Laurabelle’s Blog

Wednesday I was bumming around on the Web and read a blog entry by pjm mentioning browser hijacker programs like CoolWebSearch that take over your browser, open pop-ups, change Internet Explorer favorites, add sites to "trusted sites" lists (so that IE will download and install software without asking), and block sites like Lavasoft that offer anti-adware software. Eeep. Good job I don't use IE, I thought, and dismissed it from my mind.

But then I gave my dad a call today (to talk about my impending graduation), and it turns out that he's got this CoolWebSearch stuff. As I think about it, I think that computer's had CWS (or something like it) since last summer, which is not quite as bad as it sounds because that computer is out in my parents' cabin and doesn't get used most of the year. My dad was complaining even back then that he got pornographic pop-ups, and I didn't know what to do about it.

I still don't know exactly what to do about it, but I advised my dad to back up his data, reformat the whole hard drive, and reinstall Windows. We talked through the process, and if he runs into trouble, he's going to take the computer to some nice guys in town who will fix it for him. Not a big deal; he's sure he's got his data, and there's nothing else to lose.

Here are a couple of authoritative sites I found with information about CoolWebSearch and how to get rid of it:

• The CoolWebSearch Chronicles (with version history and removal instructions)
• Symantec Security Response: Trojan.Norio
• SWI Forums: Eradicating CoolWebSearch since 2003 (on the same site as The CoolWebSearch Chronicles)

If you landed here because you've got CWS, I hope this points you on your way.

As for me, I'm just sitting here thinking about how glad I'll be to get back on Linux. The world needs more computing diversity; it's too easy to attack most of the world's web surfers by targeting only one browser. As much as I love Firefox, I wouldn't want it to become the majority browser either. (Hmm, I'm a week late to be campaigning for diversity. Oh well.)