i got the the blekko malware search engine hijacker which is also said to be very dangerous to the computer, as it says in this webpage link below, can AVG fix this?

i ran AVG 2012 scan and it said "no threats detected".

as blekko was installing itself i suspected something was wrong so i pulled the electric plug on my computer and restarted, i found that my web browser was to some extent modified. perhaps it only partially installed it self? AVG is not finding anything.


quote from link below:

"Besides, Blekko.com acts with some sort of aggressiveness as it’s not allowed users to delete it smoothly. However, damage to your system is much more than this. Blekko.com may display more annoying pop-up advertisements constantly, download other malware applications secretly and even corrupt your applications and system to the worst situation. Blekko.com poses a dangerous threat to any computer or system and should be terminated immediately."

http://www.cleanpcguide.com/remove-blekko-com-removal-guide-how-to-remove-blekko-com/

@ mike254

No AV product is capable of providing you with 100% protection although AVG are always working 24/7....

Reporting undetected malware to virus@avg.com.... Please read and follow these instructions What to do if you suspect a file, registry setting or website is infected and not currently detected by AVG.

Also if you think that a file is not being detected, you can submit it here http://samplesubmit.avg.com/ww-en/sample-scanning on this new webpage.

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AVG Forums Volunteer ModeratorAVG Forum member since - Nov. 27, 2004My total posts on the Old AVG Free Forum - 27,063
Alan

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Hi Mike254,

In reading a number of web pages concerning this Blekko Search Engine Hijacker, it appears that this is mainly a scam to bombard you with Pop-Up Ads and get you to purchase "Blekko Fix". AVG did not detect anything, because there was probably no malware, as such (program, rootkit, etc.), installed on your system. Just the settings in your browser have been changed.

In another Virus Forum, a victim was made to run numerous other Scans (he already had AVG), and found nothing. After a few days of fruitless activity, he posted "removed AD-WARE from browser Security Files and...is gone!" Not very specific.

So I'll give you a number of ideas to Clean-Up your Browser(s). First confirm if this is effecting all browsers installed (Internet Explore, Firefox, Chrome, etc.) or just the one you were using when you were "infected". (If it's just the one, that a good indication there is no separate program or module involved in starting or re-enabling the Hijacker.)

Start by Disconnecting your network connection (remove wire, turn off wireless router, as appropriate), so the Hijacker won't be able to reload from the net. Try to reset one item at a time, and then exit and restart your browser to see if the change is still there. With no network, all requested pages will display something like "Server not Available", but you will be able to confirm what page is being requested in the Address Window. I'm not certain of the correct sequence these steps need to be performed, so you may have to adjust the order. For example, the Toolbar changes first, and Add-Ons last.

Check your ToolBars and Add-Ons, and Disable any you don't recognize. If you loose something you want, Re-Enable them one at a time. If the missing feature does not re-appear, then Disable it again, and try the next one.

I am fairly sure the Search Engine and Home Page settings have changed. AVG changed these settings for their Secure Search (this was NOT desired by all users), so they made a Thread with good instructions on how to Remove Secure Search. In your case, delete any search engine you don't recognize and select the Engine and Home Page you prefer.

If that doesn't fix it, check the Browser Proxy. Unless your business or organization is doing something special, Proxy Servers are not used by the normal user.

For Internet Explorer, you can Reset Default Configuration. This may be a quick way to remove any modified settings.

When the requested pages, Home and Search, are what you expect, reconnect the network. Of course if it modified more than one browser you, make the changes there also. And confirm your settings remain. Then reboot and confirm again.

I hope this helps. Please make notes of what you do and let us know. On the twenty or so pages I read, no one had a clear set of steps to remove this. So you can be the first, and tell the rest of "Dumb-[Donkey]s" how it is done.

Of course, if this does not help, AVG can request their usual set of diagnostic scans. (And I can send you my ex-wife's number, she'll enjoy coming over and kicking the [stuffing] out of me.)

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What AVG did fail to do was for the Resident Shield to detect the initial object (I'm guessing a Java Script) which reset your Browser Setting. I would ask if you could look in your browser history for that page, but I suspect it came from a "Robo-Ad" link (different each time the page is loaded).

Hopefully AVG can comment on this.

Hello mike254,

Are you still experiencing any issues related to blekko infection?

In order to deal with this issue please try to follow suggestions by Gary Bee.

Standard procedure will be, if the infection still persists providing us with both Gmer scan results, Msinfo output and AVG Anti-Virus scan results for further analysis.

Thank you

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Hi Nemethste,

Any suggestions on identifying or capturing the object which is delivering the infection?

Edit: Just thinking, certainly there is a file(s) associated with Add-Ons, and also with Tool-Bars(?). If there are files like these with this Hijacker, then they can be blocked from downloading. Right?

blekko malware..

here is the link to the blekko malware:

http: // alwaysdownloads.com/downloads/manager/?t202id=9231&c1=cngu&t202kw=New%20Version%20Of%20Windows

Gary Bee,
i will try but im afraid im not quite computer savy enough to understand and do all this that you recommend.

nemethste,
i will try to get those results.

the link in my first post says it can "download other malware applications secretly and even corrupt your applications and system to the worst situation. Blekko.com poses a dangerous threat to any computer or system and should be terminated immediately."

please can AVG be updated to get rid of this.

EDIT.. blekko link 'broken' to avoid other forum users becoming infected.

Hi Mike254,

There is no great talent or knowledge involved with operating these electronic marvels (despite what some would have you believe).
Just take it one item at a time. For example:
. 1) Is the hijacker effecting all your browsers?
. 2) Did you attempt to Reseting Default Configuration in Internet Explorer?
...and so on.
It's just a bunch of Pull Down Menus, Buttons, and Check Boxes. It can be a little confusing all at once, but one step at a time, and you can make it through it.

[Heck], it's a holiday weekend, invite over a friend or two and make a party game of it. Important Note: You can earn "Refreshing Beverage" credits by finding something (for example, "How to display list of Tool-Bars?"), but those credits can only be redeemed AFTER a goal has been reached, and your going to knock off for the Day.

Edit1: One person posted they were just going to Remove and then Re-install a fresh copy of Firefox. But they didn't Post back if that was successful. (If there is no follow-on Post it usually indicates, their problem was solved) Completely removing and reloading a fresh copy of any Browser will probably remove the problem.

Edit2: Spent a few minutes reading my browser's help, they have many good suggestions. But I'm not sure what browser you are using. So reply and let us know your basic information.


Also, for your information, the scans requested by Nemethste were run by at least two other victims on other forums, and the results indicated No Infection.

Specific Responses:


No real person, on other forums, indicated this Hijacker was causing further damage. It is possible, but AVG can block most of it, and if not, repair it. So, my opinion and that of a number others, is that this is a BS "Scare Tactic", to get you to buy the "Blekko Fix".


AVG does not include a "Browser Scan and Repair" function. I've tried begging for other things from them. Getting a meaningful response to a specific reasonable question supported by facts, is difficult. ("Please make Product Suggestion...blah...blah") But I'm a glutton for punishment, let try one more...

Question: Part of the AVG product did include the function to Inject the Secure Search into our Browsers. So AVG has the knowledge and expertise in accessing Browser Setting and Definitions; Why not using it to produce a "Browser Scan and Repair" function?

blekko malware..

thanks Garry Bee

i will try the procedure you have described.

i use firefox browser.

i cant see if it is visually affecting my browser.

as it was installing i felt suspicious and pulled the plug and restarted the computer. it seems as if it has partially installed because the next time i clicked on a jpeg image in a folder on my desktop firefox opened and displayed the the image instead of windows media which normally would display jpeg images, but it also opened a second tab which had a "blekko" search bar and it also had a button that said something like "continue installing blekko" i checked the contents of the folder and noticed there was a folder for a web link i had saved, as if i had used firefox's "save page as" except i hadnt. a legitimate site (Flickr) except i had only saved the link, not the whole page. i checked the folder of the webpage contents and saw it was the Flickr webpage contents except i noticed an image file of a tiny dot, labelled "space out" and when i clicked on it it brought up firefox and the 2nd tab with blekko again. so i did a "search programs and files" for files labelled "spaceout" and there were only 3 space out files found in total, all were in saved webpages which i had never saved, but i had only saved the link only. once the 3 space out images were deleted my firefox browser appears to be functioning normally. but i find it hard to believe that in the amount of time before i pulled the plug that the 3 spaceout images was all that got installed/changed. surely more things got changed/added.

also is this a coincidence, almost immediately after this happened a firefox page said "Check your plugins, Keeping your third-party plugins up to date helps Firefox run safely and smoothly."....."For your safety, Firefox has disabled your outdated version of Java. Please upgrade to the latest version." i had never gotten that message from firefox before, could that be related to this blekko thing?

i saved the msinfo file and sent it to avg because this forum doesnt seem to have a button to send messages to moderator. i also included the blekko install file.

i received the response from AVG, saying the install file is clean. i dont understand why many people are having problems with it if it is clean. it seems certainly malware being that it changed my browser.

my browser appears normal after i deleted the 3 space out files.

EDIT..


interesting, several years ago i got a browser hijacker so bad that it was almost impossible to use the web and reinstalling the browser didnt help, and AVG would not remove it. so i decided to try a payware antivirus and it fixed my browser right away. i forgot the name of it but i think it was neither Norton or McAfee, i think it had the word "doctor" in it or something like that, i should have written it down.

Hey Mike254,

I also use Firefox. First you can, on the Help menu, use the Reopen with Add-ons Disabled to confirm an Add-On is resetting your defaults. Change your Home Page, restart w/o Add-ons, and see if the change stays.

Here a couple of pages with more detailed steps to isolate and remove problems (a clearer version of my suggestions).
- Firefox Basic Trouble Shooting
- Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by Malware
The second link describes hijacker symptons that you are experiencing.

The current Firefox does not have a single Reset to Defaults button as Internet Explorer has. But if you find the individual steps are a pain in the [donkey], and reloading sounds like an easier solution, you may wish to consider Firefox's Beta (i.e. limited user testing) version. (It includes a Reset)
- Firefox Beta Page.
Of course you understand you may have some issues because this a test version, and issues like "Outdated Add-On Version..." will occur. But test version may be a reasonable trade off if it takes a few tries to completing remove Blekko, and it is necessary to reset your browser again.

As to the .JPG initiating Firefox, your system has a list of which file extension will be opened by which program. This malware made changes to initiate your browser, and as you indicated, including a Tab to its own site. The fix may be another manual pain in the [donkey] change. In Window Explorer, in the Tools Menu is Folder Options. This pop-up has the tab, File Types. It does not have a [Reset Defaults] button.
To reset a group at one time, right-click a .JPG file, and move to Open With list, when selecting a not-default program, some of them will ask to reset all extensions they support.

The Outdated Add-ons warning is normal. But it is possible the hihacker is modifying the Browser's version to get you to download some other malware. So I would suggest, first remove Blekko and stop the browser from doing unexpected things. And then see if these warning are still being generated.

AVG is looking for specific program code which is modifying specific system areas. Modifications to browser settings and extension definitions are common in legitimate software, and so are not recognized as an infection.

Web pages usually include many such tiny images as Space Out. Almost certainly those specific files were not the cause of your modifications. If you didn't perform any other "fixes", Blekko may be dormant, or gave up after a certain amount of distractions, which you ignored or aborted (not likely).

Check your home page settings..

I went to Uninstall Programs in Control Panel and uninstalled the Blekko Toolbar.

I also went into MANAGE ADD-ONS in IE9 and removed Blekko under SEARCH PROVIDERS.

The blekko search page still came up in the first tab (I utilize tabbed browsing and multiple home pages) everytime I opened my IE9 web browser.

So then in my IE9 web browser I went into INTERNET OPTIONS, and checked my home page settings under the GENERAL TAB. Somehow the Blekko software/toolbar had replaced my first tabbed homepage setting. I changed it back to the page I wanted and the problem seems to have been taken care of.



I will continue to monitor.