When Evil Lurks: The Solution to the SearchAtHand DNS Hi-jacking Problem

My computer's Domain Name Server (DNS) settings were hi-jacked by an unscrupulous Ukrainian firm called SearchAtHand. It took me awhile to discover a solution, so I wanted to post the solution here for anyone else that may have this trouble. It's taken me weeks to figure this out, and meanwhile SearchAtHand has been profiting by selling my search results to pay per click advertisers, and gathering all kinds of data on me.

I'm a fairly saavy internet user, so for SearchAtHand to by-pass my defenses and knowledge is darn sneaky. They've figured out a very effective way to hi-jack your browswer, by-pass your defenses, and frustrate internet users who would rather have default results returned by a more reputable search engine.

The symptoms:
For the past two weeks, I have not been able to log into certain websites that I frequent, including Statcounter.com and Alexa.com because of 403 errors. I've had to log into these sites using an alternate computer, which has been inconvenient to say the least. I tried re-setting my browser to its factory settings, but to no avail.

My first clue that my DNS settings had been pirated should have been when my "default search" settings in my browser started showing up as something called SearchAtHand.com.
Whenever I misspelled a domain name, SearchAtHand wanted to handle my search.

Weird things would also happen -- such as trying to get to a website, and being "routed" someplace else.

After anti-spyware scans (eTrust) and anti-virus scans (Windows Defender) turned up nothing, I started suspecting a trojan application. Searches on Google turned up very little about SearchAtHand.

Eventually I found what I needed with the help of MSN search (note to Google: you better start providing results that are more fresh: your stale results are regularly and frequently pushing me toward MSN, where the results are much more fresh. Google seems to be about 6 to 12 months behind MSN, but thats another blog).

On MSN, I came across this tutorial at Free Security Tools that tells me how to remove SearchAtHand's DNS Settings. I recommend it. It worked for me. I won't re-hash it here since they did a nice job with screenshots and everything else.

I have no idea how SearchAtHand got its claws into my computer. Somewhere, on some page, something misleading was downloaded, perhaps as an activeX control. I just don't know.

Watch out for Adware or spyware removal companies claim to be marketing a solution to this specific problem that don't work. The best way is to remove it yourself, for free. You shouldn't have to pay to fix what someone else has broken.

And as for you SearchAtHand, this will catch up with you eventually. Evil is as evil does (Forrest Gump).

-- UPDATE: XoftSpy anti-vir by Parreto Logic will now uninstall SearchAtHand. I verified this fact directly with their support dept. If for some reason your SAH variant is not removed, they will work with you directly to solve it. You can download it here. Let me know how it works!

Purple Martin's, Part 3

Another nesting has come and gone, and still no Purple Martin's have nested in our dee-luxe 12-plex hi-rise bird condo overlooking a coulee that is a vertiable bugfest.

It wasn't for trying this year, and we actually came close. If I hadn't made a tactical blunder, we may have fledged some Martin's.

By early June, we had not had any Martin's take up residence. I decided to allow a pair of Tree Swallows to nest. I grew to respect the swallows: they fought very hard against the sparrow's to establish their territory (I helped a little by trapping and disposing of nearly 50 sparrows). In short order a nest was built, and they wasted no time laying 6 eggs (5 of which hatched and fledged). The swallows are nice birds, in my opinion. They are wonderfully acrobatic and fun to watch. They don't seem to mind people, and put up with my lowering and peering into their nest. They don't make as nice a sound as Martin's, but they're still nice birds.

About a week after they laid their eggs, a young pair of Martin's wanted in. For nearly 2 weeks (into late June) they tried hard to build a nest, but the aggressiveness of the Tree Swallows eventually wore the Martin's down and they took off.

The Tree Swallows fledged very quickly. One day they were in their nest, chattering for food. The next day they were gone. We never even saw them go. They didn't say goodbye. And now I'm an empty nester, and actually feeling a little sad. We really enjoyed our tree swallows.

I've left the nest up, and occassionally I see some young Martin's checking it out. Its too late to start a nest this year, but hopefully they're scouting locations for next season.

Next year we'll try for Martin's again. I have a feeling though, that next year I'll be trying to scare off tree swallows as well as sparrows.

Murder of Iraqi Family Reveals the Worst and Best of the US Military

Words can scarcely express how sickened I am at the news of the calculated rape and murder of an Iraqi woman and her family.

As I've noted before, war reveals the worst of human nature. War can turn the nice kid next door into a brutal murderer. These US soliders who conspired in this crime, if convicted, will certainly deserve the harshest penalty possible.

The only grace that I see in this situation is that it was discovered. Someone revealed the secret. Someone else took the revelation seriously, and now the "system" appears to be working. While I America is disgusted, abhorred and embarassed by these murderers, I am also hopeful that this crime and any others will be harshly prosecuted and that some justice will prevail.

Yet this same military and George Bush's government must take a piece of the blame for these murders. The process of dehumanizing the Iraqi people was handed down from the top. Abu Ghraib was one of the purest manifestations of this dehumanization. The rape and murder of this woman, whose only crime was to be beautiful, and her family, is simply the latest manifestation, and probably not the last.