Tech?:Did I get spyware from Google or somewhere else that affects my Google results?

finnman69 | 5/4/4 | finnman69

[finnman69]

I suspect I have some sort of hijack software that has change the way my searches on Google come up. Until very recently google searcehs were quick and I would get responses as normal.

Now it seems to freeze for a few seconds and the first page of responses are links to other ad or search services. Example for a google search for 'test' I get this on the 1st page:

100% Free Certifications and Elearning Certy.com offers Free certifications/tests in HTML, Java, ASP, C#, Project Management, English, XML, EJB

Diabetics! Health Break Through! At last..there's hope for Diabetes sufferers. Sportron Diabetic Pack is the answer for millions of Diabetics who want to enjoy a better quality of life. Find out Now!

Test Jobs View Test job listings and apply online.

GET PAID TO DOWNLOAD FREE SOFTWARE! Get paid to download Free Software. Make Money with your computer.

Better Trading with Technical Analysis We offer annotated charts with technical analysis showing trends in stock prices and improving your trading decisions. Our unique newsletter provides annotated charts on Dow Jones, Nasdaq.

The second and subsequent pages are normal result pages. Any suggestions what has infected me. I am running ad-aware and zone alarm and think I might have accidently let something in. I ran ad-aware again w/ the updated database.

I live for Google and this is highly annoying. Any suggestions?

[Enduring Freedom]

Yes.

Live for sex instead.

It is much more interesting in my experience.

[Razwan]

do you have kids? my son downloaded some stupid game and got GAIN software, which did pretty much exactly what you are describing

[1stFreedom]

Sounds like what I had.

I tried Spybot S&D, BPS Spyware Adware Remover, and Ad-Aware.

I downloaded the latest updates for each, but only Ad-Aware was successful in removing the hijack programs.

[PetroniusMaximus]

This is what I get...


News results for test - View all the latest headlines
Murali equals Test record - Melbourne Herald Sun - 37 minutes ago
Intel's 'causal learning algorithm' to reduce IC test costs - EE Times Online (subscription) - 3 hours ago
Headingley hoping to secure Test status - CricInfo.com - 9 hours ago





Test Central Home
Testing News... Patent Issued to Test.com. CLEVELAND, OH ... No. 6,513,042
on January 28, 2003. The Patent issued to Test.com, Inc. protects ...
www.test.com/ - 37k - Cached - Similar pages

TOEFL
For more than 40 years the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
has been the leading academic English proficiency test in the world. ...
www.ets.org/toefl/ - 13k - May 4, 2004 - Cached - Similar pages

ACT, Inc. : Information for Life's Transitions : Educational ...
... ABOUT THE ACT ASSESSMENT® Coming in '05: The Writing Test Before the test ...
www.act.org/ - 38k - May 4, 2004 - Cached - Similar pages

Personality Disorder Test - Personality Test
Personality Disorder Test. On a modem? Please give the test a minute
to load. This test, sponsored by 4degreez.com, is meant to ...
www.4degreez.com/misc/personality_disorder_test.mv - 20k - May 4, 2004 - Cached - Similar pages

IQ Test
Try our free, fast and fun IQ Test. While you smirk, it accurately measures your
IQ score. This is the internet's most popular and entertaining IQ Test. ...
www.iqtest.com/ - 4k - May 4, 2004 - Cached - Similar pages

Shields Up
GRC Internet Security Detection System scans on request the user's computer, especially the Windows...
https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2 - Similar pages

Keirsey Temperament and Character Web Site
... Features a new short-form personality test (the "Shorter Sorter") and easy-to-read
portraits of the Sixteen Types. Self-Discovery, Temperament Type. ...
keirsey.com/ - 16k - Cached - Similar pages

Spelling Test
A Spelling Test. ... You can take the test (below) and see how you did
right away. There are some spelling tips on another page. (Hey! ...
www.sentex.net/~mmcadams/spelling.html - 14k - May 4, 2004 - Cached - Similar pages

Education resources on the Internet - Home Page
Study English at the Hampstead School of English. ...
www.edufind.com/english/grammar/ - 15k - May 4, 2004 - Cached - Similar pages

College search - SAT registration, SAT prep - college admissions ...
... Register for the SAT SAT Prep Center SAT Test Dates Test Center/Code Search Get &
Send Scores SAT Question of the Day. The New SAT 2005 ... SAT Test Center Closings ...
www.collegeboard.com/ - 23k - May 4, 2004 - Cached - Similar pages

[Skooz]

Spybot Search and Destroy.

[TrebleRebel]

Exactly the same thing happened to me 3 days ago. I also use ad-aware to remove the 200 or so ad programs that infect my computer daily.

[Fixit]

You could try downloading and running Lavasoft's AdAware to clean up any spyware you might have picked up.

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

It's free and it works.

[eyespysomething]

go here and get ad aware:

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/

[LibWhacker]

Sounds like spyware to me. Are you running SpyBot or Ad-Aware? If not, give one of them a try. Both are good. I prefer SpyBot.

[Asclepius]

Dude. Read this. You may have been infected with malware. The only solution is to shoot your computer and never visit another porn site.

http://wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,63280,00.html?tw=wn_16techhead

[meatloaf]

IMO, Google has become less and less useful over the years. The amount of commercialization means you're bringing up thousands of sales listings even when you're trying to do research.

I've found that Hotbot isn't quite so "business friendly" which means I've gotten better results especially when Google only returns a handful.

[capt. norm]

Download a free program called "Hijackthis" and you can remove it.

It hides in the registry as a BHO (browser helper object) and as long as it's there it will give you grief.

Just follow the instructions with Hijackthis.exe and remove it from the registry, reboot your machine, and the hijacking software will no longer steal your searches.

You can then remove the offending program or dll at leisure.

I had the same thing happen to me with "MyWay" and tried everything to no avail until I ran into "Hijackthis".

[finnman69]

Dang, I am using ad-aware, updated it ran it again. Still happening.

[Skooz]

SpyBot will remove some things Ad-Aware leaves behind, and vise-versa.

[HEY4QDEMS]

go to lava-soft and download ad-aware.

[NewRomeTacitus]

The punks are writing ingenious Java applets that land in your Temporary Internet Files folder and the primary Temp folder. Other than making sure you've got "Empty Temporary Internet Folder When Browser is Turned Off" checked (Settings/Internet Options/Advanced), you may want to use Windows Explorer to look into the Temp folders to manually delete the dross and get rid of cookies from sites you don't recognize.

[capt. norm]

Same thing happened to me, tried Adaware and SpyBotremover. It wasn't 'til I found "HiJackThis" and used it, that I could get rid of it.

Had to use it a week later for another search hijacker got into my browser via the registry.

[dfwgator]

Better yet, just use Mozilla for your browser.

[HAL9000]

think I might have accidently let something in.

Blame the crappy operating system, not the user.