Greetings,
Some users in a remote office are experiencing weird problems with their two computers (the only 2 computers of this office).
They can access the internet without problems but not search engines !
I can actually test it from here trough remote assistance and it is pretty weird in fact !
If I try going to Google , it times out with the "Page cannot be found" error.
If I go to the page opens but when I submit a search request.... same thing... "Page cannot be found"...after a very long time-out
At some earlier point in my testing, Yahoo actually returned search results but not on a Yahoo page... on some other search engine page...
Sometimes, after a restart, I can reach google and do a search, but if I close IE and re-open it the behaviour returns.
Other details you must know :
The users of this office are not especially technologically-inclined... They have installed third party software of all sorts including but not limited to Online Gaming software, online casino software, online adult live video chat software, online radio tuners and such... I also suspect that they might have answered "yes" to one of those pop-up ads that ask you if you want to install their soft for so and so reason... They are very prone to viruses in the same way...
The computers are running McAffee Anti Virus pro but I dont trust this software at all...
In my attempts to clean this mess I have removed many third party software including some that I thought were the cause of the search engine hijacking... but now that they are gone and the behaviour is still happening I'm starting to think this is a virus...
I have gone trough the running processes looking for a suspicious one but they are all ok.
Please do not suggest:
-That I scan for viruses, McAfee does nothing and my employer refuses to purchase a decent anti virus
-That I re-format, this is the last resort as it means shipping the computer across the country leaving them computer less for a week or so.
Any other suggestions are more than welcome.
Thanks
Some users in a remote office are experiencing weird problems with their two computers (the only 2 computers of this office).
They can access the internet without problems but not search engines !
I can actually test it from here trough remote assistance and it is pretty weird in fact !
If I try going to Google , it times out with the "Page cannot be found" error.
If I go to the page opens but when I submit a search request.... same thing... "Page cannot be found"...after a very long time-out
At some earlier point in my testing, Yahoo actually returned search results but not on a Yahoo page... on some other search engine page...
Sometimes, after a restart, I can reach google and do a search, but if I close IE and re-open it the behaviour returns.
Other details you must know :
The users of this office are not especially technologically-inclined... They have installed third party software of all sorts including but not limited to Online Gaming software, online casino software, online adult live video chat software, online radio tuners and such... I also suspect that they might have answered "yes" to one of those pop-up ads that ask you if you want to install their soft for so and so reason... They are very prone to viruses in the same way...
The computers are running McAffee Anti Virus pro but I dont trust this software at all...
In my attempts to clean this mess I have removed many third party software including some that I thought were the cause of the search engine hijacking... but now that they are gone and the behaviour is still happening I'm starting to think this is a virus...
I have gone trough the running processes looking for a suspicious one but they are all ok.
Please do not suggest:
-That I scan for viruses, McAfee does nothing and my employer refuses to purchase a decent anti virus
-That I re-format, this is the last resort as it means shipping the computer across the country leaving them computer less for a week or so.
Any other suggestions are more than welcome.
Thanks
