No Network on PC / Programs not Working

[mjmora]

Hello,

I've been running various malware/antivirus programs over the last few days due to an issue I've been having with internet search browsers. All browsers have had Google as the default, but have randomly been changing to Bing and Ask when I do a search in the address bar. Looking into it, it appears to be "search-fine" redirect, which I've been trying to remove. I didn't see any programs installed on my PC that looked suspicious to remove, so I ran the malware/antivirus/cleanup programs I already had: SuperAntiSpyware Free Edition, Malwarebytes, CCleaner, Comodo Registry Cleaner and Windows Defender. There didn't seem to be much other than tracking cookies. Looking around online, folks had suggested using HitmanPro and AdwCleaner, which I downloaded and ran. AdwCleaner found a few things (one labeled a trojan, a few labeled "rocketfuel" and others I can't recall) which I quarantined and (I think) deleted.

I restarted my PC, which took noticeably longer to load than usual - it usually takes under a minute with my SSD, but this time it took about five minutes. Upon restart, I noticed I had no internet connection (all other devices on the network are fine). I restarted again in safe mode with networking and still do not have internet. I also lack the ability to run any of my above programs outside of SuperAntiSpyware. The either do not appear, do not run when selected or have an error.

I'm not quite sure where to start with fixing my issues here, so any help would be greatly appreciated. For reference, I typed this up on my laptop.

Thank you,

Mike

[exile360]

Greetings,

I'm sorry you're having trouble, but we'll do our best to get things fixed up.  To begin, please follow the instructions in this topic, skipping any steps you are unable to complete, then create a new topic in our malware removal area by clicking here and a malware removal specialist will guide you in checking and cleaning your system of any threats.

Thanks

[exile360]

Hello again,

In addition to the above, I just want to make sure that you are aware that you should not run any further scans or tools unless advised by the specialist who will be assisting you in your Malware Removal topic once you post there.  It is possible that the issues with the system starting slower than normal and loss of connectivity may have been caused by one of the tools you ran, but the specialist will advise on what steps should be taken.

Good luck, and if there is anything else we might be of assistance with please let us know.

Thanks

[AdvancedSetup]

Hello @mjmora

 

Please download Farbar Recovery Scan Tool and save it to your desktop.

Note: You need to run the version compatible with your system.
You can check here if you're not sure if your computer is 32-bit or 64-bit

• Double-click to run it. When the tool opens click Yes to disclaimer.
• Press the Scan button.
• It will make a log (FRST.txt) in the same directory the tool is run. Please attach it to your reply.
• The first time the tool is run, it also makes another log (Addition.txt). Please attach it to your reply as well.

Thank you

 

 

[mjmora]

Addition.txt

Hello,

Background: I've been running various malware/antivirus programs over the last few days due to an issue I've been having with internet search browsers. All browsers have had Google as the default, but have randomly been changing to Bing and Ask when I do a search in the address bar. Looking into it, it appears to be "search-fine" redirect, which I've been trying to remove. I didn't see any programs installed on my PC that looked suspicious to remove, so I ran the malware/antivirus/cleanup programs I already had: SuperAntiSpyware Free Edition, Malwarebytes, CCleaner, Comodo Registry Cleaner and Windows Defender. There didn't seem to be much other than tracking cookies. Looking around online, folks had suggested using HitmanPro and AdwCleaner, which I downloaded and ran. AdwCleaner found a few things (one labeled a trojan, a few labeled "rocketfuel" and others I can't recall) which I quarantined and (I think) deleted.

I restarted my PC, which took noticeably longer to load than usual - it usually takes under a minute with my SSD, but this time it took about five minutes. Upon restart, I noticed I had no internet connection (all other devices on the network are fine). I restarted again in safe mode with networking and still do not have internet. I also lack the ability to run any of my above programs outside of SuperAntiSpyware. The either do not appear, do not run when selected or have an error.

Attached are the logs from Farbar. I am now unable to run Malwarebytes. When I try to run it, I immediately get a notification that Malwarebytes has stopped working; an error then pops up: mbam.exe - Application Error: The application was unable to start correctly (0xe067d7363).

Thank you very much for your help,

Mike

FRST.txt

[AdvancedSetup]

Hello @mjmora

 

Please follow the directions from the following topic and let us know if that corrects the issue for you.

 

Thank you

 

[mjmora]

Can this be my issue even if I don't have Sync on? On my PC I went to my profile and it has my name there but it says that sync is paused. I'm not able to do anything further since my network connection is not working.

[AdvancedSetup]

Not saying it is your issue but cleaning up Google Chrome often improves performance for most users.

We can do some other scans and see what comes up.

 

Please run the following steps and post back the logs as an attachment when ready.
Temporarily disable your antivirus or other security software first. Make sure to turn it back on once the scans are completed.
Temporarily disable Microsoft SmartScreen to download software below if needed. Make sure to turn it back on once the scans are completed.
If you still have trouble downloading the software please click on Reveal Hidden Contents below for examples of how to allow the download.
 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

When downloading with some browsers you may see a different style of screens that may block FRST from downloading. The program is safe and used hundreds of times a week by many users.

Example of Microsoft Edge blocking the download

 

 

STEP 01

• If you already have Malwarebytes installed then open Malwarebytes and click on the Scan button. It will automatically check for updates and run a Threat Scan.
• If you don't have Malwarebytes installed yet please download it from here and install it.
• Once installed then open Malwarebytes and select Scan and let it run.
• Once the scan is completed make sure you have it quarantine any detections it finds.
• If no detections were found click on the Save results drop-down, then the Export to TXT  button, and save the file as a Text file to your desktop or other location you can find and attach that log on your next reply.
• If there were detections then once the quarantine has completed click on the View report button, Then click the Export drop-down, then the Export to TXT  button, and save the file as a Text file to your desktop or other location you can find and attach that log on your next reply.
• If the computer restarted to quarantine you can access the logs from the Detection History, then the History tab. Highlight the most recent scan and double-click to open it. Then click the Export drop-down, then the Export to TXT  button, and save the file as a Text file to your desktop or other location you can find and attach that log on your next reply.
• If Malwarebytes won't run then please skip to the next step and let me know in your next reply that the scanner would not run.

STEP 02

Please download AdwCleaner by Malwarebytes and save the file to your Desktop.

• Double-click to run the program
• Accept the End User License Agreement.
• Wait until the database is updated.
• Click Scan Now.
• When finished, if items are found please click Quarantine.
• Your PC should reboot now if any items were found.
• After reboot, a log file will be opened. Attach or Copy its content into your next reply.

RESTART THE COMPUTER Before running Step 3

STEP 03
Please download the Farbar Recovery Scan Tool and save it to your desktop.

Note: You need to run the version compatible with your system. You can check here if you're not sure if your computer is 32-bit or 64-bit

• Double-click to run it. When the tool opens, click Yes to disclaimer.
• Press the Scan button.
• It will make a log (FRST.txt) in the same directory the tool is run. Please attach it to your reply.
• The first time the tool is run, it also makes another log (Addition.txt). If you've, run the tool before you need to place a check mark here each time
• Please attach the Additions.txt log to your reply as well.
• On your next reply, you should be attaching frst.txt and additions.txt to your post, every time.

 

Thanks

[mjmora]

For some reason, upon restart my computer now again has network connectivity. I was able to follow the steps for Chrome sync.

Attached are the logs for Malwarebytes, AdwCleaner and Farbar.

They didn't seem to find anything. I'm still noticing the auto-redirects from search-fine if I try to search using the address bar.

Malwarbytes Scan 5.22.21.txt AdwCleaner[S01].txt FRST.txt Addition.txt

[AdvancedSetup]

Please go to Control Panel, Programs and uninstall the following

Bonjour
CCleaner (most experts no longer recommend the use of this program)
COMODO Registry Cleaner

What exactly is mDNSResponder.exe? (Bonjour)

https://www.groovypost.com/howto/howto/what-is-mdnsresponder-exe-and-why-is-it-running/

MDNSResponder, also known as Bonjour, is Apple’s native zero-configuration networking process for Mac that was ported over to Windows and associated with MDNSNSP.DLL.  On a Mac or iOS device, this program is used for networking nearly everything.  On Windows, this process is only necessary for sharing libraries via iTunes and other Mac applications like the Apple TV that were ported to Windows.  Bonjour allows different computers running iTunes to communicate with each other regardless of network configuration, this is because it enables automatic network discovery.

What Is mDNSResponder.exe / Bonjour and How Can I Uninstall or Remove It?
https://www.howtogeek.com/howto/6456/what-is-mdnsresponder.exe-bonjour-and-how-can-i-uninstall-or-remove-it/

 

Is CCleaner Safe? Not Quite. And We Show You How to Replace It
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/stop-using-ccleaner-windows/

 

Do I need a Windows Registry Cleaner?
https://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?showtopic=126481

 

 

Please temporarily setup Google Public DNS as your DNS provider

https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns/docs/using

 

 

Please run the following fix

 

 

Please download the attached fixlist.txt file and save it to the Desktop or location where you ran FRST from.
NOTE. It's important that both files, FRST or FRST64, and fixlist.txt are in the same location or the fix will not work.

Please make sure you disable any real time antivirus or security software before running this script. Once completed make sure you re-enable it.

NOTICE: This script was written specifically for this user, for use on this particular machine. Running this on another machine may cause damage to your operating system that cannot be undone.

Run FRST or FRST64 and press the Fix button just once and wait.
If the tool needs a restart please make sure you let the system restart normally and let the tool complete its run after restart.
The tool will make a log on the Desktop (Fixlog.txt) or wherever you ran FRST from. Please attach or post it to your next reply.

Note: If the tool warned you about an outdated version please download and run the updated version.

NOTE-1:  This fix will run a scan to check that all Microsoft operating system files are valid and not corrupt and attempt to correct any invalid files. It will also run a disk check on the restart to ensure disk integrity. Depending on the speed of your computer this fix may take 30 minutes or more.

NOTE-2: As part of this fix all temporary files will be removed. If you have any open web pages that have not been bookmarked please make sure you bookmark them now as all open applications will be automatically closed. Also, make sure you know the passwords for all websites as cookies will also be removed. The use of an external password manager is highly recommended instead of using your browser to store passwords.

The following directories are emptied:

• Windows Temp
• Users Temp folders
• Edge, IE, FF, Chrome and Opera caches, HTML5 storages, Cookies and History
• Recently opened files cache
• Flash Player cache
• Java cache
• Steam HTML cache
• Explorer thumbnail and icon cache
• BITS transfer queue (qmgr*.dat files)
• Recycle Bin

Important: items are permanently deleted. They are not moved to quarantine. If you have any questions or concerns please ask before running this fix.

The system will be rebooted after the fix has run.

fixlist.txt

Thanks

 

[mjmora]

Thank you. Attached is the fixlog file.

Fixlog.txt

[AdvancedSetup]

How is the computer running now?

Does the network work now on reboot as expected?

 

[mjmora]

The computer seems to be running well and is connect to the network as expected.

The odd thing is that I am still encountering this search-fine redirection in my browsers when I search in the address bar. Instead of using Google like they are set to, they all are redirected to either Yahoo or Bing via search-fine. This is the case for Chrome, Firefox and Edge but for some reason not Opera.

[AdvancedSetup]

Please change your DNS server to Google Public DNS and see if that helps

https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns/docs/using

 

[AdvancedSetup]

Glad we could help.

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