Ie self connecting to internet


  #1  
Old 08-16-09, 08:45 PM
B
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: NE Conus
Posts: 491
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Ie self connecting to internet

This is a new one on me. Recently my desktop that is a platform for IE7.0 running XPsp2 has been self connecting to the internet and the IE MSN home page. I have run spybot, adaware, Norton anti-virus emptied all temp folder etc. with negative results, and it still plugs in. Sometimes it will return to the page while I am in the middle of something.

Any ideas?
 
  #2  
Old 08-17-09, 11:24 AM
R
Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 179
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Bob M
This is a new one on me. Recently my desktop that is a platform for IE7.0 running XPsp2 has been self connecting to the internet and the IE MSN home page. I have run spybot, adaware, Norton anti-virus emptied all temp folder etc. with negative results, and it still plugs in. Sometimes it will return to the page while I am in the middle of something.

Any ideas?
Ensure that you have done all IE7 updates from Microsoft.
Check your startup to see if there is a program that fires to intercept while you are using IE7.
 
  #3  
Old 08-23-09, 01:46 PM
P
Member
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: East of st. paul, mn in wi
Posts: 37
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Bob M
This is a new one on me. Recently my desktop that is a platform for IE7.0 running XPsp2 has been self connecting to the internet and the IE MSN home page. I have run spybot, adaware, Norton anti-virus emptied all temp folder etc. with negative results, and it still plugs in. Sometimes it will return to the page while I am in the middle of something.

Any ideas?
I don't understand. Auto connecting to the internet? This sounds almost like you are either using dial up, or you are getting pop ups. It's been so long since I have messed with anything to do with dial up that I would be a bit lost. But if it is some sort of pop up problem I advise you to format your hard drive, start fresh, be cautious as to what you install and after you are done with all that change all of your passwords to things on the internet that you deem important.
 
  #4  
Old 09-01-09, 07:21 PM
Tuneful's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Ohio
Posts: 20
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
There's not a single line of code in IE7 that would cause it to do that on it's own.

So you for sure need to do some exploring.

In order of difficulty:

Wait until the next time that happens, and fire up task manager and see what's running.

Go to run > msconfig > startup tab, and see what's set to startup when the machine boots.

In both cases, google whatever you're not sure of.

Next, you want to check your ad/remove program list to see if anything looks out of place there.
Again, google whatever you're not sure of.
You're particularly looking for catchy names like internet experience improver, or some such garbage. Installing spyware is now officially illegal, so some of the company's are adding it inside of seemingly innocuous programs like "free smiley" packages. Hidden inside is a trojan that dumps a rootkit or three on your computer, and is capable of completely owning your machine.

And finally, those trojans and rootkits can sometimes rely on a windows service.
You can find the list by going to run > type in services.msc and scan through the list to see if anything looks wrong.
If you're not familiar with the services, you can go to websites like BlackViper.com to see a reference list of what windows normally has there.
Google EVERYTHING that isn't a standard part of windows.


Oh, and it wouldn't hurt to scan for rootkits.
I recommend the rootkit revealer from sysinternals, which is free.
 
  #5  
Old 09-10-09, 03:58 PM
B
Member
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: USA
Posts: 58
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
IE starting up unexplainably.

I ran into something like this a number of years ago when I was still using dialup (although I don't think dialup had anything to do with it). I noticed every time I turned on my computer (yes, I was turning my computer on and off back then too) my internet connection would start up. It appeared to be related to a piece of "free" software I recently loaded called "My Database" a database development tool I acquired from a so-called free software company. Removed the software and the spontaneous connecting stopped. Have you loaded any new software recently? If you have, you might try removing it, although if it's truly spyware it will probably leave hidden remnants behind. Just in case, you might try experimenting with a different browser like Firefox. If it still happens you can eliminate IE as the problem.
 
  #6  
Old 09-11-09, 11:20 AM
T
Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: WA
Posts: 148
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
It could be a number of things, from software for a printer, to something accidentally put in your start up folder. Is your homepage not the MSN homepage?
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: