Hotbar - how did I get it?

Conrad11 · 16 Dec 2009 at 14:16

I just installed a fresh Windows XP and the other other things I did were install VLC player and install windows updates.

How did I get the Hotbar malware appear on my IE7....

...did it come with VLC player per chance or have I got some sort of hack on my network?

Thanks.

bledd · 16 Dec 2009 at 14:27

do you have a router?
which SP with XP?

where did you download VLC from?

admin password setup?

Conrad11 · 18 Dec 2009 at 10:51

Yeah I have a router.

Latest service pack - but the CD was originally SP1....I installed SP3 through windows up.

VLC player was downloaded from VideoLan website.

No admin password.

bledd · 18 Dec 2009 at 10:54

Slipstream SP3 into your disc
Always use admin passwords

Antar Bolaeisk · 18 Dec 2009 at 13:20

Another thing you could do is disable all third party applications in Internet Explorer though if you use any of the added toolbars this was cause you inconvenience but at least you can't get crap like this.

To do it simply go to tools->Internet Options

Go to the advanced tab, scroll down the list and de-select "enable third party browser extensions".

I always do it as a security measure on all the family PCs.

bledd · 18 Dec 2009 at 13:53

Thanks for that tip Antar, didn't know about that, I'll be doing that each time I fix someone's pc

m4cc45 · 18 Dec 2009 at 14:51

You have to be careful doing the disabling thing as this includes items like flash. Just a word of warning. It's great for security but it can be a pain for usability.

M.

Antar Bolaeisk · 19 Dec 2009 at 12:51

bledd. said:
Thanks for that tip Antar, didn't know about that, I'll be doing that each time I fix someone's pc

Your welcome, I've always found it to be a quick easy fix when IE mysteriously stops working. I think it's generally to do with a conflict between all the bits and bobs that inevitably clutter up IE.

m4cc45 said:
You have to be careful doing the disabling thing as this includes items like flash. Just a word of warning. It's great for security but it can be a pain for usability.

M.

Never had a problem with Flash and the like not working after doing this, perhaps because they are considered official and not included under the "third party" heading though I could be wrong.

Hairybudda · 19 Dec 2009 at 14:01

There's also the possibility it's gotten on to your system through a an exploitable service in SP1, I always make sure the computer is fully updated before even connecting it up to the net because people are portscanning all the time and using lame public domain exploits to drop rootkits and all manner of other spyware/malware on systems. I learned my lesson years ago with XP, hooking it up before whacking SP1 on it, literally had a malware infestation within minutes of of hooking up my DSL modem because of a buffer overflow on some default service in XP.