IE7 automatically connecting to advertising websites

Until recently IE7 was working fine. It's now started misbehaving by
automatically connecting to advertising websites whenever I'm using the
Internet.

I've done all the usual .... scans with Norton & Ad-Aware, blocking the
unwanted websites, system restore ..... nothing has worked.

Can anyone tell me what's going on and whethere there's a cure for it
please. I'm not a computer whizz so any explanation or advice in plain
english would be very much appreciated :-)

Please state your full Windows version (e.g., WinXP SP3; Vista SP1) when
posting to this newsgroup.

1. See if you can download/run the MSRT manually:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/ma...e/default.mspx

2. Run the Windows Live Safety Center's 'Protection' scan (only!) in Safe
Mode with Networking, if need be:
http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/center/howsafe.htm

3. Run a /thorough/ check for hijackware, including posting the requested
logs in an appropriate forum, not here.

Checking for/Help with Hijackware
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=4075
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/data/prevention.htm
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/tshoot.html
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/Malware_Defence.htm
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...moving_Malware

**Seek expert assistance in
http://spywarehammer.com/simplemachi...php?board=10.0,
http://forums.spybot.info/forumdisplay.php?f=22,
http://aumha.net/viewforum.php?f=30, or other appropriate forums.**

If the procedures look too complex - and there is no shame in admitting this
isn't your cup of tea - take the machine to a local, reputable and
independent (i.e., not BigBoxStoreUSA) computer repair shop.
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

Jules wrote:
> Until recently IE7 was working fine. It's now started misbehaving by
> automatically connecting to advertising websites whenever I'm using the
> Internet.
>
> I've done all the usual .... scans with Norton & Ad-Aware, blocking the
> unwanted websites, system restore ..... nothing has worked.
>
> Can anyone tell me what's going on and whethere there's a cure for it
> please. I'm not a computer whizz so any explanation or advice in plain
> english would be very much appreciated :-)