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shazzap
24-Jan-11, 14:25
You know when you right click on a site and add that site as a FAVORITE, well, after it is saved and you view it in the favorites bar. Most of these sites will have a little colored icon next to the favorite. It could be a letter or maybe a symbol... something unique to that site. Some sites, when you save them, will just have your standard blue IE icon.
Some of mine keep changing randomly to what ever they like. I delete them and the go to the web site and save it again, but this does not fix it. Any ideas please. I use IE8 on windows 7 .

Beat Bug
24-Jan-11, 17:22
No idea! But so long as you have the right description, does it matter what the icon is?

charlie
24-Jan-11, 17:29
shazzap,

Those wee pictures are called favicons.

Try deleting your browser cache.

In the browser click TOOLS - Delete Browsing History - but "untick" the top box marked Preserve Favourites Website Data before u run the cleanup.

That might do the trick when you go and resave your favorites.

shazzap
24-Jan-11, 17:41
Thank you Charlie. :) They came back again on their own accord, but i have unticked the box you said any way. Hope this stops it happening again. FAVICONS learned something new today.:D

dx100uk
24-Jan-11, 19:13
it will also be down to 'HOW' [the route] you got to finding the site in the first place
search engine, email link etc etc.

if these routes change, so will the icon.

it is always best only to save to favs when your address bar just say only the websites true address
i'e http://www.bbc.co.uk

resetting ie8 to defaults might be the answer also.

have your made sure you are not also infected with the likes of 'mywebsearch'

thats will disable certain set things so you cannot find/use them as your defaults.

combofix.exe downloaded using another PC on to a penstick
and then taken and run on the suspect pc might well help too.

dx

shazzap
24-Jan-11, 19:22
Thank you dx100uk
Wouldn't my virus protection and malwarebytes pick this up. What is mywebsearch.
Also what is combofix.exe and why the need to download it to another source.

dx100uk
24-Jan-11, 21:24
Thank you dx100uk
Wouldn't my virus protection and malwarebytes pick this up.

if its the full paid for malwarebytes and its set to actively scan all files it should. as for the anti virus - thats virus protection not mywebsearch or the spoof anti virus progs that get thru.

What is mywebsearch.

browser hi-jacker that can be installed via activeX, java script hidden on a website or a picture or a doc or ANYFILE.

Also what is combofix.exe and why the need to download it to another source.

combofix is a specific cleaner for spoof anti-virus progs & browser hi-jacker

why down load it from another source....

well think about what a trojan does - it attaches itself to programs or 'things' that commonly run on your PC.
so if you download using the same pc, you also infect the download you are getting, because it comes through your internet browser, and your internet could already be compromised by the brower hi-jacker

lets put it another way.....

find some pictures on one of your drives
list them in say my computer.

i bet they say:

picture1
picture2
picture3

or do some say

picture1.jpg

in the same list

or do they all say pictureXX.jpg

did you know that you can have:

picture1.jpg.exe

thats a trojan

but if you've not got my computer set right

tools
folder options
view
show extensions

it will just show as
picture1.jpg

pop up on the internet
oh i like that picture

i'll save that picture

bingo...you've got a trojan
you click on it in your picture program
up comes the pretty picture
and also there gets installed a trojan.

anyway i digress

never browse the internet on a user log-in that has admin rights.

dx

shazzap
24-Jan-11, 22:33
Thank you again dx100uk. If i download combofix.exe, will i which files to delete, does it tell you. Or will i just have to use my own judgement. I looked at this on the web, it says it's for experts.Is there a chance that i could delete important files needed to run my laptop. You also say do not browse the web on an account with admin rights,do you mean this site face book and other forums, or just general browsing. Why is this please. I hope you do not mind me asking you these questions, if you do tell me.

dx100uk
25-Jan-11, 00:20
combofix knows what to
just follow the on screen prompt to start it

as for admin rights
already explained prev msg

and yes ALL browsing
particularly facebook and alike that are riddled with these things - have you not been reading the news of recent?

[although how you'd do half under admin and half not, amuses me as you'd have to keep changing the user or current rights.]

i'm not saying you need to run CBF, but something paints iffy.

dx
[cag is not a facebook site its forum]

shazzap
25-Jan-11, 00:39
This has to be done first
Disable or Close all anti-spyware, anti-malware antivirus real-time protection, which may affect ComboFix.
Download (Download) (http://www.combofix.org/download.php) the latest official version of ComboFix (2.8mb) save to you desktop
Close all programs of you computer
Double click ComboFix.exe on you desktop
When Combofix finished, it will create logs for you.

I know how to turn off my fire wall, but can't see how to turn off or disable Microsoft Security Essensials. Help please.

dx100uk
25-Jan-11, 01:14
you dont need to do those in safemode [only if you have avg antivirus or avast do you need to disable f/w or a.v]

pers i'd recommend rebooting into safemode first before you run combofix.

you can do this by selecting restart instead of shutdown

after the pc puts up its first screen from restart and beeps
keep hitting F8 key

then you'll see a diff start up menu

select safemode with networking

then login with a user that has admin rights

after clicking away the safemode warning
run combofix

[which you should of either saved to an external penstick - which will need to be plugged in!]
or to the desktop - however as said - its safer from a penstick

then just click through the warnings on combofix and away you go.

it can take time and may look like the pc is doing nowt

a good trick is to identify which of your lights is the harddrive activity one [typically the one that flickers all the time when you do something - might look llike a dustbin/can symbol - it be on the front of your pc case]

that should go like the clappers when combofix is canning away, there are also times when combofix appears to do nowt - just wait till the logfile notice comes up

when its done

then use restart pc again from the start menu as normal.

read the info on the combofix website too

but i'll say again, unless you feel you have something amiss, like mywebsearch or a spoof antivirus prog that popped up at sometime, you dont need to tun it

but it wont hurt.

when your back in and operational,
its always a good idea to disable the retention of browsing files

when on the internet.

click:

tools/internet option/advanced
drag slider to the bottom
and select the tick box that says words like:

empty temporary internet files on exit.

dx

shazzap
25-Jan-11, 01:26
Thank you very much for your time and help dx100uk. it is much appreciated:)
I will look into this in the morning, when refreshed.