Viruses from hardline connection

RuniteDragon

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Dec 2, 2013
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10,510
I brought my gaming rig to college and for some reason, whenever I use an Ethernet cable for internet, my browser gets a load of add ons and viruses etc etc etc (Main ones are rockettab and counterfix) which I never authorized and I can't find installed on my computer nor in the add ons area for chrome. But whenever I use my wifi card instead of the Ethernet cable, all the viruses go away. While I could stay on the college wifi 24/7 instead of using a hard connection, I'd rather have the hard connection since the wifi sometimes drops in and out. Anyone have any advice or seen this problem before?

Also I'm sorry if this is in the wrong section, not exactly sure what category it would fall under

And if it helps I use avast as my antivirus program which has picked up nothing
 
Solution
I'm sure someone can give you a more eloquent answer and perhaps salvage your situation but in cases like these where the Anti-Virus is picking up nothing I like to recommend just doing a fresh install of Windows. It has probably been a while since you have reinstalled so it might be a nice time to take a look at that option.

I mean if you wanted to diagnose it and keep your install you could look to see if the problems show up on other browsers (IE, or Firefox). If not then you know that there is a problem with just Chrome. From there I would uninstall Chrome and use a program like CCleaner to dump any left over files to make sure nothing is still sitting around for your new Chrome install to pick back up. Also it might be worth...
Are you sure that you are connecting to the same network independent of using a wired or wireless connection?

The respective network adapters may be going to different DNS Servers.

Here is a link to provide some background:

https://malwaretips.com/blogs/remove-counterflix-ads/

Compare the configuration settings on your network adapters via "ipconfig /all" and also look at any router settings.

And "ipconfig /flushdns" may help clear things out.

You should also take a look at your HOSTS file - may allow you at least block any stubborn unwanted URLs.

Here is a reference link - there are other similar links:

https://blog.malwarebytes.com/cybercrime/2016/09/hosts-file-hijacks/

Take a deeper look, see what you can find, and post accordingly.

 

LilDog1291

Honorable
Jan 9, 2013
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10,590
I'm sure someone can give you a more eloquent answer and perhaps salvage your situation but in cases like these where the Anti-Virus is picking up nothing I like to recommend just doing a fresh install of Windows. It has probably been a while since you have reinstalled so it might be a nice time to take a look at that option.

I mean if you wanted to diagnose it and keep your install you could look to see if the problems show up on other browsers (IE, or Firefox). If not then you know that there is a problem with just Chrome. From there I would uninstall Chrome and use a program like CCleaner to dump any left over files to make sure nothing is still sitting around for your new Chrome install to pick back up. Also it might be worth running MalwareBytes to see if it picks anything up. Again in my opinion you will probably save yourself a lot of headache by just doing a fresh Windows installation.
 
Solution

RuniteDragon

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Dec 2, 2013
3
0
10,510


This is my bad I forgot to include some extra details. The viruses only occur when I have a hardline on my college campus. When I brought my computer home for the weekend I had 0 issues with a hardline connection, it's only when I'm at college.... I really appreciate the feedback and Ill try a fresh install of windows when I have the time

 
Makes me even more suspicious about the "hardline"connection on campus. Who knows what all may be happening there with respect to hacking, spoofs, and overall malicious/illegal activity.

Agree with the previous posts and support virus scanning, adware blocking, However do that off campus and verify your computer to be clean and your defenses operationally in place before going back online on campus.

You might also ask around (roommates, other residents) to learn if anyone is having similar problems.
 

RuniteDragon

Honorable
Dec 2, 2013
3
0
10,510
So I finally got around to fixing the issue in case anyone was curious. I scanned my computer using malware bytes, hitmanpro, and adw cleaner and that seemed to do the job. Although the whole case of the virus only appearing when I had a hardline connection still remains a mystery to me.... thanks everyone for the help!