Switching to Linux OS - my Windows OS badly infected

Update 2012Nov22: Tried a different wi-fi network, and all the issues have disappeared - indicating to me that the problem is in the wi-fi network - not in my operating system. Windows OS lives another day on this computer. 

 I've never heard of this kind of problem - a virus that attacks a network security system and one that affects only one computer on a network. The security software on this network is a Cisco Systems network management system called 'Network Magic'. 

Right now it looks like my system has a very bad virus - looks like I'm going to switch to Linux, see you there.

For anyone with similar problems, here are the symptoms:
(This is a re-print of a message board at MozillaZine - a troubleshooting forum)

MozillaZine

Board index ‹ Mozilla Firefox ‹ Firefox General

"C o o k i e s" Re-spelled in Firefox Browser

MichaelHolloway
Posts: 5
Joined: September 26th, 2011, 11:53 am
Posted November 19th, 2012, 7:11 pm

On search c o o k i e s (no spaces) becomes "coieoks", or "ckiooes". ???

My Firefox Browser is having all kinds of problems over the last three days.

Just now, a new problem - this "Coieoks" re-spelling started. Every time I search the word c o o k i e s (no spaces) the browser searches for some form of a misspelling of the word instead - like "coieoks", or "ckiooes". (That's how I got here - see below for link to this same problem being talked about here - in 2005.)

---> As a result I can't find out how to disable c o o k i e s - which is what I want to try. Not remove c o o k i e s you understand, but make it so the browser doesn't accept them. As an experiment to see if that's the problem.

Noticing also that my Canadian English spell checker is often getting stuck; but then works if I 're-boot' it (split the word and then re-assemble it).

Other issues from the last three days:

Get 'page re-directing' warning every time I click on a link, even from a Google Search listing.

Connected Accounts: Google and Blogger; I can get into Gmail through my Google account sihn-in, but not into my Blogger Dashboard - instead of opening the Dashboard, a blank page: 'redirecting', 'connecting' alternates in the tab - in the Navigation Bar: 'accounts.google' and then 'draft.blogger', about once a second, forever.

A previous thread Here on this issue:

Found a thread on this from 2005 ("Coieoks" misspelled in browsers - viewtopic.php?f=37&t=267707), and a post at the end of it asking about the same problem in May 2012. Then the admin. closed the thread because it was old. ( ??? with a new entry. ??? )

So, I open the subject again here.

Sincerely,
Michael Holloway
Toronto
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:16.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/16.0

LoudNoise
Moderator
Posts: 29875
Joined: October 18th, 2007, 4:45 pm
Location: Next door to the west
Posted November 19th, 2012, 7:59 pm

The thread was locked because it is likely that folks who posted in 2005 wouldn't welcome a reply email for a problem that they have either fixed or forgot about.

First, what happens in safe mode? http://kb.mozillazine.org/Safe_Mode

Post wrangler Folding@Home
Das was mich nicht umbringt eventually becomes a tiresome story to your friends.
Sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc
Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Ubuntu; Linux i686; rv:16.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/16.0

MichaelHolloway
Posts: 5
Joined: September 26th, 2011, 11:53 am
Posted Yesterday, 2:02 am

Same symptoms in safe mode.

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:16.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/16.0

patrickjdempsey
Posts: 14636
Joined: October 23rd, 2008, 2:43 pm
Location: Asheville NC
Posted Yesterday, 3:14 am


While your description is very long, it's hard to tell what is actually happening. Are you saying that when you search for "cookies" from the Firefox searchbar that Google? is showing you results for an incorrectly spelled variation of "cookies"? Or is ANY website with the word "cookies" was displaying it incorrectly?

Individual popups or webpages with high numbers of misspelled works are often phishing sites or hijacked pages. Are you sure the page you are seeing is your search page of choice?

If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, it must be a dinosaur.
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:16.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/16.0

MichaelHolloway
Posts: 5
Joined: September 26th, 2011, 11:53 am
Posted Yesterday, 4:32 am

patrickjdempsey,
Sorry about the length, and the lack of clarity.

To be clear, when I search for "cookies" Google changes the word to a misspelling - and lists search results for that misspelling.

This is one symptom - there are many.

The bigger problem for me at the moment is that I can't sign-in to Blogger.com via my Google account (the two applications are connected - Google insists you use your Google account to sign-in to Blogger --- and Youtube; all the applications they own).

Just now I tried to sign-in to Youtube - and it worked!!! But still no luck at Blogger.

Also, forgot to mention that I can't sign-in to Google Search (http://www.google.ca/) either. And my Firefox Start Page (http://www.google.ca/firefox/) won't sign-in either.

Also, another weirdness, "Linked-in" won't let me sign-in either. The top bar of the application (a positioned element that contains a sign-in form) indicates I'm signed-in, but the page below doesn't change, keeps showing the sign-in form. None of the links into the application work - indicating I'm not signed-in.

All this dysfunction around signing in makes me think my browser or the OS is corrupted - that perhaps a malicious program is trying to steal passwords - badly.

?

mh

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:16.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/16.0

MichaelHolloway
Posts: 5
Joined: September 26th, 2011, 11:53 am
Posted Yesterday, 4:36 am

Is everyone seeing c o o k i e s spelt "ckiooes" in my last post? I typed the correct spelling. I'm seeing a misspelling on my screen. W e i r d .

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:16.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/16.0 

makaiguy
Posts: 15121
Joined: November 18th, 2002, 9:44 pm
Location: Somewhere in SE USA
Posted Yesterday, 9:19 am


MichaelHolloway wrote:

Is everyone seeing c o o k i e s spelt "ckiooes" in my last post? I typed the correct spelling. I'm seeing a misspelling on my screen. W e i r d .


Nope. In what I'm seeing, it is spelled correctly in the sentence

To be clear, when I search for "cookies" Google changes the word to a misspelling - and lists search results for that misspelling.

Doug Wilson, "The Makai Guy"
WinXP SP3 & Win7 Home Prem (64bit): FF 17.0, TB 17.0║ Linux Xandros: FF 3.0.4, TB 2.0.0.14
What a fool believes he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away - Doobie Brothers
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:16.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/16.0

Lee_Dailey
Posts: 12052
Joined: July 27th, 2004, 7:33 pm
Location: milky way galaxy, sol system, terra, north america, usa, tx, bedford
Posted Yesterday, 12:19 pm

howdy MichaelHolloway,

from reading your last post, it seems you are seeing this ...

- open this thread in firefox

- type the word "cookies" in the "post a reply" text box

- you see the word replaced with "ckiooes"

is that correct? i presume i misunderstood what you wrote, but i wanna confirm my mistake. [*grin*]

take care,
lee
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:16.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/16.0

dfoulkes
Posts: 11847
Joined: June 29th, 2008, 1:31 am
Location: Mesquite, Nevada
Posted Yesterday, 12:39 pm

I would try some of this...

1st I would create another profile (make no changes to it) and then just see what happens... at least that may clear up a profile issue...

Creating a new Firefox profile on Windows - MozillaZine Knowledge Base

2nd you might want to download these free AV apps to see what they find...

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

SuperAntispyware

Also, I did not see any mention of this working or not in IE or ?? ... have you tried that for testing?

As you can see she's (The CAT) always alert and on the prowl for Meoware !!
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:16.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/16.0

MichaelHolloway
Posts: 5
Joined: September 26th, 2011, 11:53 am
Posted Yesterday, 4:08 pm

Thanks makaiguy.

Lee_Dailey, You got it, that's exactly correct.

The sign-in issue and the misspelled rendering of cookie is happening in Google Chrome and IE as well. ? So therefore something in my OS is gobbledygook-ing my text ? dfoulkes, I have run 'Spybot Search and Destroy' - no result. I'll try the other two you mention also. Create a new Profile? Interesting. I'll try that and get back to you - also.

Thanks everyone.

Any other ideas would be appreciated.

mh
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:16.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/16.0

Lee_Dailey
Posts: 12052
Joined: July 27th, 2004, 7:33 pm
Location: milky way galaxy, sol system, terra, north america, usa, tx, bedford
Posted Yesterday, 4:56 pm

howdy MichaelHolloway,

since it's happening in the other browsers, then you have a problem outside of the browsers. that is - typically - malware.

start testing with every reputable online malware scanner you can find ... and good luck! [*grin*]

take care,
lee
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:16.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/16.0

dfoulkes
Posts: 11847
Joined: June 29th, 2008, 1:31 am
Location: Mesquite, Nevada
Posted Yesterday, 10:15 pm

dfoulkes, I have run 'Spybot Search and Destroy' - no result. I'll try the other two you mention also. Create a new Profile? Interesting. I'll try that and get back to you - also.

... and, forget that part since it happens in all browsers.... Good luck!

As you can see she's (The CAT) always alert and on the prowl for Meoware !!
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:17.0) Gecko/17.0 Firefox/17.0

From: http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2619635&p=0&e=0&sid=8ac0a8d77547aaef51fc8f00d8a65a45

Well there you have it - right now my life sucks.

My self centred, vain side says Mosad - Israeli Intelligence - is after me because my social network writing on the Gaza War is effective [since they were the first nation to release harmful viruses to the www for strategic reasons (war fighting)].

My 'more like the truth' side says, shit happens - now it's happening to me.

See you soon on the very secure, Linux OS.

The end of Windows, a day to mark.


Reference: 

Wikipedia | Stuxnet [virus] | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet

http://forums.mozillazine.org/



mh