Google search result redirects

[Ken G]

Recently when I click on a link in the Google search results using Firefox 3.5.6 I get redirected and the site is blocked with the following error message appearing "..This web site at c.ppcxml.net has been reported as an attack site and has been blocked based on your security preferences."

Of course when I Google "c.ppcxml.net" to see what its all about, again I get redirected. All my AV scans including MBAM show up nothing more than the usual Low Risk cookies.

Looking around the forums, I see I'm not the only one with this problem. Please help.

[noknojon]

Hi Ken G -

First do you get the same result with Internet Explorer - It seems F/fox has 1 or 2 bugs in the last 2 days -

Swap browsers and reply unless you think there is an infection involved - You will have Internet Explorer there although you may not have it set as default -

Thank You -

[Ken G]

Hi Ken G -

First do you get the same result with Internet Explorer - It seems F/fox has 1 or 2 bugs in the last 2 days -

Swap browsers and reply unless you think there is an infection involved - You will have Internet Explorer there although you may not have it set as default -

Thank You -

No, IE is OK, and so is Chrome from what I can see, It just seems to be with Firefox, and this is also the case with others I've found with the same problem. So, do you think this is more of a Firefox problem than a bug targetting Firefox? You could be right because a few of the threads I've followed elsewhere don't seem to have turned up any bugs when the logs are analysed.

[noknojon]

Sorry Ken I just needed to check - This response from a long time member confirms it - Read the link below

http://www.malwarebytes.org/forums/index.p...st&p=177132

There seems to be a F/fox problem - We are now going to follow it up -

Thank you for the report -

Sorry I can not add extra at this time, but use I.E. or Chrome for the moment, if it is more stable -

[SpySentinel]

There is also a new infection going around that redirects google search results.

[noknojon]

No, IE is OK, and so is Chrome from what I can see, It just seems to be with Firefox, and this is also the case with others I've found with the same problem. So, do you think this is more of a Firefox problem than a bug targetting Firefox? You could be right because a few of the threads I've followed elsewhere don't seem to have turned up any bugs when the logs are analysed.

@ Spy Sentinel - The F/fox browser seems to be more affected than the others also -

[AdvancedSetup]

@Ken G

Well the only real way to know for sure is to run some scans and see if something can be found causing this.

Since don't work on Malware removal in the general forums.

Please print out, read and follow the directions here, skipping any steps you are unable to complete. Then post a NEW topic here.

One of the expert helpers there will give you one-on-one assistance when one becomes available.

After posting your new post make sure under options that you select Track this topic and choose one of the Email options so that you're alerted when someon has replied to your post.

Alternatively, as a paying customer, you can contact the help desk at support@malwarebytes.org

[Ken G]

@Ken G

Well the only real way to know for sure is to run some scans and see if something can be found causing this.

Since don't work on Malware removal in the general forums.

Please print out, read and follow the directions here, skipping any steps you are unable to complete. Then post a NEW topic here.

One of the expert helpers there will give you one-on-one assistance when one becomes available.

After posting your new post make sure under options that you select Track this topic and choose one of the Email options so that you're alerted when someon has replied to your post.

Alternatively, as a paying customer, you can contact the help desk at support@malwarebytes.org

Ron, I printed out the instructions and followed step by step but when I get to the DDS file its says it should take no longer than three minutes to complete, but after 10 minutes it just seemed to be doing nothing. It didn't open any log files as expected. According to my AV program (BitDefender) I don't have script blocking enabled. Could there be another setting somewhere that has enabled script blocking? How do I check? Disc activity in DDS appeared to stop after about 2 minutes, and after 10 minutes I closed it.

Do I continue without the DDS logs, do I start again, do I re-install the CD Rom emulation drivers - what next?

[noknojon]

Thanks for keeping on with this - http://staffwww.fullcoll.edu/jchadwick/popup_blocker.htm This is a good site if you want to know about script blockers -

If you hit a stage that you cannot continue with please move to the next step -

Thank You -

PS. Please hit the Fast Reply Tab at the bottom of the page when you reply - You will notice this more when you reply with long logs -

The expert who handles the case will fill you in with anything else you need to know or supply -

Ron is busy for now - He will be back later -

Sorry if that came in bits and pieces as my ISP needs shooting -

[Ken G]

I'm replying in this forum because I've got nothing to post in the other one. Its now a bit after 1am here and this is really frustrating.

Following the instructions, the only thing that has worked is Defogger. As I mentioned earlier, DDS didn't complete in under 3 minutes as expected, nor did it produce any log files. In fact it didn't complete at all and after 10 minutes I shut it down. I thought I'd try a different download - there were 3 options given to download the file. The first one downloads DDS.scr which is apparently what we want, but the second link points to DDS.com which won't run, and the third link points to DDS.pif (from memory) which just fills the screen with garbage.

As per your instructions, I skipped DDS and went on to GMER. The first time I ran this, again following the instructions, it ran for about 4 minutes then it re-booted my computer. I ran it again, and about 10 seconds after I'd clicked "Scan" it froze. My mouse wouldn't work, nor did ctr-alt-del so I had to force a re-boot. I ran it a third time, and this time it rebooted the computer before it even reached the stage where I had to click the "Scan" button.

Can I just re-run Defogger to reinstall my cd rom emulation drivers, (fingers crossed!) as it seems I'm not able to run any of the clean up software.

[Ken G]

Actually, I should have mentioned that Defogger didn't run according to plan either. It says that it will ask to Reboot when its finished, but it didn't. It just sat there. I re-booted after waiting about 5 minutes.

[Ken G]

I have fixed this problem myself. How do I close this thread? Where do I post the fix so that others with the same problem (Google search links being redirected in Firefox) can try it?

[AdvancedSetup]

There is no single fix. There are hundreds of possible Malware causes. Since you are all set now I'll close the post for you. Thank you.