Google/Search Engine Error

[EKUcolonel]

Okay, I have a friend who I often help with Tech support. I can usually fix minor problems for him (his kinda computer illiterate), but I have also dealt with some major ones. This latest has me befuddled. Every time he types in the website for Google on IE, he gets this page that says "the domain cannot be found" or something. The page isn't your average "this page cannot be displayed type" It's like a professionally done page. Also, we tried other search engines, they came up, be we could not search for anything. When we entered a search into the field it came up with the "This Page Cannot Be Displayed" text. All other webpages seemed fine. (Metacrawler did, however, search). My first thought was of a virus, so I updated all his McAfee stuff. Then I did a manual search and looked through most of his files. I am stumpped. Anyone else have this problem? He has a brand new Dell (I forget the model) running XP. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Tarkus]

it's possible your searches have been hijacked by spyware. Try running Spybot Search and Destroy.

 

[Mictlantecuhtli]

Trojan hijacks web browsers
By John Leyden, The Register Oct 3 2003 8:10AM

A Trojan that exploits an Internet Explorer vulnerability is capable of allowing attackers to hijack browser behaviour, anti-virus firms warn.

The QHosts (Delude) Trojan can't spread by itself. Users only become infected if they visited a maliciously constructed website containing code which allows the malware to run.

This code used a critical object data vulnerability in Internet Explorer to execute.

More information about this vulnerability, including a (partial) fix, can be found in an advisory from Microsoft, issued back in August.

Some anti-virus vendors reckon that this patch will protect against the exploit. However, McAfee warns that the patch fails to protect against the automatic execution of VBScript contained in an HTML file, the infection mechanism used by QHosts.

AV firms are united in saying the latest Windows menace is low spreading, which is just as well. As usual Mac, Linux, OS/2 and Unix users are immune from infection.

According to McAfee, the purpose of this Trojan is to hijack browser use. When page requests are made, they are rerouted to specified Domain Name Servers. This allows a remote 'administrator' to direct users to the pages of their choosing.

This Trojan is responsible for recent reports of strange DNS changes on systems as recently reported on NTBUGTRAQ, McAfee believes.

Finnish AV firm F-Secure has noted two variants of the Trojan. An advisory by Symantec provides technical detail on the changes the Trojan makes to infected PCs.

Users are advised to update AV signature definitions so that security tools can block the Trojan in case a user is tricked (using spam or via other mechanisms) into visiting an infected Web site. ®

 

[poertner_1274]

I was going to suggest your DNS settings, if you can't connect to any sites like then you need to contact your ISP and get their DNS servers to input inro you NIC.

 

[EKUcolonel]

Well, I checked his DNS settings already. Last time I went over there they were changed and I reset them. (I knew it looked odd b/c on the server we are on, we are supposed to obtain the DNS #s automatically. After I did that, his comp worked fine until Wednesday (I fixed it last thursday). I also d/led Adaware and some spyware software, and I (thought) that I got rid of the bad little stuff that was messing up his comp. ( checked his DNS again and it was still set to automatic.

He also has one other problem, and I dunno if I should be asking it or not, but he can't connect to Kazaa. It just keeps saying "Connecting..." at the bottom of the screen.

Like I said b/4, it seems that only his search engine sites have been disabled. I am suspecting a trojan, but there is nothig I have found that seems to point to one.

 

[My Melody]

o.. shhhhhsss.. i haf.. da same problem.. um.. how can u fix it.. i think i can still connect to kazza though.. ^^;; T.T pllz.. help!!

 

[Jokke]

Google Search error

Did you found the solution for this problem ? I have the same thing.