Internet Explorer Home Page Changed!

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

Whilst ‘surfing’ with Internet Explorer my husband managed to get a new toolbar and have the home page changed.

I would have expected Avast to have prevented this from happening. Should it have done so?

2

Well, not a software is perfect… but changing the homepage by an installed program (that user installs) isn’t a malware behavior, indeed, it was your husband choice.
Which is that program (toolbar) that was installed?

After trying to uninstall the program or change the Internet settings, I suggest:

  1. Clean your temporary files.
  2. Schedule a boot time scanning with avast with archive scanning turned on. If avast does not detect it, you can try DrWeb CureIT! instead.
  3. Use SUPERantispyware, MBAM or Spyware Terminator to scan for spywares and trojans. If any infection is detected, better and safer is send the file to Quarantine than to simple delete than.
  4. Test your machine with anti-rootkit applications. I suggest avast! antirootkit or Trend Micro RootkitBuster.
  5. Make a HijackThis log to post here or this analysis site. Or even submit the RunScanner log to to on-line analysis.
  6. Disable System Restore and then reenable it again.
  7. Immunize your system with SpywareBlaster or Windows Advanced Care.
  8. Check if you have insecure applications with Secunia Software Inspector.
3

Why would you expect that, toolbars aren’t viruses and many are legitimate and often come as a result of accepting/downloading some sort of program, the changing of the home page again isn’t a virus.

You don’t mention what the tool bar or changed home page are ?

Try this tool - ToolbarCop http://www.snapfiles.com/get/toolbarcop.html

This is also probably in the realms of possibly adware and there are tools which specialise in this and protect browser home page.

  1. SUPERantispyware On-Demand only in free version.
  2. MalwareBytes Anti-Malware freeware version http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/malwarebytes/mbam-setup.exe, right click on the link and select Save As or Save File (As depending on your browser), save it to a location where you can find it easily later.
    Or
  3. Spybot Search and Destroy