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What is wrong with my computer? VIRUS???

I've suddenly been getting a strange redirect when I visit certain sites (mostly google and yahoo searches cause this). I'll click on the link (often times a search result, but sometimes it's just google.com or yahoo.com) and it thinks and thinks and thinks then finally redirects me to a url containing ztomy.com. I have not downloaded anything for at least the past month, so I don't know where this could have come from!

I don't know what it is either, but I've done some research (on a different computer since my laptop seems to be useless for surfing now) and it seems like this might be some kind of malware. I can't find any fixes for it, though. I tried repairing permission, rebooting my computer and I've run ClamXav. None of these things have fixed it, so I don't know what to do next.

Please help! I thought Macs weren't supposed to get these problems! D:

Message was edited by: LHitchcock

Message was edited by: LHitchcock

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on May 6, 2009 12:19 PM

Reply
6 replies

May 6, 2009 12:26 PM in response to JuneBerry

Somewhere along the lines, it sounds like you installed a Trojan. One of the most common at this point is from visiting an adult web site. It tells you that you need to install a "codec" in order to view a video you clicked on. When you're really installing is a Trojan that allows redirects of your browser.

The other of late is pirated copies of iWorks from torrent sites and other P2P downloads. These copies have a Trojan stuck in them.

May 6, 2009 12:48 PM in response to JuneBerry

See if you might have this malware redirecting DNS queries...

http://macmegasite.com/node/3924

How to fix...

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20071031114140862

Nasty Nasty ! 1023.dmg...

http://x704.net/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=2178

http://www.dnschanger.com/

Try putting these numbers in Network>TCP/IP>DNS Servers for the Interface you're using...

208.67.222.222
208.67.220.220

Then Apply. These are safer/faster than most ISP's DNS numbers, and have been patched against DNS poisoning.

https://www.opendns.com/homenetwork/start/device/apple-osx-tiger

May 6, 2009 12:55 PM in response to JuneBerry

If it is a trojan, though, how do I get rid of it?


That was just my first impression. Does anyone else have access to the computer who might have installed something without your knowledge?

www.ztomy.com is one of various sites that pops up when the URL you enter doesn't (or thinks it doesn't) lead anywhere. Obviously, www.google.com or www.yahoo.com should not cause such a redirect.

First try something simple. Open Safari's preferences and click on the Security tab. Click "Show Cookies" and click the "Remove all" button. Close the preferences and immediately close Safari. Relaunch Safari and try a few locations. Note that when you come back here, you'll have to enter your user id name and password to get back in since those will disappear with the cookies. So make sure you know them before canning the cookies.

If that doesn't help, you could try resetting Safari. With Safari in the foreground, choose Safari > Reset Safari from the menu bar at the top of the screen. In Leopard, it gives you all kinds of check boxes to let you choose what to reset. I don't remember how Tiger behaves. But reset all and try accessing sites once again.

What is wrong with my computer? VIRUS???

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