Prosearching nightmare

system · March 14, 2004, 12:47am

Prosearching has taken over my browser. I deleted most of its crud - but can’t get it to stop putting a toolbar at the bottom of my browser window, and rediredting me through thier site every time I start my browser. Can you help?

I even ran hijackthis, and “fixed” the entries that had “prosearching” in them - but I still have the problem and when I just ran hijackthis - one still is there.

here is what my log file shows now:

Logfile of HijackThis v1.97.7
Scan saved at 5:45:04 PM, on 3/13/2004
Platform: Windows XP SP1 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP1 (6.00.2800.1106)

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\ibmpmsvc.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\Ati2evxx.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\S24EvMon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\Ati2evxx.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccEvtMgr.exe
C:\Program Files\Synaptics\SynTP\SynTPLpr.exe
C:\Program Files\Synaptics\SynTP\SynTPEnh.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\TpShocks.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\ThinkPad\PkgMgr\HOTKEY\TPHKMGR.exe
C:\Program Files\ThinkPad\PkgMgr\HOTKEY\TPONSCR.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\ThinkPad\UTILIT~1\EzEjMnAp.Exe
C:\Program Files\ThinkPad\PkgMgr\HOTKEY_1\TpScrex.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\VS7DEBUG\MDM.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\AGRSMMSG.exe
C:\Program Files\ATI Technologies\ATI Control Panel\atiptaxx.exe
C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL$MICROSOFTBCM\Binn\sqlservr.exe
C:\Program Files\Support.com\bin\tgcmd.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccApp.exe
C:\Program Files\IBM\Messages By IBM\ibmmessages.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\dla\tfswctrl.exe
C:\Program Files\ThinkPad\ConnectUtilities\QCWLICON.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\System32\RunDll32.exe
C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus\navapsvc.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\SLOWBA~1\dentspam.exe
C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\QCONSVC.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\System32\ctfmon.exe
C:\Program Files\Timeslips\TSTimer.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\RegSrvc.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\TpKmpSVC.exe
C:\Palm\hotsync.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\BRMFRSMG.EXE
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
C:\Program Files\Hijack\HijackThis.exe

R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://prosearching.com/passthrough/index.html?http://blueribbon.intranets.com/
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {01788879-EF4B-FAE8-C2A4-BCEFD5D433AC} - C:\PROGRA~1\IdolHope\eq ante.dll (file missing)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Reader\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {5CA3D70E-1895-11CF-8E15-001234567890} - C:\WINDOWS\system32\dla\tfswshx.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {AA58ED58-01DD-4d91-8333-CF10577473F7} - c:\program files\google\googletoolbar1.dll
O2 - BHO: NAV Helper - {BDF3E430-B101-42AD-A544-FADC6B084872} - C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus\NavShExt.dll
O3 - Toolbar: &Radio - {8E718888-423F-11D2-876E-00A0C9082467} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\msdxm.ocx
O3 - Toolbar: Norton AntiVirus - {42CDD1BF-3FFB-4238-8AD1-7859DF00B1D6} - C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus\NavShExt.dll
O3 - Toolbar: &Google - {2318C2B1-4965-11d4-9B18-009027A5CD4F} - c:\program files\google\googletoolbar1.dll
O3 - Toolbar: body warn view - {B354C571-2162-2EEA-7792-CE27E18E64FB} - C:\PROGRA~1\IdolHope\eq ante.dll (file missing)
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [S3TRAY2] S3Tray2.exe
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [SynTPLpr] C:\Program Files\Synaptics\SynTP\SynTPLpr.exe
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [SynTPEnh] C:\Program Files\Synaptics\SynTP\SynTPEnh.exe
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [BluetoothAuthenticationAgent] rundll32.exe irprops.cpl,BluetoothAuthenticationAgent
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [TpShocks] TpShocks.exe
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [TPHOTKEY] C:\PROGRA~1\ThinkPad\PkgMgr\HOTKEY\TPHKMGR.exe
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [BMMLREF] C:\Program Files\ThinkPad\Utilities\BMMLREF.EXE
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [TPKMAPHELPER] C:\Program Files\ThinkPad\Utilities\TpKmapAp.exe -helper
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [TP4EX] tp4ex.exe
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [EZEJMNAP] C:\PROGRA~1\ThinkPad\UTILIT~1\EzEjMnAp.Exe
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [AGRSMMSG] AGRSMMSG.exe
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [ATIPTA] C:\Program Files\ATI Technologies\ATI Control Panel\atiptaxx.exe
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [ATIModeChange] Ati2mdxx.exe
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [UC_Start] C:\IBMTools\Updater\ucstartup.exe
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [tgcmd] “C:\Program Files\Support.com\bin\tgcmd.exe” /server
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [ccApp] “C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccApp.exe”
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [ccRegVfy] “C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccRegVfy.exe”
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [ibmmessages] C:\Program Files\IBM\Messages By IBM\ibmmessages.exe
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [dla] C:\WINDOWS\system32\dla\tfswctrl.exe
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [QCWLICON] C:\Program Files\ThinkPad\ConnectUtilities\QCWLICON.EXE
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [BMMGAG] RunDll32 C:\PROGRA~1\ThinkPad\UTILIT~1\pwrmonit.dll,StartPwrMonitor
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [TimeAce] C:\PROGRA~1\SLOWBA~1\dentspam.exe
O4 - HKCU..\Run: [ibmmessages] C:\Program Files\IBM\Messages By IBM\ibmmessages.exe
O4 - HKCU..\Run: [MSMSGS] “C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe” /background
O4 - HKCU..\Run: [ctfmon.exe] C:\WINDOWS\System32\ctfmon.exe
O4 - HKCU..\Run: [TSTimer] C:\Program Files\Timeslips\TSTimer.exe
O4 - Global Startup: Billminder.lnk = C:\Program Files\Quicken\billmind.exe
O4 - Global Startup: HotSync Manager.lnk = C:\Palm\hotsync.exe
O4 - Global Startup: Quicken Scheduled Updates.lnk = C:\Program Files\Quicken\bagent.exe
O4 - Global Startup: Quicken Startup.lnk = C:\Program Files\Quicken\QWDLLS.EXE
O8 - Extra context menu item: &Google Search - res://c:\program files\google\GoogleToolbar1.dll/cmsearch.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Backward &Links - res://c:\program files\google\GoogleToolbar1.dll/cmbacklinks.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Cac&hed Snapshot of Page - res://c:\program files\google\GoogleToolbar1.dll/cmcache.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O8 - Extra context menu item: Si&milar Pages - res://c:\program files\google\GoogleToolbar1.dll/cmsimilar.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Translate into English - res://c:\program files\google\GoogleToolbar1.dll/cmtrans.html
O9 - Extra ‘Tools’ menuitem: IBM Java Console (HKLM)
O9 - Extra button: Research (HKLM)
O9 - Extra button: Related (HKLM)
O9 - Extra ‘Tools’ menuitem: Show &Related Links (HKLM)
O11 - Options group: [JAVA_IBM] Java (IBM)
O16 - DPF: {3E68E405-C6DE-49FF-83AE-41EE9F4C36CE} (Office Update Installation Engine) - http://office.microsoft.com/officeupdate/content/opuc.cab
O16 - DPF: {D27CDB6E-AE6D-11CF-96B8-444553540000} (Shockwave Flash Object) - http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab

system · March 14, 2004, 1:24am

have you ran spybot?

C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus\navapsvc.exe

EWWWWWWW!

system · March 14, 2004, 1:50pm

Hi,

first, best use the board search on prosearching
like said above, install/update, scan and fix with Spybot, also with Ad-aware and cwshredder; best run them in safeMode (F8-Boot)

then check the items/process/filenames in the hijackthis-log
with
www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php
google
and
Onlinescanner from www.kaspersky.com

remove anything malicious/useless

did you try the fix of the prosearching entries with hijackthis in SAFEMODE ?

system · March 14, 2004, 4:09pm

Thanks for the responses. I did run spybot which congratulates me for not having any problems.

I’ll try to run hijackthis in safe mode and follow the other suggestions. What do you mean: “first, best use the board search on prosearching”?

Someone should put a stop to these prosearching people.

system · March 14, 2004, 5:05pm

http://forum.avast.com/index.php?board=4;action=search

system · March 15, 2004, 12:07am

have faith! I was able to get rid of it and i’m no computer wiz!!!

be sure you are running hijack this from a folder other than your desktop and NOT directly out of the zip file.

I found this explanation of the results in hijack this helpful when I couldn’t wait for someone to respond … but be careful what you “fix”!!! and be sure to close all your browser windows before you fix.

http://www.computercops.us/postt6393.html

also I don’t really understand how the XP user accounts work but made sure only one account was logged in at a time then I ran spybot and hijack this in each account separately and that seemed to work. Perhaps running in safe mode would accomplish the same thing.

system · March 15, 2004, 12:58am

ogfile of HijackThis v1.97.7
Scan saved at 7:56:48 PM, on 3/14/2004
Platform: Windows XP SP1 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP1 (6.00.2800.1106)

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\cisvc.exe
c:\PROGRA~1\mcafee.com\vso\mcvsrte.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\VS7Debug\mdm.exe
c:\PROGRA~1\mcafee.com\vso\mcshield.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\hkcmd.exe
C:\WINDOWS\BCMSMMSG.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\DSentry.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\mcafee.com\agent\mcagent.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Real\Update_OB\realsched.exe
C:\Program Files\Roxio\Easy CD Creator 5\DirectCD\DirectCD.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Dell\EUSW\Support.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\mcafee.com\vso\mcvsshld.exe
C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\MYWEBS~1\bar\2.bin\mwsoemon.exe
C:\Program Files\MUSICMATCH\MUSICMATCH Jukebox\mmtask.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\DRAWKE~1\save chic 2.exe
C:\WINDOWS\EDialers\1-1-1-2-test-.exe
C:\Program Files\MSN Messenger\MsnMsgr.Exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\ctfmon.exe
C:\Program Files\AIM\aim.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\cidaemon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\cidaemon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE
C:\Documents and Settings\Abby\Local Settings\Temp\Temporary Directory 1 for hijackthis1977[1].zip\HijackThis.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Bar = http://prosearching.com/searchbar.html
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://prosearching.com/passthrough/index.html?http://www.netscape.com/
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://www.dellnet.com
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant = http://prosearching.com/searchbar.html
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.dellnet.com
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Bar = http://searchexe.com/searchbar.html
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://searchexe.com/searchbar.html
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant = http://searchexe.com/searchbar.html
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Connection Wizard,Shellnext = http://www.dellnet.com/
F2 - REG:system.ini: UserInit=C:\WINDOWS\System32\Userinit.exe
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {00A6FAF1-072E-44cf-8957-5838F569A31D} - C:\Program Files\MyWebSearch\SrchAstt\2.bin\MWSSRCAS.DLL
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {02478D38-C3F9-4efb-9B51-7695ECA05670} - C:\WINDOWS\Downloaded Program Files\ycomp5_3_12_0.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {07B18EA1-A523-4961-B6BB-170DE4475CCA} - C:\Program Files\MyWebSearch\bar\2.bin\MWSBAR.DLL
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {2EDAF459-6926-4957-9B1B-2C4E2455A362} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\WinNB41.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {86C929D5-A927-391F-2A88-082F7B402353} - C:\PROGRA~1\EACHGL~1\Dash amen.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {FDD3B846-8D59-4ffb-8758-209B6AD74ACC} - C:\Program Files\Microsoft Money\System\mnyviewer.dll
O3 - Toolbar: &Radio - {8E718888-423F-11D2-876E-00A0C9082467} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\msdxm.ocx
O3 - Toolbar: My &Web Search - {07B18EA9-A523-4961-B6BB-170DE4475CCA} - C:\Program Files\MyWebSearch\bar\2.bin\MWSBAR.DLL
O3 - Toolbar: toolbar - {FB2961FD-DD24-4F8A-8A92-6F9325FF6F11} - C:\WINDOWS\Downloaded Program Files\toolbar.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Yahoo! Companion - {EF99BD32-C1FB-11D2-892F-0090271D4F88} - C:\WINDOWS\Downloaded Program Files\ycomp5_3_12_0.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Related Page - {2EDAF458-6926-4957-9B1B-2C4E2455A362} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\WinNB41.dll
O3 - Toolbar: fordsetupthird - {B3B4C0E4-10D3-3BAF-0A37-13C3975D794D} - C:\PROGRA~1\EACHGL~1\Dash amen.dll
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [IgfxTray] C:\WINDOWS\System32\igfxtray.exe
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [HotKeysCmds] C:\WINDOWS\System32\hkcmd.exe
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [BCMSMMSG] BCMSMMSG.exe
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [DVDSentry] C:\WINDOWS\System32\DSentry.exe
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [MoneyStartUp10.0] “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Money\System\Activation.exe”
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [MCAgentExe] c:\PROGRA~1\mcafee.com\agent\mcagent.exe
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [MCUpdateExe] C:\PROGRA~1\mcafee.com\agent\McUpdate.exe
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [TkBellExe] “C:\Program Files\Common Files\Real\Update_OB\realsched.exe” -osboot
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [AdaptecDirectCD] “C:\Program Files\Roxio\Easy CD Creator 5\DirectCD\DirectCD.exe”
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [DwlClient] C:\Program Files\Common Files\Dell\EUSW\Support.exe
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [VirusScan Online] c:\PROGRA~1\mcafee.com\vso\mcvsshld.exe
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [QuickTime Task] “C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe” -atboottime
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [WebScan] C:\PROGRA~1\ACCELE~1\ANTI-V~1\DEFSCA~1.EXE -k
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [MPFExe] C:\PROGRA~1\McAfee.com\PERSON~1\MpfTray.exe
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [MyWebSearch Email Plugin] C:\PROGRA~1\MYWEBS~1\bar\2.bin\mwsoemon.exe
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [mmtask] C:\Program Files\MUSICMATCH\MUSICMATCH Jukebox\mmtask.exe
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [Bolt Lies] C:\PROGRA~1\DRAWKE~1\save chic 2.exe
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [winactive] C:\Program Files\Window Active\winactive.exe
O4 - HKLM..\Run: [test] C:\WINDOWS\EDialers\1-1-1-2-test-.exe !m
O4 - HKCU..\Run: [MsnMsgr] “C:\Program Files\MSN Messenger\MsnMsgr.Exe” /background
O4 - HKCU..\Run: [ctfmon.exe] C:\WINDOWS\System32\ctfmon.exe
O4 - HKCU..\Run: [AIM] C:\Program Files\AIM\aim.exe -cnetwait.odl
O4 - Global Startup: Microsoft Office.lnk = C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\OSA.EXE
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\Office10\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O9 - Extra button: AIM (HKLM)
O9 - Extra button: Related (HKLM)
O9 - Extra ‘Tools’ menuitem: Show &Related Links (HKLM)
O9 - Extra button: Real.com (HKLM)
O9 - Extra button: MoneySide (HKLM)
O9 - Extra button: Messenger (HKLM)
O9 - Extra ‘Tools’ menuitem: Messenger (HKLM)
O16 - DPF: {00B71CFB-6864-4346-A978-C0A14556272C} (Checkers Class) - http://messenger.zone.msn.com/binary/msgrchkr.cab
O16 - DPF: {166B1BCA-3F9C-11CF-8075-444553540000} (Shockwave ActiveX Control) - http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/director/swdir.cab
O16 - DPF: {1D4DB7D2-6EC9-47A3-BD87-1E41684E07BB} - http://imgfarm.com/images/nocache/funwebproducts/SmileyCentralInitialSetup1.0.0.5.cab
O16 - DPF: {4ED9DDF0-7479-4BBE-9335-5A1EDB1D8A21} (McAfee.com Operating System Class) - http://download.mcafee.com/molbin/shared/mcinsctl/en-us/4,0,0,64/mcinsctl.cab
O16 - DPF: {8A0DCBDA-6E20-489C-9041-C1E8A0352E75} (NN_BarDummy Class) - http://download.getmirar.com/cabs/875471.cab
O16 - DPF: {8E0D4DE5-3180-4024-A327-4DFAD1796A8D} (MessengerStatsClient Class) - http://messenger.zone.msn.com/binary/MessengerStatsClient.cab
O16 - DPF: {AA59BA6E-B44F-4514-AB3C-0C1DD2306FC3} (MSN Money Charting) - http://fdl.msn.com/public/investor/v12/invinstl.exe
O16 - DPF: {CCA6CE4C-2199-4A4F-9542-12E0163D6841} (Dialer Class) - http://sessa.isprime.com:81/tel2net/CABEDialer.cab
O16 - DPF: {D27CDB6E-AE6D-11CF-96B8-444553540000} (Shockwave Flash Object) - http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab
O16 - DPF: {EF99BD32-C1FB-11D2-892F-0090271D4F88} (Yahoo! Companion) - http://us.dl1.yimg.com/download.companion.yahoo.com/dl/toolbar/yiebio5_3_12_0.cab
O16 - DPF: {F6BF0D00-0B2A-4A75-BF7B-F385591623AF} (Solitaire Showdown Class) - http://messenger.zone.msn.com/binary/SolitaireShowdown.cab
O16 - DPF: {FB2961FD-DD24-4F8A-8A92-6F9325FF6F11} (toolbar) - http://www.supaseek.com/toolbar/toolbar.cab

…I did that hijack this crap now what do i do? :

system · March 15, 2004, 6:12am

I had the prosearch crap as well and read al of the posts and nothing worked for me. I went against all morals and actually went to prosearching.com, I figured I already have it whats the worst it could do. Well I went into there help menu and it had my answer a link to download an uninstaller. I ran the uninstaller and it is gone!!! Now if it pops up again is still to be determined, but just run this and be done with that crap.

http://lop.com/new_uninstall.exe

system · March 16, 2004, 12:30pm

I took the gamble and saved their uninstaller at http://lop.com/new_uninstall.exe - I ran it and the prosearching toolbar is gone - the problem seems solved…Thanks.

Prosearching nightmare

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