Internet Explorer connection issues...

[beppodmime]

I'm having some problems with my Internet explorer. I ended up inadvertantly installing some spyware, and used AdAware to remove it. Well, ever since then, nothing I do, even re-installing the Spyware, will get IE to connect to the internet. I disabled BHO's, tried playing around with the connection settings (Used to be cable, is now DSL, neither worked).

Now, I've already switched to Mozilla, but Windows Update and MSN messenger DEMAND! that IE be used, so I need this stuff to work. I've tried removing IE and re-installing IE6 SP1, which I downloaded from MS's website, but it tells me there's a newer version on the computer. I am at a loss. How can I uninstall Internet Explorer? Apparently, Add/Remove programs, Windows Setup does not ACTUALLY remove it from your system, and does little more than remove the icons from the desktop. Does anyone know how I can remove and re-install Internet Explorer, without formatting the Hard Drive?

[Bill in SD, CA]

Have you tried to repair IE?

Add remove programs click internet explorer and it should bring up the option to either unistall it or repair.

Choose > repair.

HTH,

Bill

[Bill in SD, CA]

BTW, what is the spyware? That may help in the diagnosis.

What OS?

Bill

[Droppyale]

Did you check your Lan settings on the internet explorer options/conenction tab?

Sometimes these spywares add a proxy server.

make sure the box for the proxy server is unchecked.

and check automatically detect settings.


then try to browse.

[beppodmime]

Thanks for the tip, Bill and Droppyale.

Running XP Pro currently, as for which spyware it was, I believe CommonName screwed everything up. I'll check Add/Remove programs right now for a repair option, or some other way to revert it to default settings.

I just checked the Proxy settings, and there's no check in that particular box. Weird thing, is last night, it worked, but when I re-booted it stopped working. I absolutely hate spyware. Next time I'll have to be more careful, I suppose.

[Bill in SD, CA]

Maybe this will help:

CommonName

Bill

[beppodmime]

Well, it seems CommonName has been completely removed, as there are no files on my system with that name, and the Add/Remove programs listing is not there. I tried once again to remove IE through the Windows Setup option in Add/Remove programs, but that didn't work either. When it was briefly working the other night, I managed to do a windows update, so my system is current, but since I first closed that browser window, I cannot get IE to connect again. I think i'm just going to have to re-format and re-install, since the uninstall of IE does literally nothing more than remove the icons from the desktop. It doesn't actually remove the program from the computer. If I try to check my hotmail account through messenger, instead of opening a Mozilla window (my default browser) it opens an IE window, even though Windows has supposedly removed IE.

And of course I can't update through Microsofts website, as my version is newer than the version available for download.

So, unless anyone has another trick I can try to reset my IE settings, I guess formatting is really my only option.

[TOAD6147]

Have you tried the "repair" option Bill suggested? And believe me when I say Ad-Aware can not do it all by itself. Some of things can even hide from that great program. It took me almost a whole day to repair the damage my daughter did to her computer via spyware and I had to use several programs to do it. I ran scan after scan and every time I rebooted they would come back.

[beppodmime]

Well, I'm not finding a "repair" option anywhere for IE. I checked in Internet Properties, and also in Add/Remove programs. I also ran Spybot along with AdAware, and Spybot did find a couple of items that AdAware did not, but even after the removal of those items, I still have no Internet Explorer. I'll hunt for the repair option some more, and I'll search Microsofts KB, but an initial search turned up zilch.

[big_buick]

i dont run xp , but in the versions i have used the repair option pops up after you choose remove, it will say remove or repair are you sure..with XP you may want to wait for verification though on my suggestion