Expert: Frances Rhea - 9/29/2004

Question
Hi,
I'm using XP and the IE version that came with that (not sure how to check for version).  A few months ago, my homepage kept getting set automatically as some ad-type page (address line says about:blank), so every time i open IE it goes to this page (and I can't reset my homepage).  As of yesterday, a popup (blocked by my Norton software) has been coming up whenever I open IE, and whenever I've tried to sign into my yahoo email account, the browser goes back to the about:blank page.  i've used spybot to get rid of cookies, i've deleted my cookies using IE internet options, I've done a Norton virus scan (which found and deleted one adware file), but nothing has helped... what else can I do?  And what might be the cause of the problem?

Thank you!

Answer
The cause of the problem is a hijacker. It is a form of spyware.

First go to this link and start at Step 6:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=320159&product=ie

Now download this free software to help get rid of the files and any other registry entries causing it:

System Spyware Interrogator
www.spywaredata.com

If you need further assistance let me know.

Fran