I've been having problems with my computer for a while now, when I connect to the internet this annoying search engine keeps coming up instead of my usual google, its called click search click, I don't know where it's come from but it mainly contains sex related pages. Anyway I've ran adaware, virus scans everything and it won't go.
I'm not so much bothered about it being my search engine but for instance when I'm on champdogs and see a post I want to read if I hover my mouse over it you can see in the bar below it's going to redirect me to this search engine.
My friend usually sorts out my computer problems for me but he's been very busy lately and can't get over to help me.
Any help would be much appreciated as I'm missing reading lots of posts on here.

If it's not a virus etc and the page loads when you connect to the internet then it may be that your 'homepage' has changed.

I use Firefox browser, if you don't I imagine the menu will still be the same or very similar for Internet Explorer etc... Click on 'tools' then 'options' then 'general' and at the top is 'homepage' type in the correct address there and save.

I for example have yahoo, but you can have any website or search engine you like :)

If you have downloaded something recently they sometimes give you the option to 'make this my homepage' its usually ticked so if your not looking you can have your settings changed in a flash *sigh*

Hope that's the problem and its sorted :)

Spotty dog I've trouble like this, its a real pain.

If you have XP, click start, control panel, network and internet connections, internet options, general and you will be able to change your home page there.
The other thing you can do is put the web addy of the offending site into your restricted sites section :)
same process as above but in internet options go to security instead of general.  You then click on restricted sites and put all those sites you don't want to go to in there.  You won't see them again :)

For other problems with hijacked web surfing/trojans/coolwebsearch/etc.  the following link is very good

http://www.spywareinfo.com/articles/cws/

Good Luck

Yes I have XP, and yes I have tried all those options but it wont dissapear, it's really getting to me, I couldn't access my replies because of it, I had to go to my message notifications in my EMails to get the replies.
Will try following that link though.

you havnt downloaded MSN plus! have you????
Lea.

downloads mircrosoft antispyware beta. its free, and much more powerful than sybot etc.
you have a browser redirector, meaning your browser has been hijacked by spyware.
if nothing works, save all your work to disc, wipe your hard drive, re-install XP.

there is quicker way of changing your default home page.
1)  click start, right click internet icon, click internet properties and the "general page" for changing home page is right there in front of you.

you dont have to re-install XP.... it comes with its own system restore, if set right it creates restore points periodically so if you develop a problem you can take the pc back in time to before the problems started. all "my docs" are totally safe but any progams and bugs etc will be wiped. no need to back up the files etc as it does it its self :-)

No I haven't dowloaded MSN plus. I've just been to that link and ran it and nothing was detected.

Have you tried clearing your internet history and files?

thats worth a try, my bet is it wont work. these browser hijackers, espesh the porn connected ones, are clever bastards. they arent listed anywhere in your files to be deleted. i had it once. it wasnt on my programme list via control panel for removing the programme, and i went thru all the folders and files in my C drive to delete that way too. couldnt find it. it was hidden. sounds like you have same thing. i shot thru my whole system just by clicking on an email. when i was on champdogs etc, any words on the screen that looked remotely sexual was highlighted in yellow!!!
and every now and again, my web page would disappear and change to a porn site automatically. this page didnt even have minimise or "x" tabs, so i had to control/alt/delete, or switch off at the wall.
yours sounds similar. at the end of the day, i just wiped my hard drive, that was only thing that killled it!!

I've been in touch with my friend again he's coming over on Friday so I'll wait till then to decide. A lot of words are highlighted in blue, not that you would connect with porn though but it does direct you to the search engine. Words such as you, web, work, play.
I have 2 hard drives on my computer so I won't lose anything valuable.
that'll be my last resort on Friday.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

Download and run AdAware

And also Spybot

These two small programmes are VERY good at clearing cr*p off the PC . I run both of them in conjunction with AVG and have had no problems

Make sure you have a good firewall set up as well, we have an automatic one in our router but you might like to try Zone Alarm which we used to use before going on to Broadband

HTH

"you dont have to re-install XP.... it comes with its own system restore".

system restore doesnt reverse certain viruses, trojans, and browser hijackers.
in addition to everything i listed in my last post, i tried system restore as well, didnt work.
system restore is more often for reversing software applications or downloads.
trojans etc are written to overide things like system restores, even some antivirus programmes.
they are clever enough to not even show themsleves up as identifiable files any on your system, thru any list, such as those i mentioned above.
adaware and spybot are good free anti-spyware programmes, but they have recently been superseeded in industry quality terms by the new free microsoft anitspyware beta.
i have all three. what spybot and adaware doesnt remove, beta does.
having said all this though, i would still go thru all the usual procedures as suggested on this thread anyway.
hopefully your hijacker isnt so hardy, but you may at the end of the day have to re-install XP anyway

good luck

i'm on a network router too. however, we each had to install our own software firewall, as the automatic firewall in the router is only whats known as a "hardware firewall", so doesnt cover everything.
norton and mcafee have firewalls as part of their packages, XP has one too.
this has to be switched on tho, and shouldnt be used alongside other software firewalls, as the conflict can undermine them both.

We are well covered ;)

Hi Spotty Dog.  This is a bugger - it happened to me - all of a sudden, when I opened IE I got directed to a porn site (kids, no less) instead of my bank which was set as my home page.  I tried EVERYTHING to get rid of it.  It was very embarrassing, especially as I have a dear friend who knows nothing about the Internet, and would ask me to look up stuff whilst she watched over my shoulder.  I used to have to distract her whilst I changed the page!  In the end, I got an expert from work to find the smegger - it was really hidden in the cache and he said I would never have got rid of it on my own as it was so well hidden.  If I was you, I'd get someone with lots of PC knowledge, maybe to programmer level, and get them to do it for you.  It really was the only way for me.  Good luck :)

i can relate to your experience vicki......happened to me too. i looked everywhere for it. C drive, system files, everything. its more hidden than a needle in a haystack!! clever buggers whom write these.
you are right that only a fully fledged pro could recognise and find it on your system.
however, i did forgo the expense of hiring someone for the inconvenience of spending 2 evenings saving everything to disk, wiping my hard-drive, and then reinstalling everything!!!
but then i enjoy that, so i can understand why others would prefer spending out money instead of time!!

Hi Clutha,

I'm a bit scared to do things like that - LOL - just nicked someone from work - he did it for nought!

PS - you should get out more..... :D :D

hahahahahahaha..............what!!!!!!

friends like that are handy, eh!
you got rid of it then?
what did he have to do in the end?

whoops, just realised you arent the OP! got bit confused there!! maybe i should get out more!!

I have no idea what he did - something way too complicated for a blonde (albeit bottle) like me - all I care is that he did it - YAY - I was appropriately "grateful"........... LOL