Intelligent Explorer and I.Search virus... how do i get rid of it??

[econtrerasguzman]

recently a virus with these names (i.search) was found in my pc, i cannot get rid of it with symantec... anybody got a removal tool what i can use?? thanx.

[budz]

go to www.trendmicro.com and use their free online virus scanner.

[Zen of Encoding]

recently a virus with these names (i.search) was found in my pc, i cannot get rid of it with symantec... anybody got a removal tool what i can use?? thanx.

"i.search" sounds like it's Spyware, not a virus.

Try Spybot 1.4 (it's free), be sure to get the lasest updates after you install it:

http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/Spybot_Search_and_Destroy/1043809773/1

[MJA]

lol Norton the BMW of AV didn't help? try like he said spypot.if it didn't work remove norton then download a free trial of kaspersky (it works better with infected pc's)after its done cleaning remove it if you don't wanna buy it and download a free copy of Avast or AVG.
http://usa.kaspersky.com/downloads/trial-versions.php?aw=downloadspg

The online scan will locate the virus,but it will not remove it
http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner

the BMW joke I read online few days ago
"John Thompson, CEO of Symantec, last month told Silicon.com, "The Norton brand is the BMW of the security world." As such, he said, the company has no plans to offer a low-cost version and likewise will fight to maintain its reputation."

http://news.com.com/2100-7348_3-6073382.html?part=rss&tag=6073382&subj=news

[TBoneit]

Just curious what version of Norton? 2005 had propblems deleting Spyware. It would find it but then be unable to delete it, 2006 is much better.

With 2005 for example I'd just go delete it manually.

[econtrerasguzman]

i tried spybot and nothing is working... trendmicron website might be down and the other kypersky wont load after i click "i agree" ohh well i might have to reinstall windows as a last resource i guess.... anybody got any new suggestions plz talk to me i really dont want to reinstall windows, i have so much to transfer

[budz]

i tried spybot and nothing is working... trendmicron website might be down and the other kypersky wont load after i click "i agree" ohh well i might have to reinstall windows as a last resource i guess.... anybody got any new suggestions plz talk to me i really dont want to reinstall windows, i have so much to transfer

try AD-AWARE for spyware. use the customize settings and check off "C" drive, scan for volume ADs & perform smart system scan. i usually do those tasks a few times not just once. it eventually finds stuff. good luck.

[Dv8ted2]

I would follow budz's advice. If that does not work, you could try using hijackthis

[TBoneit]

try the trial version of spysweeper @ www.webroot.com

Do a search for the hosts file, in my Win XP it is in D:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc because I installed to D:

You can open it in Notepad and look at it. It should be very short. A common trick some of this stuff does is change the hosts file so that it redirects and antivirus and and legitimate antispyware sites.

Also try http://www.ewido.net/en/
they have a trial version too and the Micorosoft Antispyware tool can help.

[deckard8]

http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/spyware.isearch.html

http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/data/ieplugin.htm

[TBoneit]

Be very careful using HiJackThis.

Another thing go to the run command and run msconfig and uncheck most things you do not need, I'd keep the Antivirus and not much else.

Do your cleaning in safe mode.

[isogonic]

no need for a reinstall:

first check add/remove programs panel for anything like isearch, if present run unistaller then reboot computer, if not present do this:

check for updates to any malware/AV you have.
reboot to safe mode, you can reach safe mode by tapping the f8 key during a computer restart. chose safe mode option. once in safe mode run what you have. if you try ewido anti malware save the log it generates.if problem isnt solved post back.

[DarrellS]

If it is a BHO (browser helper object) then HiJackThis will remove it.

[econtrerasguzman]

nothing detected anything, those two websites for online scan came back clean...what do i do now?

[budz]

nothing detected anything, those two websites for online scan came back clean...what do i do now?

When you used AD-AWARE did you scan it like this?

"choose USE CUSTOM SCANNING OPTIONS then click on CUSTOMIZE & check off the "C" drive then click on next for the scanning to begin. After that then choose "SCAN FOR VOLUME ADS" then begin the scan & lastly use the "PERFORM SMART SYSTEM SCAN". I ask this because my friend swore he had no spyware but when I had him do the above it found tons of spyware. If you're just doing scan "PERFORM FULL SYSTEM SCAN" it may not find any spyware. Don't ask me why but that is just how I scan my computers with AD-ADWARE & it works to find spyware.

[DarrellS]

nothing detected anything, those two websites for online scan came back clean...what do i do now?

You can join the AdAware user forum and get help through there. They will probably refer you to the HiJackThis section where someone will tell you exactly what to do. It will probably take a little time to get all your answers so you'll have to be patient but they've been doing this for a while and know what they're doing. You may have to download special tools to get rid of your problem.

If you felt adventurous you could jump in and do it yourself but like someone else stated, you could have a disasterous outcome and you might not get rid of the whole problem if you don't know what you're doing. If it's only a BHO though, it's easy to get rid of with HiJackThis and will not cause any problems. Just put a tick next to the BHO at the top and click Fix Checked. Only tick the bad BHO, not the ones that you might need (acrobat or java). You can also get rid of toolbars you don't want that were installed without your knowing (google toolbar, search toolbars etc...).

If you post your HiJackThis log in their forum, the experts will tell you everything that is bad and what should go.

[disturbed1]

Bazooka Adware Scanner . It does not remove anything, it only scans your system and lets you know what's there with links on how to maunally remove the infections correctly. I use this as a last resort when Adaware and spy bot search and destroy fail to remove things.

[Bjs]

That Isearch turned up on a pc here a while back .

Go into windows explorer , tool's , view , go down to "hidden files and folders , choose "show hidden file's and folder's"

Now go to c:\document's and setting's\ "Your normal login account name"\local setting's\temp ...
hold down shift key , sellect all the file's in this temp folder , right click an any file , and choose delete (hit F5 to refresh) ... and there gone .

Any file that refuse's to be removed ... in 99% of case's , they refer to a system required file ... leave them .

Back at \local setting's , is a folder called "temporary internet folder" ... if folder has a plus symbol on it , click to show folder's under it .
Right click each folder , hold down shift key , and choose delete , and yes if asked ... hit F5 to refresh folder list
Repeat for all folder's under "temporary internet folder"

You may still be left with file's remaining here , select them , and repeat the deletion procedure , till done .

In most case's , explorer will appear to lock up at time's ... wait 1 minute before forcing it to exit ... when system desktop return's , repeat process till all temp folder's have been removed ... and that's cleaned out the left over rubbish .

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Download a good bho tool , www.nonags.com has a couple that work fine ... disbale ALL bho's .

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Download ad-aware se , and avg free ... install and update both .

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This is to shift real pain's ...

Now start - setting's - control panel - system - system restore ... disable it .

Reboot pc .

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Start - run , type

msconfig

Hit enter

Go to startup tab and disable all non-essential item's ... leave avg alone ... some item's do not require to be up and running by default as the system will call these when required .

When done , apply , ok , reboot .

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Now run ad-aware se ... if find's anything , quarantine them ... when done , click that lock button to enter backup area , and delete all backup's .

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Now do a complete scan with avg free ... if it remain's on the pc it will find it and remove it ... norton's is utterly useless .

I have had the pro edition's of norton's over the year's , and occasionally it say's virus found , but unable to do squat about it , your stuck ..

Avg alway's beat's norton's in every infected case test we come across ... and is the one we recomend to all customer's , and is cheaper in annual update cost's .

Avg has better ability to deal with infection's that also harbour within system restore point's , while norton's wont do anything about it .

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Finally , check out program folder's , so crapware is so lame it will actually have it's own folder by name ... pretty stupid ... just like that whenusearch browser crap addon .

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Go into window's explorer , right click on hd , choose properties , tool's , do error check ... allow pc to reboot too perform this task .

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Backup and running ... start - setting's - control panel - system - system restore ... re-engage for C only ...

It make's no sence if you have multiple partition's to running system restore on these ... it just waste's space .

Also check how much space is reserved for recycle bin / bin's ... anything above 10% , on new larger drive's is an over kill ...

Finally run defrag , even if it say's no need , do it .

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Xp might have a few thing's going for it ... but most of the supplied tool's for disk cleaning and more are complete waste of time , and a joke .