MAMEWorld Forums - The Loony Bin - Re: OK, i give....how the phuq do I get rid of this browser hijacking?

You have so many *helper* programs on your system it will be time consuming to figure out what is causing your issues.

Look at your hosts file and make sure there is nothing fishy in there. If you need to fix or delete an entry, make sure it is not set as 'read only', and close/open it again after you change it to make sure the change sticks. (and make sure your editor doesn't add an extention to the file name. "hosts.txt" will do you no good. In fact, do yourself a favor and install Notepad++ right now, and always use that for editing any kind of text file).

Run Spybot Search and Destroy as an administrator, update it's definitions, and immunize your system.
Scan your system with SB S&D
Scan your system with SuperAntiSpyware
Scan your system with Malwarebytes AntiMalware
Run CCleaner

With HJT, 'fix' all of your R0 and R1 entries (delete them). If you use IE regularly, you'll have to set your home page and maybe search engine after that. I use google for both.

Check URLREDIR.DLL and GROOVEEX.DLL and make sure they are signed by Microsoft, or upload them to virus total. They are more than likely legit, but some malware is around that impersonates them. The impostors usually end up in system32 though...

NAV is crap. If you have the means, I recommend SEP (Symantec Endpoint Protection). SEP is a pain at times, but as far as protection, it is far superior. Same company, very different product. My 2 biggest issues are having to deal with exceptions and firewall rules. It's a huge challenge for the casual user, but I can say I haven't been affected by a virus or hijacking in many years and I often venture into the shadier parts of the interwebs...

Just broke my personal record for number of consecutive days without dying!