HijackThisMalware: I.E. 6.0 Redirect to About:Blank

Welcome. :emotion-1:

I am reviewing your log. In the meantime, you can help me by addressing the following:

I was not aware that BHR is compatible with Vista. Perhaps you used a new version?  It appears that this computer is running IE 7, rather than I.E. 6.0 as you stated in your title.

Did you (or have a security program) set restrictions in the Control Panel and/or configure settings so the homepage cannot be changed?  Someone may have locked that, so that is why you are getting a default blank page that you cannot change.

* Have you have posted this issue on another forum? If so, please provide a link to the topic.

* If you have disabled System Restore in an attempt to begin cleaning malware, please enable it now. We will flush System Restore when we are finished cleaning and we are sure that everything is running smoothly.

* If you are using any cracked software, please remove it. Definition of cracked software HERE.

* If you are using any P2P (file sharing) programs, please remove them before we clean your computer.  The nature of such software and the high incidence of malware in files downloaded with them is counter productive to restoring your PC to a healthy state. That includes BitTorrent and similar programs. There is a list HERE.    

* If this computer belongs to someone else, do you have authority to apply the fixes we will use?

* Have you already fixed entries using HijackThis? If so, please restore all the backups and then post another log.

* After we begin working, please print or copy all instructions to Notepad in order to assist you when carrying out procedures. Please follow all instructions in sequence. Do not, on your own, install/re-install any programs or run any fixes or scanners that you have not been instructed to use because this may cause conflicts with the tools that I am using. Please note that these fixes are not instantaneous. Most infections require more than one round to properly eradicate.

* During the course of our cleanup please do not do any online work or surfing until we have verified that your system is clean.

* We may be using some specialized tools during our fix. Certain embedded files that are part of legitimate programs or specialized fix tools such as process.exe, restart.exe, SmiUpdate.exe, reboot.exe, ws2fix.exe, prcviewer.exe and nircmd.exe may at times be detected by some anti-virus/anti-malware scanners as a "RiskTool", "Hacking tool", "Potentially unwanted tool", or even "malware (virus/trojan)" when that is not the case. Such programs have legitimate uses in contexts where an authorized user or administrator has knowingly installed it. These detections do not necessarily mean the file is malware or a bad program. It means it has the potential for being misused by others. Anti-virus scanners cannot distinguish between "good" and "malicious" use of such programs, therefore they may alert you or even automatically remove them.

* If your replies do not fit in one post while we are handling your issue, please reply to yourself until all text is submitted. It may take several posts.

After your reply we'll be ready to run some diagnostic scans and do some general cleaning.

yeah IE7 not IE6.  oops.  BHR said it was compatible with VISTA  but who knows at this point. 

No program running to secure homepage control; i am not aware of how one can do it in the control panel/config.  lmk if that's what you meant and how to check.  If I didn't install/setup, it's probably not set up that way since i loaded everything for him.

thanks and look forward to your reply :emotion-30:

sorry for delay ... winter vacation ended but he brought the laptop home today and your instructions rendered us MALWARE FREE ! ! !

awesome!!!! thank you so very much!!!!

my son is very grateful as well ...

suzanne & trev

You're welcome. It might be a good idea to go here: http://www.java.com/en/download/installed.jsp

  to check the Java on there to be sure he has the most updated version. Older versions have vulnerabilities that malware can use to infect your system. It is possible that you may be running Java code in your applications that absolutely require a specific version of the JRE to run.

If you need to update, please follow these steps to remove older version Java components and update.

• Download the latest version of Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 6.
• Scroll down to where it says Java SE Runtime Environment (JRE) 6 Update 11 .
• Click the "Download" button to the right.
• Check the box that says: "Accept License Agreement".
• NOTE: As always during installations, beware of any pre-checked option to install a toolbar. If you do not want it, UNcheck it.
• The page will refresh.
• Click on the link to download Windows Offline Installation with or without Multi-language and save to your desktop.
• Close any programs you may have running - especially your web browser.
• Go to Start > Control Panel double-click on Add/Remove programs and remove all older versions of Java.
• Check any item with Java Runtime Environment (JRE or J2SE) in the name.
• Click the Remove or Change/Remove button.
• Repeat as many times as necessary to remove each of the Java versions.
  Close Add/Remove.
• 
  * In Windows Explorer, navigate to C:\Program Files\Java =this folder. Delete any subfolders.
  * Do NOT delete C:\Program Files\ JavaVM =this folder, if found!
  
• Reboot your computer once all Java components are removed.
• Then from your desktop double-click on jre-6u11-windows-i586-p.exe to install the newest version.

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The following suggestions are general prevention and are not customized for your computer. You may have already taken some of these steps, and depending on your current security, you may not need to implement all of these:

1. Visit Microsoft Update: Make sure that you have all the Critical Updates recommended for your operating system and IE. The first defense against infection is a properly patched OS. Microsoft's widows Update: http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp

2. Please use a firewall and realtime anti-virus. Keep the anti-virus software and firewall software up to date. Note: Zone Alarm Firewall (by Checkpoint) has a free version http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/trial_zaFamily/trial_zaFamily.jsp?lid=home_freedownloads

3.You might consider installing Mozilla / Firefox.
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/

4. Do not use file sharing. Even the safest P2P file sharing programs that do not contain bundled spyware, still expose you to risks because of the very nature of the P2P file sharing process. By default, most P2P file sharing programs are configured to automatically launch at startup. They are also configured to allow other P2P users on the same network open access to a shared directory on your computer. The reason for this is simple. File sharing relies on its members giving and gaining unfettered access to computers across the P2P network. However, this practice can make you vulnerable to data and identity theft. Even if you change those risky default settings to a safer configuration, the act of downloading files from an anonymous source greatly increases your exposure to infection. That is because the files you are downloading may actually contain a disguised threat. Many very malicious worms and trojans, such as the Storm Worm, target and spread across P2P files sharing networks because of their known vulnerabilities.

5. Before using or purchasing any Spyware/Malware protection/removal program, always check the following Rogue/Suspect Spyware Lists. http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm http://www.malwarebytes.org/database.php

6. If you have not already done so, you might want to install CCleaner and run it in each user's profile: http://www.ccleaner.com/ ** UNcheck the option to install the Yahoo toolbar that is checked by default for the Standard version, or download the toolbar-free versions (Slim or Basic) when given the option for those.

7. Practice Safe Surfing with with TrendProtect by Trend Micro. This is not compatible with Firefox 3.0 yet. TrendProtect is a browser plugin that assigns a safety rating to domains listed in your search engine. TrendProtect also adds a new button to your browser's toolbar area. The icon and color of the button changes to indicate whether the page currently open is safe, unsafe, trusted, or unrated, or whether it contains unwanted content. The following color codes are used by TrendProtect to indicate the safety of each site.

• Red for Warning
• Yellow for Use Caution
• Green for Safe
• Grey for Unknown

Alternatively, Web Of Trust is a similar add-on that can also be used for Internet Explorer.  It uses colored alerts to warn about risky websites that try to scam visitors, deliver malware, or send spam. There is a Web Of Trust version for Firefox as well.

8. You might consider installing SpywareBlaster: http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html
It will:
Prevent the installation of ActiveX-based spyware, adware, browser hijackers, dialers, and other potentially unwanted software.
Block spyware/tracking cookies in Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.
Restrict the actions of potentially unwanted sites in Internet Explorer.
Tutorial here:http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/tutorial49.html
Periodically check for updates

9. Here are some helpful articles:
"How did I get infected?"
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic2520.html

"I'm not pulling your leg, honest"
by Sandi Hardmeier
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/community/columns/pulling.mspx

If your issue has been resolved, please click all five stars in this post so that we receive credit for completing the cleanup. Thank you and Safe Surfing.