# US official ?



## boman47k (Aug 25, 2006)

Why would a url have US official at the end of it?

When I try to log on with firefox, I have to enter letters to confirm I am the one trying to log on and not a robot. When I do, I get a page that says 'this page does not exis't. Yet I can go to 'Most visited' and get to the places I normally go ( I think). Appears to be anyway.

I scan with Norton and Malware. Everything shows to be clean, but it is not.

The reasonI have to enter the letters is because google detects an unusual amount of traffic coming from here.

Something embedded that these programs cannot get rid of?

Earlier I got a notice from Window Defender that I am infected and it offers to remove all threats, but I do not trust it to be the real Window Defender.

I think this the same it did when I first started noticing a problem. 

When I would click on it, it would try to sell me protection with Smart Engine. I can't seem to get rid of this Smart Engine.

I also get at the bottom of the 'this site cannot be checked due to MS server being down' or something to that effect.

About ready to do a complete restore.


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## poppameth (Oct 2, 2008)

Malwarebytes.org 
Download the free version, install, update and full scan. Remove what it finds.
SuperAntiSpyware.com
Download free portable version, update full scan, remove what it finds.
If that still doesn't work you can try combofix, also free. Basically you download and run it. Just let it do it's thing. It can cause some problems if you don't know what you are doing though so be prepared for data loss in a worse case scenario.


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

boman47k said:


> About ready to do a complete restore.


Sometimes, it's simply the fastest way to get rid of ALL virus/spyware activity because these idiots make them write themselves into the MBR (master boot record) and reinstalling windblows does nothing except waste your time.
In these cases, I made up a boot cd that allows me to boot straight to DOS and ( fdisk /mbr ) the hdd, then reformat.

DM


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## LarryCo (Jan 1, 2011)

boman47k said:


> When I try to log on with firefox, I have to enter letters to confirm I am the one trying to log on and not a robot. When I do, I get a page that says 'this page does not exis't.


Firefox is doing it's job, you apparently have a virus or malware of some sort. :yes:



boman47k said:


> I scan with Norton and Malware. Everything shows to be clean, but it is not.


That's because the virus or malware has done its job and convinced Norton and Malware everthing is okay. (It snuck in behind their protection and makes you think they're working.)

My best recommendation would be to either do a fresh install (not desirable if you don't have backups) or figure out what virus/malware you have. One way to know is to look at your processes (press Alt-Ctrl-Del) and do google searches on each of the processes. Takes some time but I'm betting you'll find out what's running that shouldn't be. Once you know what's running you can do searches on the offending process(es) and remove them.

Last thing, be very wary of any sites that offer to uninstall the offending program, most of them are directed at getting you pay to do it when you just keep looking for ways to remove it *manually*. :yes:

I am assuming you're running Windows, if not then disregard all I said.

Good luck.


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## injvstice (Oct 30, 2010)

Do you mean something.us? As in a us tld? That is perfectly valid, they are just not very popular. Whereas the rest of the world prefers to use .uk, .de, etc, us companies prefer the .com and .net tlds over the .us tld.

Google sometimes freaks out about valid queries as well, especially since adding that live search feature. I get the 'too many queries from your location' sometimes too, especially if I'm really working google hard. Network co ditions can also cause is, such as incomplete connections (stuck somewhere in the syn-ack handshake)

I do not claim everything is okay with your computer, but I think you have multiple issues... Some may be minor and beyond your control. It is also possible your target site is simply broken.

As for spyware and viruses, most companies provide free online virus checkers these days, I tend to use symantec and trend micro as backups. Consider running spybot s&d on your computers at all times, and use it to scan periodically.

Spyware doesn't usually install itself in mbr. It has to have a component inside the os otherwise something that only exists in the mbr area would not get launched. Mbr is an outdated trick of old viruses. It is pretty easy to hide a process or file either throu obscurity or through a root kit style Interception, no need to put stuff in the mbr.


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