Error message ""is not a valid date" 3

[mawilson]

I have one user that is getting an error message when he opens some windows. It has Internet Explorer in the header bar and the error message is "" is not a valid date." I have uninstalled and reinstalled IE6 SP1, applied all patches, etc. The machine is XP SP1a. Has anyone seen this error before?

Thanks
Mark

 

[mawilson]

I should probably clarify a little. The message as it appears is: " is not a valid date.

The message starts with a "

 

[bcastner]

This is a brand new problem that just began appearing. It appears to be malware.

Hijack This! is your only weapon at the moment:

http://www.spywareinfo.com/articles/hijacked/#removal

Discussion: thread779-725394

 

[bcastner]

See if you have the "cpr.dll" :

http://groups.google.com/groups?q="...selm=vtc507su838a03@corp.supernews.com&rnum=1

 

[mawilson]

Thanks, that helped out. The application I had to uninstall was AST, but it had the same effect.

 

[bcastner]

mawilson,

Do you remember the specific file you removed? It would help a lot of people out there.

Thanks,
Bill

 

[mawilson]

The file I removed was still c:\windows\system32\cpr.dll but the application was AST.

 

[TheTuna]

Thanks, removing the cpr.dll solved my problem, but I'm facing a new issue now.

I downloaded spybot, which found and eliminated some 30 suspicious files (minus the cdilla stuff that it wanted to eliminate). Upon completion, my laptop's internet connection is now dead.

Any clues?


No Dolphins were harmed in the posting of this message... Dolphin Friendly Tuna!

 

[smah]

TheTuna, one of those nasties probably buggered up your winsock service when it was removed. Use this tool to rebuilt it

http://members.shaw.ca/techcd/VB_Projects/WinsockFix.zip

(thanks to bcastner for the link)

 

[TheTuna]

Again, my thanks for the lightining fast reply!

No Dolphins were harmed in the posting of this message... Dolphin Friendly Tuna!

 

[bcastner]

mawilson, Thank you. This is a new bug and I am hoping in this public forum we can list any variants found.

TheTuna, you have no idea how hard it is to have smah suggest using that utility. I cannot help but feel if smah reads one more forum post from bcastner suggesting a repair of the Winsock service he will break down and cry!

 

[smah]

bcaster, I don't want to hijack this thread, but I disagree. I like recommending that utility and am glad you've shared your find. I've used it myself a few times. In fact, if that were the solution to every computer problem - that would be fine with me. I find it quite amazing how prevelant this problem is these days (and how easy it is to fix with this tool). Keep up the good work.

 

[micker377]

I just d/l the Winsock fix (add it to my utility sub-dir for future use). Did you notice the size of the file? 666k. A 666 to fix Microsoft problem!

 

[bcastner]

I was kidding you smah.

But the issue of Winsock corruption has become pandemic. I have seen posts suggesting it is only a WinXP issue, or only a Win9X issue.

More and more users are downloading out of necessity tools to clean IE from hijacks, adware, worms, trojans, and other malware.

Unfortunately, these programs can remove (often by necessity) some key low-level registry entries for Windows -- all versions.

In solving one problem the create another, the Winsock issue. In the TCP/IP Forum there was some excellent work done by peanutm and others for Win9x problems. The utility I often mention, as does smah, is a very effective way to repair Winsock damange across Windows platforms, including the "normally" impossible case of Windows XP.

I see more and more often registry cleaners, IE history cleaners, and spyware and adware removal tools creating the unfortunate circumstance of no or troublesome internet connections as a result.

I was teasing smah above, but smah's basic point is perfectly sound: if you have dialer or any internet issue after using a registry or other cleaning tool, download and apply the WinsockFix app, followed by a good reboot, and see if your issue is not resolved.

And, Merry Christmas to smah,
Bill Castner

 

[bcastner]

A great deal of the clearest explanations of Winsock corruption issues is pure Tek-Tips.

peanutsmn, and others, very original thoughts and workaround for Win9x/ME: thread581-17797

I suggested the issue was a problem with registry cleaners, and Adware cleaners for XP, where you cannot do the peanutsmn fix: thread581-346979

MS origninally suggested this as a fix:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;817571&Product=winxp

It really did not help for XP, and was not a completely satisfactory solution for ME/NT/or Win2k, so the published this:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=811259

Option^Explicit spent the time to save clean registry images of WinME, NT, Win2k and XP, figure out by experiment that there were issues is "ghost" or disabled adapters were present, figured out want NETSH.EXE would or would not reset, added a check of the HOSTS file to make sure no bad guy had redirected your localhost assignment; and wrote the terrific tool WinsockFix.exe.

Recommended to keep handy:

http://members.shaw.ca/techcd/VB_Projects/WinsockFix.zip

 

[TheTuna]

Thanks Smah and Bcaster!

No Dolphins were harmed in the posting of this message... Dolphin Friendly Tuna!