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I'm having a weird problem with search engines when I'm using Internet Explorer. On any search engine (Yahoo, Lycos, Google, etc...) I type in whatever i'm searching for, like "soap" or whatever. The results page comes up. Then when I click on any link from the results I am automatically redirected to Morwillsearch.com, or occasionally a porn site. Morwillsearch.com is also a search engine. And if you try to search for something, clicking on a results link will just take you right back to the morwill main page. VERY INTERESTINGLY, I only have this problem when I'm using Internet Explorer, all my search engines work totally fine when I'm on AOL (which I think is really weird since AOL is usually what is giving my problems... but that's another story).
I've been trying to fix the problem on my own, but i've had zero luck. I have Ewido, McAfee, and a bunch of AOL anti-virus and anti-spyware stuff on my computer and I do regular full system scans. Any suggestions would be much appreciated, thanks!-Laura
PS I also found a few other forums where similar problems were addressed that had to with Hijackthis, and that didn't get me anywhere either.
Blocking Unwanted Parasites with a Hosts File
Also down that page is another method, rather than doing
the HOSTS file, of disabling or stopping the
"DNS Client" Service (if you are the only user,
and not part of a domain).
Services restart with every boot, so uncheck the DNS
Client service on the Services tab in msconfig.
Then again, you cannot restart the service via
services.mmc, but go back into msconfig.
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Hey, Chuck2
I'm afraid that didn't fix the problem, it just um... changed it. I downloaded the HOSTS file and ran it. (I assume i did everything right, i just double-clicked on hosts.bat and a little black box flashed on the screen then went away)
But anyway, so then I opened IE to see if it worked. Now when i click on a results link instead of getting Morwillsearch.com, i get that wonderful "this page cannot be displayed" screen. So I guess HOSTS is preventing the Morwill page from opening, which is nice, but I still can't open the links i want. Thanks for the help so far though.
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The other method, than HOSTS file editing, was to stop the "DNS Client" service.
There are various reasons for "this page cannot be displayed"
Description of a Personal Firewall
See Possible Issues section
-------------------
Error message: The page cannot be displayed
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;241344
That one also says incorrect entry in HOSTS file may cause it.
------------------------
Error Message:"Page Cannot be Displayed" When You Browse the Internet
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;812336&Product=winxp
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Sorry for getting you messed up.
The ZIP file you may have downloaded and installed the BAT file also had a README.txt file. There it says--
[Removal Instructions]
In the event you do not wish to continue using the MVPS HOSTS file, you can simply delete the existing HOSTS file and rename HOSTS.MVP to HOSTS (no 3-letter extension) Note: none of the included files make any changes to the Registry or install any additional files to the Operating System.
-------------------------
Apparently the install you did saved the old HOSTS file as HOSTS.MVP -- So do the above.
------------------------FYI--
The HOSTS file is located at
C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc
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ok, so i did all the stuff to remove HOSTS. And it's still bringing up "this page cannot be displayed" yada yada yada.
So here's what i am wondering now. Would it do any good to delete internet explorer and then re-install it?
As for the DNS client service thing, I'm totally lost :) sorry.
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ok, so i did all the stuff to remove HOSTS.
But did you rename HOSTS.MVP file to HOSTS (without an extension on it) ???
---------------
As for the DNS client service thing, I'm totally lost :) sorry.To learn about XP Services-
In Windows Help, click Index, then type
services
Then double click any information below that.One way to open Services is
* Start | Run (type) "services.msc" (no quotes)
# Scroll down to "DNS Client", Right-click and select: Properties
# Click the drop-down arrow for "Startup type"
# Select: Manual, click Apply/Ok and restart.
--------------------
Not sure if a reinstall will fix it.
How to Uninstall Internet Explorer 6How to Reinstall or Repair Internet Explorer and Outlook Express in Windows XP
Some people find that life can be better without using IE
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Microsoft Sucks :)
So yeah, i've decided just to forget about IE, i can't uninstall it(it doesn't show up when windows populates the list for add/remove program, and i tried just deleting it in program files and the computer was all "i don't think so") but that's ok, it's no big deal really. I downloaded a different browser called Ace Explorer and search engines are all working fine.
Thanks for all your help.
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Microsoft made IE an integral part of Windows.
IE cannot be removed.I use Netscape myself. AOL bought Netscape a few
years back.
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