Downloaded some sort of spyware - can't get to search engines.. help?
 

I've let a few people use my home computer and they've somehow downloaded some sort of spyware (it's running Win XP Pro SP1).

I can't get to google, yahoo, tweakxp, etc...

I've removed my hosts file and let it rebuild (it's blank).
I've downloaded & run:
- Spybot Search & Destroy
- Spy Sweeper
- Ad-adware
- hijackthis

and still no luck. I haven't found much online that will help me, but then again, I can't search.

*ANY* help would be greatly appreciated.

So what is the error when you try to connect?

Do you have a DNS server set?

The error was something along the lines of "So, you're trying to get to google, well there's program on your computer that's preventing that from happening"

Anyway, it turns out that our gateway computer was the one with the problem. I fixed it and we're all back to normal (I didn't know that I wasn't the only one that was effected).

In any case, I'm going out to get a firewall router so that this doesn't happen again... I've never been too thrilled with the idea of using a windows machine as a gateway/router/firewall.

just get an old computer off ebay, i have a 300Mhz Celeron running samba, exim, courier imap, ssh, cvs, and acting as a firewall/gateway for my network.

That taunting message sounds more like a virus than a spy-ware program. Be sure to scan all windows machines with a current virus scanner.

Since it might help some readers of this message, here is a list of some spy-ware programs that you want to avoid installing. This list is from a memo at work.

Bonzai Buddy, Gator, Xupiter, WeatherBug, Precision Time, Date Manager, OfferCompanion, WeatherScope.

There is also an xvid player, that also installs Gator. That one got me, because an earlier version didn't install gator.

And also watch installing spyware removers, I have found many of them to be spyware themselves :-( I even had one that would run at startup and tell you you had x number of infected files and to buy x version of there software to remove them, a quick search in windows and also from a straight dos prompt showed not even one of those files where on my computer they were just trying to sell there product.

I juse ad-aware at work to remove spyware and its great, you can get it at www.hotfiles.com if you want it.