Alright at this point it seems like we can be sure the problem you're having with IE isn't malware related. I'm not an expert when it comes to troubleshooting web browsers as much as some, they'll be able to help you out much more efficiently than I could over at the
Web Browsers and Email Subforum. This is just another section of Geeks to Go, the staff members working over there are great. Start a new topic in that forum describing your problems and let them know that you have a clean bill of health from the malware experts, post a link to this topic in your new thread as well. I'll leave you with the advice I like to give to people about how to prevent malware infection in the future:
First, we need to remove the tools we used:
Please download
OTCleanIt! to your desktop.
- Double-click OTCleanIt.exe to run it. (Vista users, please right click on OTCleanIt.exe and select "Run as an Administrator")
- Click on the CleanUp! button
- A list of tool components used in the cleanup of malware will be downloaded.
- If your firewall or other protection attempts to block OTCleanIt's attempts to reach the internet, please allow it to run.
- Click Yes to begin the Cleanup process and remove the tools we used, including this application.
- You will be asked to reboot the machine to finish the Cleanup process, choose Yes.
- After the reboot all the tools we used should be gone.
Note: RSIT is not currently removed by OTCleanIt. Feel free to delete RSIT.exe and the logfiles it created as they have no use to you anymore.Here are some tips to reduce the potential for malware infection in the future; I strongly that you read them and take them to heart so that you don't have to endure the process of cleaning your computer again.
Proper use of antivirus and firewallAntivirus and Firewall programs are integral to your computer security. However, just having them installed isn't enough. The definitions of these programs are frequently updated to detect the latest malware, and if you don't keep up with these updates then you'll be vulnerable to infection. Many antivirus and firewall programs have automatic update features, make use of those if you can. If your program doesn't, then get in the habit of routinely performing manual updates, because it's important.
You should keep your antivirus and firewall guard enabled at all times, don't shut them off unless there's a specific reason to do so. Also, regularly performing a full system scan with your antivirus program is a good idea to make sure nothing has slipped through your protection. Once a week works well for most people. You can set the scan to run during a time when you don't plan to use the computer and just leave it to complete on its own.
Finally, for a great tutorial on how to get the best protection out of your firewall, visit
this link.
Safer web browserInternet Explorer is not the most secure tool for browsing the web. It has been known to be very susceptible to infection, and there are a couple good free alternatives:
Firefox and
Opera. Both are excellent faster, safer, more powerful and functional free alternatives to Internet Explorer. It's definitely worth the short period of adjustment to start using one of these. If you wish to continue using Internet Explorer, it would be a good idea to follow the tutorial
here which will help you to make IE
much safer.
Being generally carefulHaving security programs installed is very helpful to you, but none of them have the gift of human thought. The best way to make sure you don't get infected is to exercise common sense. Be careful of what websites you visit - if a site looks suspicious, trust your instincts and get out of there. Be careful of what attachments you open in emails and files you download from websites - check them over carefully and look at the file extensions to make sure that you know what you're getting. Using peer-to-peer file sharing programs or downloading cracks and keygens is something else to avoid - the files you will be downloading are infected in a vast majority of cases, and the benefits simply aren't worth the risk to your computer.
Here are some other excellent tools for increasing your PC security:SpywareBlaster: An excellent protection tool that targets a great many specific malware infections to stop them from installing.
MVPS Hosts File: Changes the windows hosts file to redirect your computer away from a huge number of dangerous websites if it ever tries to access any of them.
IE-SPYAD: Adds thousands of malware domains to the IE restricted zone to stop your computer from accessing them.
ATF Cleaner: Cleans unnecessary temporary files from your computer, run regularly to save disk space and keep your computer performing smoothly.
McAfee SiteAdvisor: A great firefox add-on that puts McAfee's database of tested sites at your fingertips so you can know whether or not that link you're about to click is safe.
UpdatesAlong with keeping all of the programs above that you choose to use updated, it is also important to keep up on system updates from Microsoft, as these patch critical security vulnerabilities and keep you safe. You can update them at this site if they don't automatically install for you:
http://www.windowsupdate.com. If you have automatic updates, you should always install them as soon as possible, that extra time is worth it over getting infected from an exploit and having to clean your PC again.
And finally, see TonyKlein's good advice (recently rewritten by our own Kat) which reinforces and extends on some of the above concepts:
So how did I get infected in the first place?Best of luck with the IE problems, they'll have you sorted in no time
.
Cheers,
Dave
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