Google Search Redirect? There's hope

Almost every malware infection is causing what has come to be known as the "Google redirect." It's now a catchall phrase for whenever someone can't access a site- for whatever reason. And while a 'redirect' may happen, the causes can be different.

We use Combofix frequently because it's a good program. But it is only suggested AFTER we see what is on the system. Once in a while we will make an exception if the description indicates it would be best to just go straight to Combofix- but that should be our decision.

Member look through other threads and frequently add the programs that have been suggested for others- so in some cases, I open a thread and see Malwarebytes, Superantispyware> HijackThis, Combofix, an online AV scan and occasionally additional programs.

Cleaning a system has to be an orderly process. Directions need to be followed, programs need to be run in specific order. And any help a member gets is addressing that member's problem only, not that of someone else who has "the same problem."

It is fairly common for new members like yourself to pick up a thread and say "this worked for me- try it." but that is something to be avoided. Malware infections tend to panic many and they will do anything they think "might work." So we must be careful.

As for disabling security, the site has a link that shows how to do this:.
If the Recovery Console needs to be installed and is done, there is a reboot after that. But since you are manually disabling the security, it should not restart until you manually enable it. There is a link on the site with directions for temporarily disabling antivirus, firewall and anti-malware scanners. For example, for Norton 360:

# Uncheck Turn on Auto-Protect and select Apply.
# You will be asked to select a time for Norton to reactivate.
# Choose Until I turn it back on.
# You can re-enable after the malware has been removed from your machine.

Click to expand...