Have the Search Engines Gone Mad?

Max October 30, 2011

A couple of days ago, I needed a rapid answer to a very urgent question:

“What species is a hare?”

I ‘m sure you, too, are dying to find out.

I know I was. So I googled it and was frankly bowled over by the answer.

I was bowled over because it made no sense whatsoever, and that in all three search engines, Google, Yahoo and Bing.

Why on earth did these search colossuses send me to recipes, consulting chemists or some obscure electronics manufacturer out in the wilds of Hertfordshire when they promised to guide me to a Wiki page that was supposed to contain a fast answer to a simple question?

Mysterious? Worrying? Have the search engines gone mad?

Eventually, as I continued to ask, a pattern began to emerge. I noticed a strange recurrence in the status bar during searches. To cut a long story really short, my laptop needed anti-rootkit treatment. Here is how and why:

[trafficplayer_youtube_video width=”640″ height=”360″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/MrllC0R-vKs?&autohide=1&autoplay=0&controls=1&hd=1&rel=0&showinfo=0″ ][/trafficplayer_youtube_video]

 

Here is the download link for your free Kaspersky Anti-Rootkit Treatment:

Kaspersky Lab Technical Support:
Anti-rootkit utility TDSSKiller
http://support.kaspersky.com/faq/?qid=208283363

Have you experienced similar infections? Leave a comment; I’d love to hear from you how you dealt with it.

Alright, I won’t you keep guessing any longer.

Hares are leporids.

Have The Search Engines Gone Mad?

 

PS. I just discovered that the culprit is known to the authorities under the name “Google Redirect Virus.” It can do all sorts of things. You may want to consult this ehow page:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5842581_remove-google-redirect-virus.html

18 thoughts on “Have the Search Engines Gone Mad?”

  1. Hey Max,

    Thanks for the help with this topic. I have recently been hit with this and it has made it very difficult to do my homework online when I search for something in Google only to be redirected to a sales page of some kind… very annoying.

    Hopefully I will get rid of this thing off my pc without having to reformat… which was what I was planning on doing…

    Thanks again,

    ~Jeremy

  2. This was definitely a great title that caught my attention forcing me to read the post. I can tell you one thing Google Redirect viruses are a pain in the neck.

    1. Since your last comment, Lesley, I’ve come across the ehow article about the “Google Redirect Virus.” It may be an idea to check for symptoms listed there,
      and perhaps also the method Mike Russell outlined in his blog (link in his comment, below).

      Max

  4. Hi Max,

    Yep, I had lots of problems last week and this was actually one of them! I’ve been running scans every day and always come up with something, where before I rarely had any problems at all.

    Thanks for the video and the link. I’ll go ahead and run it and see what it comes up with!

    1. Keep the link to the remedy at hand. Antivirus protection does not seem to catch these incoming threats yet.

      Max

    1. I guess the only way you’d know is when your searches start getting rattled. Let’s hope it won’t come to that.

      Max

  7. Thank you for this information Max very useful and I will download the the software. I had a bad experience when using AVG Free ware – it doesn’t detect all malware or is it maleware). I am putting my faith in Norton.

    Tried the QUICK SPARK Yet – it is amazing!!!!

    1. You’re welcome, Joolz.

      This was the first instance where I found AVG wanting. I guess I’ll have to keep an eye on developments.

      Max

  8. Hello, Max…

    Or, should that read “MAD” Max? For in typical Internet Marketing terms, for a marketer to put out the kind of effort you put into this post on your very cleanly and well designed blog site, without asking me to pay you money, some would think that you are in fact “mad”….

    Personally, I think you are one of the people in this industry who deserves to be followed and taken into account as a leader and an ethical role model.

    And, even though I haven’t been touched yet by the problem you outlined in your post, I now know what to do when it comes knocking at my door.

    Thanks, Max.

    Power to you.

    Bobby Earle

    1. Thank you for your comment, Bobby.

      I agree. In fact, I’d go as far as calling myself terminally insane.
      (Please, don’t tell anyone.)

      But if you feel like sending some money my way, feel free… 🙂

      Max

  9. Hi Max,
    Great post! I had a similar thing happen to me. I was comparing Evergreen Business System offers and one of the sites hit my PC with a rootkit. I wrote about it on my personal blog http://www.100101001.com/blogbin/general/system-repair-not with a flowchart to help myself, or anyone I know for dealing with the problem should it arise again. I’ll put the link to this article in my blog right now.
    There’s probably quite a demand for concise, clear information that solves problems like this, thinking about it.

    1. Thanks for the link to your blog, Mike.

      Unfortunately, some of the remedies are not for the faint hearted (that is, not for those who don’t like dealing with code – like me).
      I have no idea where I caught my rootkit attacker from.

      Let’s hope anti-virus protection will soon be able to keep it off our systems. Evidently, AVG failed here.

      Max

    1. On closer inspection, this sort of stuff strikes directly at the heart of internet marketing and the search engines. If the links people click take them to random destinations… Doesn’t bear thinking about. Antivirus software providers better do, though.

      Max

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