Google Redirect Virus! Help Please!

Hi, I am Kimberly. I have a Vostro 1500 computer by Dell that uses Windows XP. Recently my system had a HUGE amount of viruses and etc. My dad hired a computer expert to fix my computer and remove the viruses (I had tried but my computer kept on crashing). Yesterday, I finally got my computer back, much to my delight, but there still is one last virus left on my computer that must have been missed and so far cannot be removed! It is the Google Redirect Virus. 50%-75% of the time when I google something (simple things, such as the titles of shows, names of objects, etc.) and I click on the correct link that google gives (wikipedia, imdb, etc) it redirects me to a spam website, either advertisements, porn, etc. What can I do to remove this virus?

In the URL for most of the redirecting spam links contains HTTP_REFERER.

This is the link that I get when I click on google's link for mta.info:
ht tp:// martin1go .com/ in.cgi?9&parameter =mta&ur= 1&HTTP_REFERER= 33811 (without the spaces, I just didn't know how to keep this URL from becoming a hyperlink).

My dad called the computer expert again to try to see what is happening, and he had us type in the firefox safemode code and reset firefox back to the defaults. At first I wasn't getting any redirecting when I searched on google, but then on my 4th or 5th search, I got redirected again!

I also looked at my "C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts" file, and there were hundreds, if not THOUSANDS of URLs for what looked to be spam websites. I tried to delete them but I wasn't sure how exactly to do it.

What can I do to fix this? Thank you!

Edited by Kimberly M., 21 February 2010 - 03:55 PM.

Hello Kimberly and welcome. We will change the Hosts file too but I nned to know if SpyBot is running on here.

Let's see if we can get 2 scan logs and see what's going on.

If you have Spybot installed temporarily disable it.
Next run ATF:
Note: On Vista, "Windows Temp" is disabled. To empty "Windows Temp" ATF-Cleaner must be "Run as an Administrator".

Please download ATF Cleaner by Atribune & save it to your desktop.

• Double-click ATF-Cleaner.exe to run the program.
• Under Main "Select Files to Delete" choose: Select All.
• Click the Empty Selected button.
• If you use Firefox browser click Firefox at the top and choose: Select All
• Click the Empty Selected button.
  If you would like to keep your saved passwords, please click No at the prompt.
• If you use Opera browser click Opera at the top and choose: Select All
• Click the Empty Selected button.
  If you would like to keep your saved passwords, please click No at the prompt.
• Click Exit on the Main menu to close the program.

Next run MBAM (MalwareBytes):

Please download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (v1.44) and save it to your desktop.Download Link 1
Download Link 2
MBAM may "make changes to your registry" as part of its disinfection routine. If using other security programs that detect registry changes (ie Spybot's Teatimer), they may interfere or alert you. Temporarily disable such programs or permit them to allow the changes.

• Make sure you are connected to the Internet.
• Double-click on mbam-setup.exe to install the application.
  For instructions with screenshots, please refer to the How to use Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware Guide.
• When the installation begins, follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
• When installation has finished, make sure you leave both of these checked:
  • Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
  • Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
• Then click Finish.

MBAM will automatically start and you will be asked to update the program before performing a scan.

• If an update is found, the program will automatically update itself. Press the OK button to close that box and continue.
• If you encounter any problems while downloading the definition updates, manually download them from here and just double-click on mbam-rules.exe to install.

On the Scanner tab:

• Make sure the "Perform Quick Scan" option is selected.
• Then click on the Scan button.
• If asked to select the drives to scan, leave all the drives selected and click on the Start Scan button.
• The scan will begin and "Scan in progress" will show at the top. It may take some time to complete so please be patient.
• When the scan is finished, a message box will say "The scan completed successfully. Click 'Show Results' to display all objects found".
• Click OK to close the message box and continue with the removal process.

Back at the main Scanner screen:

• Click on the Show Results button to see a list of any malware that was found.
• Make sure that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected.
• When removal is completed, a log report will open in Notepad.
• The log is automatically saved and can be viewed by clicking the Logs tab in MBAM.
• Copy and paste the contents of that report in your next reply. Be sure to post the complete log to include the top portion which shows MBAM's database version and your operating system.
• Exit MBAM when done.

Note: If MBAM encounters a file that is difficult to remove, you will be asked to reboot your computer so MBAM can proceed with the disinfection process. If asked to restart the computer, please do so immediately. Failure to reboot normally (not into safe mode) will prevent MBAM from removing all the malware.


Now a safe Mode scan with SAS. If you cannot access Safe,run in normal but let me know this.

Please download and scan with SUPERAntiSpyware Free

• Double-click SUPERAntiSypware.exe and use the default settings for installation.
• An icon will be created on your desktop. Double-click that icon to launch the program.
• If it will not start, go to Start > All Prgrams > SUPERAntiSpyware and click on Alternate Start.
• If asked to update the program definitions, click "Yes". If not, update the definitions before scanning by selecting "Check for Updates". (If you encounter any problems while downloading the updates, manually download them from here. Double-click on the hyperlink for Download Installer and save SASDEFINITIONS.EXE to your desktop. Then double-click on SASDEFINITIONS.EXE to install the definitions.)
• In the Main Menu, click the Preferences... button.
• Click the "General and Startup" tab, and under Start-up Options, make sure "Start SUPERAntiSpyware when Windows starts" box is unchecked.
• Click the "Scanning Control" tab, and under Scanner Options, make sure the following are checked (leave all others unchecked):
  • Close browsers before scanning.
  • Scan for tracking cookies.
  • Terminate memory threats before quarantining.
• Click the "Close" button to leave the control center screen and exit the program.
• Do not run a scan just yet.

Reboot your computer in "Safe Mode" using the F8 method. To do this, restart your computer and after hearing your computer beep once during startup (but before the Windows icon appears) press the F8 key repeatedly. A menu will appear with several options. Use the arrow keys to navigate and select the option to run Windows in "Safe Mode".

Scan with SUPERAntiSpyware as follows:

• Launch the program and back on the main screen, under "Scan for Harmful Software" click Scan your computer.
• On the left, make sure you check C:\Fixed Drive.
• On the right, under "Complete Scan", choose Perform Complete Scan and click "Next".
• After the scan is complete, a Scan Summary box will appear with potentially harmful items that were detected. Click "OK".
• Make sure everything has a checkmark next to it and click "Next".
• A notification will appear that "Quarantine and Removal is Complete". Click "OK" and then click the "Finish" button to return to the main menu.
• If asked if you want to reboot, click "Yes" and reboot normally.
• To retrieve the removal information after reboot, launch SUPERAntispyware again.
  • Click Preferences, then click the Statistics/Logs tab.
  • Under Scanner Logs, double-click SUPERAntiSpyware Scan Log.
  • If there are several logs, click the current dated log and press View log. A text file will open in your default text editor.
  • Please copy and paste the Scan Log results in your next reply.
• Click Close to exit the program.

If you have a problem downloading, installing or getting SAS to run, try downloading and using the SUPERAntiSpyware Portable Scanner instead. Save the randomly named file (i.e. SAS_1710895.COM) to a usb drive or CD and transfer to the infected computer. Then double-click on it to launch and scan. The file is randomly named to help keep malware from blocking the scanner.

Edited by boopme, 21 February 2010 - 05:40 PM.

thanks for starting me a new topic

Edited by unigirl123101, 21 February 2010 - 09:48 PM.