click on the Control Panel, chose new>DWORD value, name it Homepage. Right-click on Homepage, choose modify and type in the number 1.

This should lock your home page, so no other web site can change it.

Good luck,

 

[DMC2]

I have the same problem but luckily it doesn't go to a porn site. ....so I'll just reply to this thread.

'HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Control Panel'

This key doesn't appear to exist on my system. I'm using Win98 FE. I couldn't find any of the things mentioned inside the Startup tab in MSCONFIG. Just doing the last step doesn't work either even though it might stop other websites changing the homepage. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

 

[TonyKlein]

There could be other things aside from the ones mentioned.

Let us have a look at your startups, please:

Download Startup.log from this site: http://home.earthlink.net/~rmbox/Reticulated/Toys.html

It generates a text file on your desktop that will list all the applications that start in the many places when you start Windows.

Unzip, doubleclick the Startlog folder, and doubleclick Startlog.com.

We don't need to see StubPath.txt, just StartupLog.txt

 

[DMC2]

Thanks for the reply....

....here it is (renamed to .txt so I can upload it) :

 

[TonyKlein]

Go to Start/run, and type Msconfig.

On the Startup tab, uncheck the following line:

"LoadIE"="Rundll32.exe iexplore.dll,[email protected]"

Click OK, and reboot.

There is no such standard file as iexplore.dll.

I suggest you do a search for it, and delete it.

Good luck,

 

[DMC2]

You've "smashed it" so my friends say...

Thanks it worked....

...Aren't they sneaky?

Thanks again. Appreciate your time.

 

[TonyKlein]

Pleasure!

 

[WhitPhil]

DMC2:
A comment in passing from your StartLog.
1. Recommend you install and run an Antivirus
2. Recommend you install and run a FireWall
3. Recommend you add back ScanReg which has somehow disappeared from your Startups.

 

[DMC2]

Hi...Ok, ScanReg is now back (it disappeared coz I disabled it in msconfig>startup) What's it do anyway? Scan the registry?

I DO have antivirus but I don't have on startup or in RealTime protection coz it seems to crash a lot. I update it and scan the system regularly though.

The firewall thing...I'm on 56k and I get cut off every 2 hours. Do I really need one?

Thanx for the suggestions though.

 

[TonyKlein]

Whitphil's right: we, maybe understandably, tend to look for things that shouldn't be there in Startup, and forget the things that ought to be there, but aren't.

1) ScanRegistry is maybe the most important thing in startup: when you start your computer successfully,it creates a backup of system files and registry configuration information, which you can restore in case your registry gets messed up.

2) You should either make sure your antivirus starts up as Windows loads without crashing your system, or ditch it and start looking out for another one.

Anything you download, any attachment you open, any mail you read or site you visit, may contain malware that will infect your system so fast that all you can do is try and mop up behind it, hoping you'll be able to undo the damage somehow.

You need real time protection, and the same goes for installing a firewall: although you may get cut off after a couple of hours, you are in very real danger during the time you are on line.

 

[DMC2]

K. ScanReg and Norton Real Time is back up and (not crashing). Probably because of the recent clean install.

Now the firewall thing to guard from Trojans and unauthorised access.....Don't really hear about ppl with dialups using these. I've heard once or twice but it's usually almost always on connections. Which one should I get? (Free one I hope). Does it take up much resources?

Thanks

 

[TonyKlein]

Well, you know, if you're on line, even if it's only for 2 hours at the time, you nevertheless provide people with the opportunity to hack you.

A good firewall, which is freeware, and easy to configure, is <A HREF="http://www.zonelabs.com/">ZoneAlarm</A> (go for the free one)

Good luck,

 

[peter77]

I've tried doing what you've suggested but the regedit directories are different and i can't find LoadIE"="Rundll32.exe iexplore.dll,[email protected] in startup in msconfig.

every time my computer starts up it puts a link infront of my homepage bringing up a pop up for casino.net porn, mp3 e.t.c but it stops mu homepage from loading.
How can I fix this