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Is there a fix for Firefox being auto-redirected to known attack site from every new Google search?

  • 5 replies
  • 161 have this problem
  • 2 views
  • Last reply by wuergler

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Every time I do a Google search, the first link in that search clicked will direct me to a known attack site at http://64.111.212.229/ (URL followed by lines of gibberish code). It will occur only on the first link of any new search attempted.

My AV (Symantec Corporate 10.1.7.7000 version 12/8/2010 rev. 2) does not pick up any malware.

The problem does not occur in Google Chrome.

Does anyone have a similar problem and/or solution?

My Firefox: 3.6.13, OS: Windows 2003 Server Standard SP2.

Every time I do a Google search, the first link in that search clicked will direct me to a known attack site at http://64.111.212.229/ (URL followed by lines of gibberish code). It will occur only on the first link of any new search attempted. My AV (Symantec Corporate 10.1.7.7000 version 12/8/2010 rev. 2) does not pick up any malware. The problem does not occur in Google Chrome. Does anyone have a similar problem and/or solution? My Firefox: 3.6.13, OS: Windows 2003 Server Standard SP2.

All Replies (5)

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Try running several malware scanners. It is best to run several as each will pick up things that the others miss. Some scanners you can try are:

If the above malware scanners do not find any malware or can not clear it, you should consider posting in one of these forums for specialized malware removal help:

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I have been increasingly having this problem over the last week or so. If you delete cookies it stops it briefly, however it happens again soon after. It happens to me on almost every google search result. Random pages occasionally appear in new tabs when one of these links is clicked, these can range from wikipedia right through to ponographic websites and sites selling anti malware/ spyware programs.

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My solution: stop using FireFox.

The problem doesn't exist in IE or Chrome. I was a bit reluctant to go that far, but after a really snotty answer from some smartarse recommending anti-spyware programs (most of them known for being a bigger nuisance than a cure) I thought if Mozilla doesn't care it is being specifically targeted, why should I care about Mozilla?

Sorry, it's a no joy solution only.

Modified by Peter Strempel

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I have tracked down a file on my computer named: googleupdatebeta.exe In the Add/remove programs I uninstalled all Google applications then did a search on my computer for the file and deleted it.

The problem is that each time I hard boot it reappears in the Task Manager even though it apparently is gone from my files. I even tried editing my registry hunting for and removing references to the file.

Now I get windows opening with error messages every time I try to open web sites "Problem Loading Page" and Firefox can't find the file at /C:/Program Files/Mozilla Firefox/9Úº%01˜%1Cm:ÙËÅȵ®Ö¯AÐóqÖ¬7F±éS¿W5

I am figuring it's a virus of some sort but I can't figure out how to fix it.

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@sergej0363: Well, nothing to stop you with your solution. I agree that some anit-spyware can be a bigger nuisance. Having said that, the problem you described may or may not look like a spyware problem though. I have found Spybot S&D to be quite serious and efficient, trusted by many.

It is not true that Mozilla is targeted specifically, although some browser-specific attacks may indeed occur, most often with IE. Assuming that your problem is indeed malware/spyware related it may be a matter of time until another browser is affected. And by no means Mozilla doesn't care. It actually has features like "block reported attack sites" or "web forgeries" when turned on. And Mozilla's OSS development model is usually considered to produce better security. But all this cannot always prevent e. g. drive-by infections or accidentally installing a spammer add-on.

As always, the classical triple precaution anti-virus, firewall, anti-spyware should help, besides keeping browser and OS software up to date and general.