Re: unable to open websites in browser(s)

family.sens@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

hi,

i'm running Norton Antivirus 2002 - updated virus defs.
i use HijackThis to scan for BHOs and Malware .

firewall is BlackIceDefender.

my problem is that i cant go to the www.elephantboycomputers.com link
....
looked into the processes running on that system using ProcExp, but
that didnt show up any weird in-memory loads , so im still rather
confused.

far as i know i havent been to any dodgy websites or downloaded
anything executable before the trouble began..

OK, I just checked and my site is OK ;-) Here are a few things:

1. You are using a seriously obsolete antivirus. Even though your virus
definitions may be current, the antivirus engine itself is obsolete.
You should replace your NAV 2002 with an av version that isn't older
than 2005. Unfortunately, most of us techs feel that the last good NAV
was 2003, so I personally wouldn't recommend any of their current
programs. I use F-Prot on my Windows machines. Kaspersky and NOD32 are
recommended by people whom I respect.

2. If you are using an older version of Black Ice you should also
replace it. Black Ice had a lot of problems, including vulnerabilities.
I would not recommend using that firewall.

3. If you are highly skilled and understand what you are looking at HJT
is fine. Otherwise, it is useless to you without expert advice. HJT
does not remove malware like Ad-aware, Spybot, and other recommended
antimalware programs.

I would still go through the troubleshooting triage I suggested:

1. Since you can't get to websites on the affected computer, read
instructions and get tools/updates from another machine. Then go
through the malware removal steps listed at EBC:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

Because your av is so old, I would also scan with at least Sysclean or
David Lipman's Multi_AV as described at the link above.

2. If the machine is clean, review any security programs you have to
make sure your Hosts file is not redirecting everything to 127.0.0.1
(your local machine).

Information about the Hosts file -
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

3. Ask yourself the classic troubleshooting question: what changed
between the time things worked and the time they didn't?

4. If the machine is clean and your Hosts file is OK, call your ISP to
see if they are having DNS problems and to have them check your
connection.

5. You didn't say how you connect to the Internet, so generally check
your connection hardware, whatever that is - modem, nic, router,
cables, etc.

Malke
--
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic"
.

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