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It's been 12 hours, and I still can't login

[scumm_bar]

I'm in England, and for the past 12 or 13 hours I haven't been able to access anything under the /adsense directory of Google, including the login page (page cannot be displayed).

When I try to surf to the /adsense directory, or go from the link in "Business Solutions", it takes me to a main Google search page with a broken logo image. Huh?

I'm not doing anything wrong since I've been logging in as usual for 2 months.

Is anybody else having the same problem? I can't find diddlysquat about it.

[mcavill]

i can access it OK from the UK

[justageek]

scumm_bar - You need to upgrade your browser. You also need to change your hosts file back to what it was. You have been hit with a security issue in IE.

JAG

[GoogleGuy]

Yah, you might want to do a scumware check..

[Marcus Aurelius]

Google for spybot search and destroy and install it, skumware will be history.

[Jenstar]

And if Spybot Sesrch & Destroy doesn't catch it, try running AdAware. Between the two of them, they will find just about every scumware program there is.

Be sure to run the updates on each after you download, so you have the most current updates when you search for spyware.

[justageek]

This one isn't scumware so you won't find it with a scan. Its a security hole that was exploited. It changes the hosts file for the major search engines so it *looks* like you are going there but you actually go somewhere else and the search engine home page and results page is fed to you. But, it doesn't have a copy of all the pages on a search engine or it doesn't let you go to them all so you get the error. You will also notice that an activex control is fired off everytime you are at the bogus page.

JAG

[scumm_bar]

Well, thanks for the advice, but no cigar I'm afraid. I tried to follow the advice from your first post, justageek (I didn't have your last post at the time - would have checked the activex thing), but it wasn't all that obvious.

1. My hosts file was actually the default XP one, it was bare bones. Nothing in it.

2. I frequently use Spybot. It was the first thing I tried, and yet, gave nothing but the usual ad-network junk.

I downloaded the latest IE update and applied it. Still the same. After several hours searching for more clues, I gave in and restored my computer to a previous date. Everything worked fine immediately.

Computers. Who'd 'ave 'em.

[GoogleGuy]

Hey scumm_bar, the qhosts trojan horse actually makes a new hosts file in a directory people don't check (windows\help or winnt\help) and then changes a registry key to point to the new location. Sounds like you solved your problem already--everyone reading this does make backups, right?--but just wanted to let you know.