Browser Failure?

[Fish and Chips]

So sometime yesterday my browser decided to randomly stop loading certain websites. As of this morning, it seems to be encroaching onto other websites, including a few I attempted to reach with a solution to the problem, and others that worked fine until just now.

This could be a Trojan Horse since I know their are a few floating around the campus wireless (our tech support is staffed by only the most Highly Competent People), or just Firefox acting wonky. Any tips on what to do next?

[blkmage]

Try to reproduce the problem with other browsers. Also see if there's anything that the websites under consideration have in common: if they're all loading Flash or some other plugin or something.

Also, don't put in strange floppy disks into your computer.

[Mithrandir]

To help troubleshoot:

1) If any other browser gives you the same issue, it's either your computer or the network.

2) If you can connect from somewhere ELSE, but not form the WIFI, it's probably a network issue.

3) If your computer has these problems from everywhere with every browser, it's a trojan/virus/root kit; backup only the most important data and blast the drive (reformat).

[Fish and Chips]

1) If any other browser gives you the same issue, it's either your computer or the network.

Unfortunately, Google died on me just now, as did every other search engine I can think of to use to actually reach a place and download a new browser. Also, inexplicably, my sound is gone.

Frankly, I'm surprised I can still post on CAA.

EDIT No. 1: Google seems testy, works off and on. I'll see if I can't try Opera or something.

EDIT No. 2: Google works, nothing it links to does.

2) If you can connect from somewhere ELSE, but not form the WIFI, it's probably a network issue.

My roommate can apparently get to a few of the sites I can't with no problems, though I haven't tested them all.[quote="Mithrandir (post: 1357642)"]3) If your computer has these problems from everywhere with every browser, it's a trojan/virus/root kit]This is looking more and more like the culprit. What is this, the fifth time now I've had to wipe my drive?

Guess I'll do this tomorrow after I get home for Thanksgiving.

[Mithrandir]

What is this, the fifth time now I've had to wipe my drive?

Please don't take this wrong, but you may want to give some serious consideration to your computing habits.

Frankly, if *I* picked up something nasty after every re-install, I would assume something I'm doing is causing it (copying applications during an install is a sure-fire way to propagate, for example), or that some install media is bad. And by bad I mean REALLY bad. Remember, it's entirely possible for a root-kit to be completely undetected by any virus program that can possibly be created. If it gets hooks into the kernel, then it can easily hide from the OS - that makes it [b]impossible[/i] for off-the-shelf (including free/open source) scanners to find it.

Maybe it would be a good idea for me to put together a full security guide for people on the internet. I've been meaning to do something similar, but never ended up doing it. >.> Curse you work and having to eat every day! *shakes fist*

[Fish and Chips]

So this is really weird.

After force shutting down my laptop, everything is suddenly and magically better. I'm not optimistic enough to think this solves the problem forever, but for the time being, this ship seems fixed.

Please don't take this wrong, but you may want to give some serious consideration to your computing habits.

Frankly, if *I* picked up something nasty after every re-install, I would assume something I'm doing is causing it (copying applications during an install is a sure-fire way to propagate, for example), or that some install media is bad. And by bad I mean REALLY bad. Remember, it's entirely possible for a root-kit to be completely undetected by any virus program that can possibly be created. If it gets hooks into the kernel, then it can easily hide from the OS - that makes it [b]impossible[/i] for off-the-shelf (including free/open source) scanners to find it.

The only problem here is that I recently had my computer repaired to the point where it was almost entirely rebuilt from scratch. They might as well have mailed me a brand new computer, fresh out of the box. And it still came down with something.

However, checking my anti-virus, the stuff it's picking up is the same stuff that ran amok on my computer the first time it came down with something, before I had ever restarted it. Common consensus is that there is something malicious floating around on the campus wireless that just nobody bothers to deal with. After this semester I was planning on wiping my drive one last time just to keep it from spreading off campus.

[Mithrandir]

Common consensus is that there is something malicious floating around on the campus wireless that just nobody bothers to deal with.

The only way this could happen is if most of the computers on the network were infected with the same virus/whatever. That's possible, I guess. Unless your campus IT group actually reformatted EVERY box on the network, I'm not sure what they could do about it.

Here are a few things you may want to make sure of when you rebuild your machine:
* You're up to date with all your windows security patches.
* You have the windows firewall turned on.
* You don't *ever* get applications off bittorrent or other p2p sites.
* You don't download apps off the 'net unless a security expert is sure they're reputable applications from a reliable source.

That's a partial list, but it's the traditional low-hanging fruit.