General Tab

[Kelly Sull]

While using the internet something happened and my home
page was changed and now when I go to Tools the general
Tab does not exist. So I can't find a way to reset the
homepage, delete cookies, temp files, etc.

I have used Windows XP to repair install but that didn't
do any thing.

I would appreciate any thoughts on how to fix this.

 

[Mike Burgess]

Kelly,
Dealing with Unwanted Spyware, Parasites and Toolbars
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm

Includes: Restore the missing Tabs in IE (usually spyware related)
Note: restoring the missing tab(s) without scanning for spyware
will not remove the culprit that now exists on your system.
_______________________________________
Mike Burgess http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/
Blocking Spyware, Adware, Parasites, Hijackers, Trojans, with a HOSTS file
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm [updated 9-03-03]
Please post replies to this Newsgroup, email address is invalid

 

[Jim Byrd]

Hi Kelly -
This has been showing up a lot lately and seems to be caused by some malware
called CoolWebSearch. Do the following:

Download and run: http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/files/cwshredder.zip to
remove the parasite

Then download and run:
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/regs_edits/iegentabs.reg to restore your
tabs and remove any restrictions that the parasite has put in place.

However, this also indicates that you may have acquired some other malware
along the way. If you go to this page at Jim Eshelman's site, here:
http://aumha.org/a/noads.htm and wait a little bit (be patient), an analysis
of a number of possible parasites on your machine will be made to help you
identify and remove them. NOTE: You will need to disable Ad Blocking in Zone
Alarm 3.x, if present or any other Ad Blocking software which interferes
with Java Scripting for this scan to work. You should get a message between
the two lines of **** giving the results of the scan.

Get Ad-Aware 6.0, Build 181 or later, here:
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/. Update and run this regularly
to get rid of most "spyware/hijackware" on your machine.

Another excellent program for this purpose is SpyBot Search and Destroy
available here: http://security.kolla.de/ SpyBot Support Forum here:
http://www.net-integration.net/cgi-bin/forums/ikonboard.cgi. I recommend
using both normally. After fixing things with SpyBot S&D, be sure to re-boot
and rerun SpyBot again and repeat this cycle until you get a clean "no red"
scan.


Note that sometimes you need to make a judgement call about what these
programs report as spyware. See here, for example:
http://www.imilly.com/alexa.htm




--
Please respond in the same thread.
Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP



In

 

[Ramesh]

Remove IE Restrictions & Restore Missing tabs
http://www.angelfire.com/dragon/sramesh2k/reg/IE_reset_restrictions.reg


Also, refer Fix 268 from Kelly's site:
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
Restore All tabs in IE and Removes the ** Internet Options ** Restrictions
as well


The problem is due to a spyware. Download Ad-Aware from www.lavasoftusa.com,
scan the system and eliminate the malware products. Re-apply the above fix
if necessary.
** Remember to update the pattern file using WebUpdate in Ad-Aware **