Microsoft Internet Explorer has encountered a problem and needs to close. (NEED HELP BAD!!!!!)

Shameless vanity | 11/29/05 | Self

[Chi-townChief]

I'm suddenly getting the above message and I can't get rid of it. I've unloaded and reloaded Internet explorer 6 countless times over the past 5 days as well as patches, updates, virus checks, bot checks, et al. and keep coming up with the same problem. My e-mail is affected too. "kernel32.dll", whatever that means, seems to come into play here as well. Anyone know anything about this?

[Chi-townChief]

McAfee and I'll also scan with Trend Housecall - I've used ZoneAlarm for years with no problem.

[doodad]

When it is first executed, it copies itself to %System% or %Windows% as Kernel32.exe, based on the control bits. Then it registers itself as a service process (Windows 9x/Me only). It creates the key log file %System%\Cp_25389.nls and drops %System%\Kdll.dll which contains the key logging code.


Symantec site

[doodad]

Don't know about that. Here and at work I recycle drives all the time. The OS drive in this computer is at least 6 years old. Hi tech for its time and now relegated to OS and page file duty.

[El Gran Salseron]

See post # 34.

[Anitius Severinus Boethius]

They could be, but if it is a Win98 machine, there could be residual conflicts that don't become apparent until "triggered".

For example, if you are using McAfee and using SSL encrypted e-mail, your outgoing mail will sometimes just freeze up. This is because when McAfee updates it's software it is sometimes coded to automatically turn on the "Scan outgoing e-mail" option, which completely freezes outgoing encrypted messages as McAfee can't access them.

That's just one of many scenarios where a problem exists, but you don't see it until an innocent upgrade turns it on.

[null and void]

Firefox

[Eagle of Liberty]

I had this same problem and it turned out that I had a few viruses on my system that I had to find with HijackThis. Reloading IE doesn't do anything because the virus is still on the system and it will infect your newly installed kernel32.dll the next time you reboot.

I cannot remember the exact procedure, but it took a while to get my system completely clean. You have to replace the infected kernel32.dll with a clean one, do a sweep with Spybot, Ad-aware, and then HijackThis. After doing this, I think my system was clean. You may also want to look for other weird-looking file names in your /system folder and your /system32 folder. Hope this helps a little.

[GOPPachyderm]

I keep getting a winfixer message supposedly from Explorer. I keep closing, it keeps opening. When I close it it closes out all of my other open documents.

Frustrating! I did a search of the harddrive and deleted all winfixer docs, but it still pops up!

[Chi-townChief]

I'm using beta Firefox 1.5 right now. The funny thing is I haven't done anything yet and now IE6 seems to be acting normal - strange!

[Bahbah]

Thank you very much.

[Chi-townChief]

I'll try that, thanks. That seems like the simplest thing to try.

[Varmint Al]

This would be safe surfing with Internet Explorer.

I prefer to use FireFox and block all the pop ups, spyware, cookies, and Java scripts that can get you into trouble.

Good Hunting... from Varmint Al

[mark_interrupted]

Did you try doing a system restore back to a previous point in time when the computer was working properly?

[chronic_loser]

De-install Explorer and load a good browser like Firefox or Opera.

Why go half way? Get partition magic, shrink the active partition, install MEPIS LINUX on the new empty space, and never again have to worry about (not an exhaustive list):
1) viruses
2) adware
3) worms
4) malware
5) malicious activeX scripts,
6) what I affectionately term as "winrot"... that collection of broken links, corrupted dlls and general crap that make reinstalling windows a repetitive affair every six months.

Try it, or Mandriva, or Ubuntu, or Red Hat Fedora. You will never go back.

[null and void]

Computers, like bosses, do weird things for unfathomable reasons...

[chronic_loser]

Your "kernel32.dll" is bad. You need to go to the driver site and download a newer one.

You actually can simply copy the kernel32.dl_ from the cd over to the hd.

[Chi-townChief]

Yeah - the same problem came back and messing with the registry scares the hell out of me.

[SheLion]

You actually can simply copy the kernel32.dl_ from the cd over to the hd.

Great idea. I will have to remember that. Thanks!

[DocRock]

Your "kernel32.dll" is bad. You need to go to the driver site and download a newer one.

"You actually can simply copy the kernel32.dl_ from the cd over to the hd."

I've had to do that before and it worked for me. If it doesn't resolve the problem, I've found very helpful people at this site:

Help2go.com

[backhoe]

You are probably getting more unsolicited advice than you wanted, but it sounds to me like you picked up one or maybe a cascade of malware problems. ( It may also be that that old OS and some software are having conflicts. )

An fdisk, reformat, and reinstall would probably be the fastest way to go, but if you want try disinfecting it, here are some good forums-- you have to join, study their "sticky" or "pinned" introductions to see how they need for you to give them information, and then interact with the helpers:

http://forums.spywareinfo.com/index.php?b=1

http://spywarewarrior.com/

http://www.wilderssecurity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=26

Do be aware that some malware infects your old "restore" points, so if you go back there, the infection re-establishes itself.

And do consider a hardware firewall once you get it straightened out- all modern routers serve as one, and it makes a vast difference.