Tech Trials

Browser taken over - fix found

My wife clicked on a button marked "Click for a faster Internet". If you've waited ages for Royal Mail's complaints site to open, you might be tempted too. The browser (IE5.5) was immediately taken over by ClientMan, a browser helper object (BHO), that fakes a page on Google and tries to sell you software to remove the BHO it installed.

This is akin to a con-man changing the locks on your house and then offering to sell you a new key.

Fortunately there is a brill team of volunteers at www.spywareinfo.com devoted to getting you out of trouble - donations welcome. Used the recommended (and free) SpyBot to find and remove the infection but kept coming back till I used AdAware (also free) instead.

Cost to me - 5 hours of research and experiment and two very late nights. Grrr!

It's ActiveX that's the weak point. When IE is allowed to use ActiveX programs they can do anything to your PC. Trouble is lots of sites use them - even Sainsburys - so once you've followed the recommendations to tighten security, you end up being prompted time and again as you browse.

posted by Chris Jakeman @ 10:48 pm