I have in my Firefox a lovely thing called Findgala. So far I scanned my laptop with Ad-Aware, Spybot, Malwarebytes and AVG (All updated to the latest) in both Safe mode and regular mode. It only found cookies that I deleted. Findgala is still there. I ran HJT, but after I pressed Scan, I got a message saying: "For some reason your system denied write access to the hosts file. If any hijacked domains are in this file, HJT may not be able to fix this." They ask me to fix them myself by going to c: windows system32 drivers etc hosts and delete things but I'm not good enough with computers to do this on my own or until one of you tells me it's ok to do so. Here's my log. Thank you very much for your help, I appreciate it! Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.5 Scan saved at 8:09:44 PM, on 8/20/2013 Platform: Windows Vista SP2 (WinNT 6.00.1906) MSIE: Internet Explorer v9.00 (9.00.8112.16502) CHROME: 28.0.1500.95 FIREFOX: 23.0.1 (en-US) Boot mode: Normal Running processes: C:\Windows\system32\Dwm.exe C:\Windows\Explorer.EXE C:\Windows\system32\taskeng.exe C:\Windows\System32\WLTRAY.EXE C:\Windows\OEM02Mon.exe C:\Program Files\SigmaTel\C-Major Audio\WDM\sttray.exe C:\Program Files\Common Files\Java\Java Update\jusched.exe C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG2013\avgui.exe C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\Display\nvtray.exe C:\ProgramData\Ad-Aware Browsing Protection\adawarebp.exe C:\Users\Nadia\AppData\Local\Akamai\netsession_win.exe C:\Program Files\WIDCOMM\Bluetooth Software\BTTray.exe C:\Program Files\Datacolor\Spyder4Pro\Utility\SpyderUtility.exe C:\Windows\system32\wuauclt.exe C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\wmpnscfg.exe C:\Users\Nadia\AppData\Local\Akamai\netsession_win.exe C:\Users\Nadia\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe C:\Users\Nadia\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe C:\Users\Nadia\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe C:\Users\Nadia\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe C:\Users\Nadia\Desktop\HijackThis.exe R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896 R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://facebook.com/ R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157 R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896 R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896 R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157 R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant = R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch = R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings,ProxyOverride = 127.0.0.1:9421;<local> R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar,LinksFolderName = R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - - (no file) O1 - Hosts: ::1 localhost O2 - BHO: AcroIEHelperStub - {18DF081C-E8AD-4283-A596-FA578C2EBDC3} - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelperShim.dll O2 - BHO: (no name) - {5C255C8A-E604-49b4-9D64-90988571CECB} - (no file) O2 - BHO: Java(tm) Plug-In SSV Helper - {761497BB-D6F0-462C-B6EB-D4DAF1D92D43} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre7\bin\ssv.dll O2 - BHO: Windows Live Sign-in Helper - {9030D464-4C02-4ABF-8ECC-5164760863C6} - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Live\WindowsLiveLogin.dll O2 - BHO: Java(tm) Plug-In 2 SSV Helper - {DBC80044-A445-435b-BC74-9C25C1C588A9} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre7\bin\jp2ssv.dll O2 - BHO: Hotspot Shield Class - {F9E4A054-E9B1-4BC3-83A3-76A1AE736170} - C:\Program Files\Hotspot Shield\HssIE\HssIE.dll (file missing) O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Windows Defender] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Defender\MSASCui.exe -hide O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Broadcom Wireless Manager UI] C:\Windows\system32\WLTRAY.exe O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [OEM02Mon.exe] C:\Windows\OEM02Mon.exe O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [VolPanel] "C:\Program Files\Creative\SBAudigy\Volume Panel\VolPanlu.exe" /r O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [UpdReg] C:\Windows\UpdReg.EXE O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AppleSyncNotifier] C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\AppleSyncNotifier.exe O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [APSDaemon] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple\Apple Application Support\APSDaemon.exe" O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SigmatelSysTrayApp] C:\Program Files\SigmaTel\C-Major Audio\WDM\sttray.exe O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AdobeAAMUpdater-1.0] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\OOBE\PDApp\UWA\UpdaterStartupUtility.exe" O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SwitchBoard] C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\SwitchBoard\SwitchBoard.exe O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AdobeCS6ServiceManager] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\CS6ServiceManager\CS6ServiceManager.exe" -launchedbylogin O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe Reader Speed Launcher] "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader\Reader_sl.exe" O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe ARM] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\ARM\1.0\AdobeARM.exe" O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:\Program Files\QuickTime\QTTask.exe" -atboottime O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SunJavaUpdateSched] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Java\Java Update\jusched.exe" O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [iTunesHelper] "C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe" O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AVG_UI] "C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG2013\avgui.exe" /TRAYONLY O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Ad-Aware Browsing Protection] "C:\ProgramData\Ad-Aware Browsing Protection\adawarebp.exe" O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Ad-Aware Antivirus] "C:\Program Files\Ad-Aware Antivirus\AdAwareLauncher" --windows-run O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SDTray] "C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy 2\SDTray.exe" O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Google Update] "C:\Users\Nadia\AppData\Local\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe" /c O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [ctfmon.exe] C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Akamai NetSession Interface] "C:\Users\Nadia\AppData\Local\Akamai\netsession_win.exe" O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [WMPNSCFG] C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\WMPNSCFG.exe O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Skype] "C:\Program Files\Skype\Phone\Skype.exe" /minimized /regrun O4 - Global Startup: Bluetooth.lnk = ? O4 - Global Startup: SpyderUtility.lnk = C:\Program Files\Datacolor\Spyder4Pro\Utility\SpyderUtility.exe O8 - Extra context menu item: Send image to &Bluetooth Device... - C:\Program Files\WIDCOMM\Bluetooth Software\btsendto_ie_ctx.htm O8 - Extra context menu item: Send page to &Bluetooth Device... - C:\Program Files\WIDCOMM\Bluetooth Software\btsendto_ie.htm O9 - Extra button: @btrez.dll,-4015 - {CCA281CA-C863-46ef-9331-5C8D4460577F} - C:\Program Files\WIDCOMM\Bluetooth Software\btsendto_ie.htm O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: @btrez.dll,-12650 - {CCA281CA-C863-46ef-9331-5C8D4460577F} - C:\Program Files\WIDCOMM\Bluetooth Software\btsendto_ie.htm O11 - Options group: [ACCELERATED_GRAPHICS] Accelerated graphics O15 - Trusted Zone: *.clonewarsadventures.com O15 - Trusted Zone: *.freerealms.com O15 - Trusted Zone: *.soe.com O15 - Trusted Zone: *.sony.com O16 - DPF: {80B626D6-BC34-4BCF-B5A1-7149E4FD9CFA} (UnoCtrl Class) - http://zone.msn.com/bingame/zpagames/GAME_UNO1.cab60096.cab O16 - DPF: {B8BE5E93-A60C-4D26-A2DC-220313175592} (MSN Games - Installer) - http://cdn2.zone.msn.com/binFramework/v10/ZPAFramework.cab102118.cab O16 - DPF: {D27CDB6E-AE6D-11CF-96B8-444553540000} (Shockwave Flash Object) - http://fpdownload2.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/swflash.cab O16 - DPF: {E2883E8F-472F-4FB0-9522-AC9BF37916A7} - http://platformdl.adobe.com/NOS/getPlusPlus/1.6/gp.cab O18 - Protocol: skype4com - {FFC8B962-9B40-4DFF-9458-1830C7DD7F5D} - C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\Skype\SKYPE4~1.DLL O20 - Winlogon Notify: SDWinLogon - SDWinLogon.dll (file missing) O22 - SharedTaskScheduler: Component Categories cache daemon - {8C7461EF-2B13-11d2-BE35-3078302C2030} - C:\Windows\system32\browseui.dll O23 - Service: Ad-Aware Service - Lavasoft Limited - C:\Program Files\Ad-Aware Antivirus\AdAwareService.exe O23 - Service: Adobe Flash Player Update Service (AdobeFlashPlayerUpdateSvc) - Adobe Systems Incorporated - C:\Windows\system32\Macromed\Flash\FlashPlayerUpdateService.exe O23 - Service: Apple Mobile Device - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\AppleMobileDeviceService.exe O23 - Service: AVGIDSAgent - AVG Technologies CZ, s.r.o. - C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG2013\avgidsagent.exe O23 - Service: AVG WatchDog (avgwd) - AVG Technologies CZ, s.r.o. - C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG2013\avgwdsvc.exe O23 - Service: Bonjour Service - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe O23 - Service: Creative Labs Licensing Service - Creative Labs - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Creative Labs Shared\Service\CreativeLicensing.exe O23 - Service: Creative Service for CDROM Access - Creative Technology Ltd - C:\Windows\system32\CTsvcCDA.exe O23 - Service: Hotspot Shield Service (hshld) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Hotspot Shield\bin\openvpnas.exe (file missing) O23 - Service: Hotspot Shield Routing Service (HssSrv) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Hotspot Shield\HssWPR\hsssrv.exe (file missing) O23 - Service: Hotspot Shield Tray Service (HssTrayService) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Hotspot Shield\bin\HssTrayService.EXE (file missing) O23 - Service: Hotspot Shield Monitoring Service (HssWd) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Hotspot Shield\bin\hsswd.exe (file missing) O23 - Service: iPod Service - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\iPod\bin\iPodService.exe O23 - Service: Mozilla Maintenance Service (MozillaMaintenance) - Mozilla Foundation - C:\Program Files\Mozilla Maintenance Service\maintenanceservice.exe O23 - Service: NVIDIA Display Driver Service (nvsvc) - NVIDIA Corporation - C:\Windows\system32\nvvsvc.exe O23 - Service: NVIDIA Update Service Daemon (nvUpdatusService) - NVIDIA Corporation - C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\NVIDIA Update Core\daemonu.exe O23 - Service: PnkBstrA - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\PnkBstrA.exe O23 - Service: Ad-Aware (SBAMSvc) - GFI Software - C:\Program Files\Ad-Aware Antivirus\SBAMSvc.exe O23 - Service: Spybot-S&D 2 Scanner Service (SDScannerService) - Safer-Networking Ltd. - C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy 2\SDFSSvc.exe O23 - Service: Spybot-S&D 2 Updating Service (SDUpdateService) - Safer-Networking Ltd. - C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy 2\SDUpdSvc.exe O23 - Service: Spybot-S&D 2 Security Center Service (SDWSCService) - Safer-Networking Ltd. - C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy 2\SDWSCSvc.exe O23 - Service: Skype Updater (SkypeUpdate) - Skype Technologies - C:\Program Files\Skype\Updater\Updater.exe O23 - Service: SigmaTel Audio Service (STacSV) - SigmaTel, Inc. - C:\Windows\system32\STacSV.exe O23 - Service: Steam Client Service - Valve Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Steam\SteamService.exe O23 - Service: NVIDIA Stereoscopic 3D Driver Service (Stereo Service) - NVIDIA Corporation - C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\3D Vision\nvSCPAPISvr.exe O23 - Service: Adobe SwitchBoard (SwitchBoard) - Adobe Systems Incorporated - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\SwitchBoard\SwitchBoard.exe O23 - Service: TeamViewer 7 (TeamViewer7) - TeamViewer GmbH - C:\Program Files\TeamViewer\Version7\TeamViewer_Service.exe O23 - Service: Dell Wireless WLAN Tray Service (wltrysvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\WLTRYSVC.EXE -- End of file - 10819 bytes
in the add/remove programs, uninstall the hotspot shield, restart the computer & rerun your anti-spyware\malware programs. had this 1 on a customer's computer last week. O2 - BHO: Hotspot Shield Class - {F9E4A054-E9B1-4BC3-83A3-76A1AE736170} - C:\Program Files\Hotspot Shield\HssIE\HssIE.dll (file missing) O23 - Service: Hotspot Shield Service (hshld) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Hotspot Shield\bin\openvpnas.exe (file missing) O23 - Service: Hotspot Shield Routing Service (HssSrv) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Hotspot Shield\HssWPR\hsssrv.exe (file missing) O23 - Service: Hotspot Shield Tray Service (HssTrayService) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Hotspot Shield\bin\HssTrayService.EXE (file missing) O23 - Service: Hotspot Shield Monitoring Service (HssWd) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Hotspot Shield\bin\hsswd.exe (file missing) check this link out. http://www.guardi.us/how-to-remove-findgala-malware/
I got the message saying: An error occurred while trying to uninstall Hotspot Shield. It may have already been uninstalled. Would you like to remove Hotspot Shield from the programs and featured list? Do I say yes and, do I remove the list you gave me manually? Thank you ddp for answering my post so quickly.
yes & don't do the manual remove until you restart the computer as that part of the list might be gone especially after you run spybot & malwarebytes again. i added a link to the bottom of my post above so have a read.
It worked! It's gone and when I search something, it goes to Google. Thank you so much ddp! You saved my computer
When you run HJT in Vista you must right click and run as administrator. That's why you get that message. @ddp, you did good
