I came across a link to a portable graphics freeware that I thought would help me draw better digital images. I downloaded it. It worked. Then I found another link to the same software on the same page of Google search. The first one was less than 2 MB. The second one was 12 MB. I was naive enough to believe that bigger would be better. So I downloaded it too. On double clicking on it, it did nothing. So I double clicked on it again. Then it changed my home page to a page of its choice. It did this on Chrome, Firefox and Internet explorer together, after warning me that my Internet Explorer was outdated and I should upgrade it. I get upset when someone plays a dirty trick on me and changes my homepage. So I got upset and deleted the software. That would not restore the homepage, I knew. But at least I got the evil doer off my hard disk. Then I scanned the whole hard disk with Malwarebytes antimalware. It did not find any malware nor did it cure the problem. Then I entered the settings of Chrome and Firefox, removed the link to the new homepage and gave a link to my old homepage. But when I shutdown the browsers and restarted them, the evil homepage was back. I struggled but it would not go away. I uninstalled Firefox, which I had kept as a standby browser. I wanted to uninstall and reinstall Chrome, but I did not have any other browser (except that outdated Internet Explorer which I did not want to use) to download Chrome. Then I had an idea. I removed the shortcut to Chrome from by quick-launch toolbar, and launched Chrome from the start menu instead. This time it did not launch the evil new homepage, but retained by original one. So the hacker had not only written a script to change the homepage on all web browsers, but also changed the properties of the shortcut to the browsers in the quick-launch toolbar. I hope this helps people get out of the changed homepage situation.
The funny thing was that the evil homepage that this software had set on my computer was not found anyway. The domain was for sale, because the original owner had not managed to renew it by paying required fee after the previous contract expired. All the evil efforts of the evil doer had gone down the drain, because of his poverty. I cannot punish him, because he has kept his identity hidden, as all cowards do. I would not try to punish him anyway, because I believe that God looks after us all, and controls the evil doers.
The funny thing was that the evil homepage that this software had set on my computer was not found anyway. The domain was for sale, because the original owner had not managed to renew it by paying required fee after the previous contract expired. All the evil efforts of the evil doer had gone down the drain, because of his poverty. I cannot punish him, because he has kept his identity hidden, as all cowards do. I would not try to punish him anyway, because I believe that God looks after us all, and controls the evil doers.
