IE 6 won't browse after running Spybot

Our version is 1.3; this from the "HELP" file of Spybot S&D ...

Recovery Spybot-S&D
The recovery section is available by selecting Recovery from the Spybot-S&D section in the toolbar to the left.

This section also has a movable toolbar similar to the one in the Search & Destroy section.

If you have fixed some spyware problems in the past, this list will show it. Here you can select one or more problems (see also the context menu for extended selection options) and either recover them, or purge them permanently from your system.
 
 
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Immunize Search & Destroy
Beginning from version 1.2, Spybot-S&D allows you to immunize your computer against some spyware. It currently offers three different immunities:

Permanent Internet Explorer immunity

Similar to JavaCools SpywareBlaster, this allows you to tweak some internal Internet Explorer settings to block the installation of known spyware (and similar threats) installers. Spybot-S&D is able to set all entries for those that are in its database to be blocked. If you want to distinguish, you should install SpywareBlaster.

Permanently running bad download blocker for Internet Explorer

This is a second layer of protection for IE. While the Permanent Immunity blocks installers by their ActiveX ID, this one blocks anything that should come through by different aspects.
You can view a log of blocked installers in the Tools / Resident section.

Permanent Opera immunity

This list shows all Opera profiles, and how many of the plugins that Spybot-S&D knows as bad are already blocked in each profile. To set the complete protection, just tick the checkbox in front of the profile you want to protect. To remove the protection, untick the checkbox.

Not many browser plugins are currently working for Opera, but the try to install some may crash Opera, and ActiveX support for Opera is available in third-party beta software, so use this function as a pre-caution against future misuse of Opera through spyware.
 
 
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Also highly recommend using the HELP of SpybotS&D, especially expanding the HELP section under tools; many analytical and integral items there.

Asta

Also check the HOSTS file, more in the HELP section of SpybotS&D as well; but often problems can be resolved merely by renaming it oldhosts, and rebooting; trying again.  Also, as usual, clearing cache and autocomplete items as well as history items help.  

If problem persists, please post some sample links.  There are other possibilities and software items that may help, if hijacked so HijackThis log may show us more detail of problems.  Here's a general Spyware/Malware link that is informative and helpful....  Includes helpful tools like CWShredder, HijackThis and many more...

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Web/Browser_Issues/Q_20975384.html

Off to work, good luck.  Will check when I can on your progress.

Asta

It sounds as though you're helping someone and no direct access to the system; here's the download link for SpybotS&D (home) and may help you further in terms of downloading/testing and/or whatever else may be needed to help your client offline.  Additional help files and links from that source.
http://www.safer-networking.org/

Also from Spybot S&D Help that "may" be applicable ...
LSP, Layered Service Provider Dictionary
A Layered Service Provider is a system driver linked deep into the networking services of Windows. It has access to every data entering and leaving the computer, as was as the ability to modify this data. A few such LSPs are necessary to allow Windows to connect you to other computers, including the Internet. But Spyware may also install itself as an LSP, thus having access to all the data you transmit. LSP are currently used by CommonName, New.Net, NewtonKnows and webHancer.
 
 


Winsock LSPs Tools
Spybot-S&D is able to display a list of installed network drivers as a reference for professionals, and allows this list to be exported for future reference.

New feature added in version 1.3: entries that have changed since the last snapshot (the first has been created the first time you started Spybot-S&D for the first time, later on you can create snapshots by right-clicking the list and selecting the corresponding menu item) are displayed in bold letters. This allows you to see changes to the list at once.
 
 

There may also be Windows Log Files to further help trace/analyze the problem ... Perhaps within the OS, the DNS needs to be flushed ... many other possibilities come to mind.

Back to work.

Refined,
Will you please post a log file here if you have access to the HiJackThis program?
If you are running XP have you attemtped to perform a system restore to a date prior to the Spybot activiation?
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/getstarted/ballew_03may19.mspx
David

Perhaps using the Recovery process, if above proves not to help.. More here
Some of my internet programs stopped to work. What should I do? FAQ #003
If you remove a spy, the application that has installed it may notice this and refuse to work any longer. Spybot-S&D is able to replace a few spies with harmless dummies; but where that is not possible, I recommend to either search for a good alternative that comes without spy- or adware, or using the recovery option in Spybot-S&D to restore the spy. In the later case, you can do it step by step, until you found the files that are absolutely necessary for the spy, and at least keep some files from your system, like the data saved about you.  

Other spyware programs find spies in Sypbot-S&D's directory! FAQ #004
Please look at the path where such a program found the spyware. As Spybot-S&D has no spyware integrated, this must be a false alarm.

The reason for such a false alarm is simple: Spybot-S&D saves backups of the problems you have fixed; to make it possible to recover them in case something stops working after the fix.

If the file found is in the Recovery directory inside the Spybot-S&D directory, it is such a backup. It is no longer of any harm there, as the file won't be found and loaded from there. But once you are sure you don't need the backup, go to the Recovery section inside Spybot-S&D and purge that files.

You may also upgrade to Spybot-S&D version 0.95 or newer; these versions compress the recovery files into zip archives, thus avoiding other spyware applications will give false alarms.
 
 
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The integrated update is not working. Are there any solutions for this? FAQ #010
The main reason for this problem is that you need to use a proxy server to access the internet. In that case, the proxy server is already set up in your browser, where you can look up it's settings and enter them into Spybot-S&D.

In Mozilla, you can find the Proxy settings if you open the Edit menu, choose Settings... at the bottom, and navigate to the section Advanced - Proxies.
In Internet Explorer, see the Menu Extras - Internet options, go to the tab Connections and click the Settings button at the bottom.

Back inside Spybot-S&D you need to go to the settings page, and scroll down to the entry Automation - Web update - Use proxy. Now check the box below it, and a dialog will appear where you can enter your proxy settings.
The format is host:port (the host is the name, the port the number you found in your browser). If you need to access your proxy using a login, you can use the format username:password@host:port.
 
 
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More about the HOSTS file
http://accs-net.com/hosts/faq.html#19
 

You may need to have your winsock files repaired.
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/winsock.htm

I know that if you remove some spyware, that it may damage the winsock.  So try repairing it and reboot the machine and see what happens.

Let us know how it goes.

Download IE 6. Uninstall IE 6.

restart in safemode and install IE6.

Restart in normal mode and you should be fine.

Well Uninstalling IE6 if you are running windows XP (what OS are you running) IE6 is part of Explorer as well...Reinstalling IE6 may resolve some problems, but if it is due to a hijacked browser, via Spyware etc....it may fix it temporarily, untill the spyware has been opened up again....So I suggest scanning and removing spyware and viruses....After doing all that....run the winsock repair.

Because it really sounds like a winsock problem and a hijacked browser.

CWShredder will also repair your IE6.  and so you may not have to uninstall IE6 and reinstall.

You can find cwshredder and hijackthis here:
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html

Here are some of the things you can do:

1. Have you tried restoring to a previous date. If your windows restore has not been active, try using GoBack software to do it for you.

www.roxio.com/goback

2. To remove IE safely from your machine use IERadiator. it can safely remove IE from certain versions of Windows, then it cleans up after itself! After that, you can then install any other standalone version of IE on your PC.
http://litepc.com/ieradicator.html

If you are using Windows XP or 2000 do not use IERadiator then.

3. In Safemode use your windows installation CD to reinstall windows without using format.

4. Check this link, it applies to IE5, but it may work for IE6 as well:
http://www.netmag.co.uk/tips/default.asp?pagetypeid=2&articleid=9533&subsectionid=518&subsubsectionid=238

5. How to uninstall IE6 from Microsoft Knowledge Base
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q293907

"How to Repair or Return to Previous Internet Explorer Installation
If the Internet Explorer Repair Tool Verification does not work, or if Internet Explorer 5 is not listed in the Add/Remove Programs tool in Control Panel, you may be able to start the Internet Explorer Repair tool from a command prompt. To do so, click Start, click Run, and then in the Open box, type ..." Click the link for more....

6. Internet Explorer 6.01 SP1 Patches
http://www.petri.co.il/ie_60_sp1_patches.htm

7. Open an MS-DOS prompt and type the following hitting enter after each line:

regsvr32 Shdocvw.dll
regsvr32 Shell32.dll
regsvr32 Oleaut32.dll
regsvr32 Actxprxy.dll
regsvr32 Mshtml.dll
regsvr32 Urlmon.dll

Reboot your machine.

8. Check this post for tips:
http://www.experts-exchange.com/Applications/Viruses/Q_20989045.html

I hope this helps out.

Write me back.

Thanks,

Iz.

Here is another solution that might help you out:

Repair or Reinstall Internet Explorer6 and Outlook Express 6
According to Microsoft, if you are having trouble with either Internet Explorer 6 or Outlook Express 6 because of damaged files or missing registration information (XP registration trouble, not your name and address) you will need to either reinstall or repair the affected installation. I'm going to go over two ways that Microsoft suggests for dealing with IE6 and OE6 problems. Read over the entire article before making a decision about which method to use. At the end of Method II I've mentioned what I'd consider the best solution to this problem.


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Method I
One likely cause of IE6 and OE6 not functioning properly is a corrupted file. Microsoft says this is the "most" likely cause, but I think that's wishful thinking. To run a check on the files and see if one or more is corrupted use the System File Checker that is included with Windows XP.

Click [Start] [Run] and type sfc /scannow in the [Open] box.
(Note that there is a space between sfc and /scannow)

In all likelihood you will be prompted to insert the Windows XP CD ROM. If you don't have it available there is no point in continuing unless you have the files available on your hard drive and have changed the location of the XP installation files in the registry. If you do have the files copied to the hard drive, the default install location may be modified using the registry edit shown below.

[Start] [Run] [Regedit]
Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup
Modify/Create the Value Data Type(s) and Value Name(s) as detailed below.
Data Type: REG_SZ (String Value) // Value Name: SourcePath
Setting for Value Data: [Set using the path to the installation files, i.e. G:\WXPCCP_EN]
Exit Registry and Reboot

Running System File Checker is not a fast process. The machine I use for the majority of my everyday work is only a P-III 866 with 784MB RAM and a 20GB/5400 RPM C drive and it took between 7-8 minutes running off the hard drive. Expect much longer times if you run from the CD. Once the System File Checker has finished, reboot and test to see if the problem has been resolved. If the problem still exists you have three choices.

In-place upgrade of Windows XP

Repair Windows XP

Reinstall Windows XP
 

Since I'm 100% against upgrade installations of XP I won't recommend that option. A repair of Windows XP may solve the problem, but the fact the problem arose in the first place makes me suspect of the current installations overall integrity. I suggest a complete reinstall of XP after backing up all data files. However, before you select any of the above choices, look at Method II below.


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Method II
The second method to try and correct the problem involves editing the registry and reinstalling Internet Explorer 6. The standard cautions apply whenever you are editing the registry. If you need help on how to backup the registry, click here.

If you are having problems only with Internet Explorer 6, proceed as follows:

[Start] [Run] [Regedit]
Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\{89820200-ECBD-11cf-8B85-00AA005B4383}
Modify/Create the Value Data Type(s) and Value Name(s) as detailed below.
Data Type: DWORD // Value Name: IsInstalled
Setting for Value Data: [Change the Value from 1 to 0]
Exit Registry

If you are having problems only with Outlook Express 6, proceed as follows:

[Start] [Run] [Regedit]
Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\{44BBA848-CC51-11CF-AAFA-00AA00B6015C}
Modify/Create the Value Data Type(s) and Value Name(s) as detailed below.
Data Type: DWORD // Value Name: IsInstalled
Setting for Value Data: [Change the Value from 1 to 0]
Exit Registry

If you are having problems with both Internet Explorer 6 and Outlook Express 6, proceed as follows:

Change the values in both of the registry keys as outlined above.
Exit Registry

Once you have made the appropriate registry changes use the link below to download and install Internet Explorer 6. The Internet Explorer 6 download includes Outlook Express 6. Reboot and test for proper operation.

or check out http://www.theeldergeek.com/repair_reinstall_ie_and_oe_6.htm

Thanks

Another possible solution to your situation:

http://www.theeldergeek.com/repair_ie6.htm

Finally Here is a site that will help you even more... Sorry for all the posts, but I will be glad to help you solve this as I like to know what is causing it.

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_ie.htm

You may also want to run hijackthis, and post your log file here...and maybe there is something still running on it that may be causing your problem still.  IE6, or any version of IE, can and is capable of being taken over and hijacked and damaged by spyware and viruses.  Again posting your log file will help us figure out if that is what is happening.

also if you could tell us some of the things you have tried above and if anything has changed etc.  It will help us find out which direction you need to take to get this problem licked.