What Can You Do If Google Keeps Redirecting You Somewhere Else?
There are numerous ways to redirect visitors from one website to another, and when done for legitimate purposes, it can help webmasters guide visitors to appropriate content. Unfortunately, third parties can also use these techniques to hijack browsers for less-than-savory reasons. If you find your browser regularly redirected away from Google to unwanted sites, it may be a sign that malware has compromised your computer.
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Why It Happens
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Malware may block your access to Google for a number of reasons. One of the most common attacks involves a malware or virus infection, and the redirection is an attempt to block your access to tools that might help you remove the problem. Hackers may also redirect you away from Google to a similar-looking phishing site in an effort to extract personal information, or to a site filled with advertising in order to generate revenue from your browsing.
Malware Scanners
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The first thing you should do is run any anti-virus, anti-spyware, or other anti-malware scanners you have installed. Most malicious redirects stem from some sort of malware infection, and your scanner may be able to pinpoint the problem and remove the offending programs. To prevent further infection, make sure you keep your scanners up to date, and periodically run full scans of your memory, hard drives, and registry to look for any unwanted additions.
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Other Browsers
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If you have more than one Web browser on your system, try accessing Google using the other program. In some cases, malware may infect one browser while leaving the other(s) untouched. This can help you locate the source of the infection, as it might have come from a compromised plug-in or ActiveX extension.
Check Your DNS
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Another way malware can prevent you from visiting certain sites is to compromise your DNS settings. The Domain Name System is a network of servers that translate website names to the IP addresses necessary to connect with them. Visit "Network and Sharing Center" under "Network and Internet" in your Windows Control Panel, then click on "Local Internet Connection." Select "Properties," then "Internet Protocol version 4," and then click the "Properties" button. At the bottom of this window, you will see two numeric entries for DNS servers. You can contact your Internet Service Provider for their DNS server addresses, or you can use a public DNS server. Google maintains a public DNS server, at the addresses 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4.
Check Your Hosts
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Malware can also block certain websites by modifying your "hosts" file. The hosts file exists in the \windows\system32\drivers\etc directory, and is a plain text file you can open with Notepad. Any website listed in the hosts file with a corresponding IP address will use that address for Web browsing, superseding any DNS information. If you find an entry for Google in this list, delete it and save the file. After doing so, you should be able to revisit the search engine.
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