This is me begging for some computer help. A week or so ago I attempted to download a Firefox update and a program called Furl which is a sort of personal article archiving program. Neither was successful. Since then, my machine has been acting odd and two days ago I started having difficulty seeing some Google ads, getting onto Google and other sites.
I can't get on Google at all, now, as well as other sites. I can't figure out why some sites load immediately and others not at all. Do I have a virus? Can I fix this without reinstalling the OS?
Any help would be appreciated.
Several things might have happened:
1. You were hit with something before the Furl and Firefox download.
2. Did you download the above two from the "approved place" by typing in the link yourself?
I can't think of how damage to a Firefox installation would cause this. Can you still use Internet Explorer?
See if you can even get to Norton's site -- and maybe a few other antivirus and spyware sites. They're usually the first to be blocked, to prevent removal.
You might try getting a package like Norton Utilities to see if it will fix it. Other than that, you have three options:
1. Take the machine to someone to fix it. I don't even know how I fix mine -- there's no way I could help you over the internet.
2. Get what you can off the computer and then re-install the OS. There's something to be said for Linux, namely that most worm and virus writers can't be bothered writing for such a small market!
3. Throw the computer out and get a new one. You'd be amazed at how many people do that.
I hope this helps. E-mail me if there's anything else I can do.
Posted by: Rob | August 03, 2005 at 08:22 AM
Also, check your HOSTS file to see if it has been changed to prevent you from reaching certain sites.
What you download from Furl should just be javascript shortcuts that you add to a toolbar or favorites menu in your browser. Try deleting the shortcuts and see if things change.
Posted by: Stewart | August 03, 2005 at 08:36 AM
Thanks, guys.
I sent each of you emails to ask a few questions.
Posted by: Daniel | August 03, 2005 at 08:48 AM
This is not going to be technically helpful. I just want you to feel not alone in your frustration. Despite the acclaim for firefox (60 million downloads, but how many users?), I have had a similar problem with Robobform. Somehow or other it has fouled up the brower. I just swithed back to explorer which can be used with tabs based on a recent release from MSN. Regarding Furl, it was supported on firefox, then taken off and now appears to be back again with problems.
Charlie
Posted by: Charlie | August 03, 2005 at 11:31 AM
When I get a hangup from a Firefox extension, I go to "tools/extensions" on the navagation toolbar and then highlight and get rid of the extension I just downloaded. All you need to do then is restart Firefox and you should be back where you were.
Posted by: lindybill | August 03, 2005 at 01:58 PM
Yeah, I tried that. No luck.
Posted by: Daniel | August 03, 2005 at 02:09 PM
Try deleting Firefox and reinstalling it from a fresh download, including preferences, extensions, and all the bits of software it leaves around your computer. First export your bookmarks and save that file, if like me you have a huge carefully organized list.
Posted by: Yehudit | August 03, 2005 at 02:42 PM
Hopefully this is redundant because someone else has already mentioned it to you offline:
Have you run any kind of anti-spyware utilities since the odd behavior started?
Posted by: Jack | August 05, 2005 at 09:08 PM
Jack,
Yeah, I did run the spyware with no luck, either. However, I ran a OS "scan" using the installation disc (which didn't require uninstalling the OS) and that cleared everything up.
Posted by: Daniel | August 06, 2005 at 10:25 AM