help me get rid of hxxp://urlseek20.vmn.net

Hi. Sorry for the delay, I hate when work gets in the way! Here is the Toolbar S&D log. BTW I had removed AVG during the cleaning process and have reinstalled it. I did everything else in your list with the exception of the most up to date Acro Reader. I'll do that next.


-----------\\ ToolBar S&D 1.2.8 XP/Vista

Microsoft Windows XP Professional ( v5.1.2600 ) Service Pack 3
X86-based PC ( Uniprocessor Free : Intel(R) Pentium(R) M processor 2.00GHz )
BIOS : PhoenixBIOS 4.0 Release 6.1
USER : jmayr ( Administrator )
BOOT : Normal boot
Antivirus : AVG Anti-Virus Free 8.5 (Not Activated)
C:\ (Local Disk) - NTFS - Total:44 Go (Free:22 Go)
D:\ (Local Disk) - NTFS - Total:45 Go (Free:24 Go)
E:\ (CD or DVD)

"C:\ToolBar SD" ( MAJ : 21-12-2008|20:47 )
Option : [1] ( 02/06/2009|20:04 )

-----------\\ Searching for Files - Folders ...


-----------\\ Extensions

(Admin) - {0538E3E3-7E9B-4d49-8831-A227C80A7AD3} => forecastfox


-----------\\ [..\Internet Explorer\Main]

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main]
"Local Page"="C:\\WINDOWS\\system32\\blank.htm"
"Start Page"="http://www.clpnbc.org/"
"Search Page"="http://home.microsoft.com/access/allinone.asp"
"Search Bar"="http://home.microsoft.com/search/lobby/search.asp"
"SearchMigratedDefaultURL"="http://search.live.com/results.aspx?q={searchTerms}&src={referrer:source?}"
"Url"="http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=68928"
"Url"="http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=68929"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main]
"Default_Page_URL"="http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157"
"Default_Search_URL"="http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896"
"Search Page"="http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896"
"Start Page"="http://www.msn.com/"


--------------------\\ Searching for other infections


No other infections found !


1 - "C:\ToolBar SD\TB_1.txt" - 23/05/2009|18:28 - Option : [1]
2 - "C:\ToolBar SD\TB_2.txt" - 24/05/2009| 8:46 - Option : [2]
3 - "C:\ToolBar SD\TB_3.txt" - 24/05/2009| 8:57 - Option : [2]
4 - "C:\ToolBar SD\TB_4.txt" - 02/06/2009|20:05 - Option : [1]

-----------\\ Scan completed at 20:05:52.37

jm_1500,
----------------------------------------------------------
Remove Program Entry with CCleaner
Open CCleaner. In the Left Pane, click Tools. Verify that Uninstall is highlighted in color, or click on it.
Click and Highlight the Following Program, and click the Delete Entry button.

Search Settings 1.2.1

-----------------------------------------------------------
Reset System Restore Points

• Click Start > Help and Support
• Click on ->Undo changes to your computer with System Restore.
• Click Create A Restore Point then click Next. Give it a name it and then click Create, then Close.
• Close Help and Support Center.
• Click Start | Run and type Cleanmgr
• Select (C: ) then click OK.
• Click the More Options tab.
• Click Clean Up in the System Restore Section.

This will remove all previous restore points except the newly created one.
This System Restore sequence is not to be done regularly, but only as a Special Case after the removal of malware.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Copy/Paste/Run a Registry Edit
Copy/paste the following quote box into a new notepad document:

REGEDIT4



[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]

"SearchSettings"=-



[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{E312764E-7706-43F1-8DAB-FCDD2B1E416D}]

Make sure there are NO blank lines before REGEDIT4
Make sure there IS one blank line at the end of the file.

Save it as File Type All Files (not as a Text document, or it won't work).
Save it to your Desktop as fixme.reg
Double click fixme.reg on your Desktop, and merge it into the registry when asked.
Reboot Windows.
-----------------------------------------------------------
As far as I can see, your machine looks OK.
Be sure to download and install the new version of Adobe Reader.
You can keep Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, update it and scan every week or two. The paid version updates itself and has an active guard.

Let me know if you need any additional help.
askey127

One more question Askey 127

Thanks for your guys' help. I did all the steps and am confident that my machine is clean. I see the advertisements, like the one above for kaspersky, that say buy from here and support the site. I'm OK with that, but would ask if you recommend one product over another? I've used AVG for some time and it's been pretty good ( I guess that buy virtue that I am here, one might question how good it really is... ;-) so my question really is... is there a link from which I can make a straight donation to the excellent work you 'guys' do? Rather than getting 4 bucks off a sale, can I just donate all of what I might pay for an antivirus program to your site and continue with AVG?

Please let me know.

jm_1500,
These are my personal opinions only, since you asked:
Malwarebytes AntiMalware is likely the best anti-spyware program available. This type of program targets different infections than an antivirus. The paid version is very inexpensive for a "forever" license. It can be used in conjunction with any antivirus. It is extremely good at removing the difficult infections it targets.

The Antivirus picture is not as clear. Most available Antivirus programs are competent. McAfee and Norton have historically used more computer resources than most others, and are difficult to remove. The forum helpers I have noticed are inclined to use Kaspersky, Avira, Avast, and Eset.
AVG lost a bit af favor when it started installing a toolbar and stopped offering useful log results.
Only One antivirus should be installed on any machine.

If you would like to directly help this site, there is a Support Us button at the top of the page.
Any help is much appreciated.
askey

As this issue appears to be resolved,