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I'm having trouble with my browsers for three days now, not all the time but suddenly when I type a URL it is redirected to another page, or even if the URL is correct on the browser it shows the wrong content, and it's the third day this happened! Now I'm crazy with this, all the time I have to restart the machine to correct the problem! Can you guys help me to sort out this mess?

This is what I got when I typed YouTube in my browser:

enter image description here

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    Malware problems, I'd think. Run anti-virus scan with updated software and definitions and run some anti-malware program like ad-aware or similar with newest definitions.
    – AndrejaKo
    Aug 9, 2010 at 12:44
  • As the malware programmers too have those tools they might even circumvent the search algorithms. Dont trust a once compromised system!
    – matthias krull
    Aug 9, 2010 at 14:34

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As has been previously mentioned, once you think your PC has been compromised, it is difficult to be 100% sure that you found and removed everything. Even if you cleaned every file, it is still possible that a vulnerability still exists on your system that would allow it to become compromised again.

That being said, there are useful online tools to help determine if your PC is compromised. I would start with the free tools offered by Trend Micro:

http://free.antivirus.com/clean-up-tools/

HijackThis is somewhat technical, but will examine your hosts file, look at your Browser Helper Objects, and inspect other common vectors that cause your browser to display unwanted content.

Another option is to use a rescue CD to scan your system for viruses. I have personally used the following one from F-Secure and found good success:

http://www.f-secure.com/linux-weblog/2009/09/22/rescue-cd-311/

If you use the F-Secure recovery CD, you will need to download the .zip file, extract the .iso image file and burn it to a CD. Then boot your PC from the CD and follow the instructions. The anti-virus program will attempt to download the latest virus definition files from the Internet before scanning your PC.

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This reminds me of a prank I've seen played among friends. While one friend leaves the PC unattended, the other modifies the host file. The friend returns, types "http://www.google.com" but sees a pr0n site instead. The URL is still "http://www.google.com", however, since the hosts file short-circuited the DNS lookup.

If this sounds like your problem, see Microsoft's guide for resetting the hosts file.

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It sounds like you have some kind of virus/malware that's hijacked your computer. Run an anit-virus scan if you can. Really nasty ones may even block your anti-virus scan so you may have to get a boot disc that has an AV scanner on it and use that. There are many such tools, I've used UBCD and had decent results, others will probably recommend other tools. ;)

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