Being randomly redirected

[Itisnotlogical]

I've been having a problem recently, where about 3 out of 5 times I click on a link in a Google search, I'm redirected to some other search engine, or to a completely different website. For example, when doing a Google search for TrekBBS to test this, I was redirected here: link

Other times, I've been redirected to some kind of place that sold metalworking tools, random news sites and those web pages that say "This domain is for sale" and have links to completely unrelated websites.

I don't do anything that leads me to believe I might have a virus, and besides, if I do have a virus it seems like a relatively benign one; I'm not getting popups for porn websites, having files deleted or my Facebook being hijacked. Still, this is starting to piss me off just by the fact that I don't know what's going on. Can somebody else explain what might be going on, or if this is just a problem that Google's having right now?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Use a malware scanner like Spybot or Ad-Aware. That's the most likely culprit. Malware is not classified as a "virus" by most AV software so you'll have to use a malware scanner to find it.

Also make sure you don't have any weird toolbars installed on your browser.

If it's none of those things, then your ISP is redirecting you for fun and profit.

 

[Shatnertage]

Who else uses your computer? It's possible that they downloaded something that installed a new browser toolbar, like Robert Maxwell suggested.

Some moron keeps on doing it on a shared computer at work, even though I've explained time and again why no one should be installing anything on the shared computer. Then I've got to search for whatever they downloaded and kill it. Very annoying.

 

[sojourner]

^Sounds like you need to raise the security level on that PC so things can't be installed.

 

[SPCTRE]

^ Thank God for my admin level account at work. I don't have any business having one to be quite honest, but being buddies with IT (and not a complete idiot when using a personal computer type of device) certainly has its benefits

 

[Sheep]

Look up scour.com virus or malware. I have this on my PC as well and have been meaning to fix it, but it sounds like a fairly involved process (i.e., not just running an anti-virus or malwarebytes).

If I had my way, I would literally set fire to anyone behind malware and viruses.

 

[BlobVanDam]

Look up scour.com virus or malware. I have this on my PC as well and have been meaning to fix it, but it sounds like a fairly involved process (i.e., not just running an anti-virus or malwarebytes).

If I had my way, I would literally set fire to anyone behind malware and viruses.

After seeing your avatar, I'm getting better ideas........

 

[Amaris]

Use a malware scanner like Spybot or Ad-Aware. That's the most likely culprit. Malware is not classified as a "virus" by most AV software so you'll have to use a malware scanner to find it.

Also make sure you don't have any weird toolbars installed on your browser.

If it's none of those things, then your ISP is redirecting you for fun and profit.

This.

I had a similar problem for about two weeks. I did everything. I ran rkill, MalwareBytes, replaced my hosts file, cleaned out my registry, disabled all add-ons, used FixNCR, and all in safe mode. Finally, finally, I managed to track down the little bugger and delete it. It was malware, but it had managed to evade me for almost two weeks. The little bastards are getting harder to find and harder to bring down.