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#1 2018-12-07 10:43:07

GameCodingNinja2
Member
Registered: 2017-12-29
Posts: 17

My Google-Chrome browser was taken over by search.frontier.com

I don't know how this happened but when I would start up Chrome, it would open up with search.frontier.com. Nothing I would do would get rid of it. I did eventually find a link to stop it but a tab still opens on start up trying to load the thing I was searching for which got me infected.

So now I'm trying to stop this tab from opening on startup. I've clears the cache, set a startup tab in the settings, deleted traces of google in .cache and .confg, reinstalled Chrome. Don't know what else to do to get rid of this behavior.

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#2 2018-12-07 12:43:37

olive
Member
From: Belgium
Registered: 2008-06-22
Posts: 1,490

Re: My Google-Chrome browser was taken over by search.frontier.com

Are you speaking of the official Google chrome or chromium that comes with Archlinux? I answer for chromium, but I assume it is the same for chrome.

Removing ~/.config/chromium (maybe it is ~/.config/chrome for the official Google chrome) should reset your browser to default. If you use the sync feature, some preferences might be saved in the cloud. You can reset these preferences as well:

1) Make sure sync is turned off (use another browser if you are unsure; you will have to login to your account with sync turned off).
2) Go to https://myaccount.google.com/dashboard click Chrome and the "Manage sync" (translated from my language, it is very apparent when you click Chrome)
3) Click "reset sync."

After that delete ~/.config/chromium (or ~/.config/chrome) and the browser should be restored to factory default (have in mind that all bookmarks and saved password will be deleted).

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#3 2018-12-07 14:42:43

Trilby
Inspector Parrot
Registered: 2011-11-29
Posts: 29,452
Website

Re: My Google-Chrome browser was taken over by search.frontier.com

Is frontier your ISP?  They may be redirecting you there.


"UNIX is simple and coherent..." - Dennis Ritchie, "GNU's Not UNIX" -  Richard Stallman

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#4 2018-12-07 16:41:49

ewaller
Administrator
From: Pasadena, CA
Registered: 2009-07-13
Posts: 19,740

Re: My Google-Chrome browser was taken over by search.frontier.com

Trilby wrote:

Is frontier your ISP?

If it is, you need to cut the cable, burn down the house, bulldoze the pad, and move to an area with a marginally more rational ISP.  Only solution.


Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the laws of nature -- Michael Faraday
Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine. -- Alan Turing
---
How to Ask Questions the Smart Way

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#5 2018-12-07 17:39:22

loqs
Member
Registered: 2014-03-06
Posts: 17,197

Re: My Google-Chrome browser was taken over by search.frontier.com

Does using an alternate DNS help?

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#6 2018-12-08 01:44:40

GameCodingNinja2
Member
Registered: 2017-12-29
Posts: 17

Re: My Google-Chrome browser was taken over by search.frontier.com

I followed Olive's instructions using FireFox but unfortunately, it didn't work. Then I realized I didn't have "sync" enabled in Chrome. It's like this thing is a virus. I'm using AUR google-chrome.

Last edited by GameCodingNinja2 (2018-12-08 01:57:29)

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#7 2018-12-08 08:57:41

seth
Member
Registered: 2012-09-03
Posts: 50,012

Re: My Google-Chrome browser was taken over by search.frontier.com

Trilby wrote:

Is frontier your ISP?  They may be redirecting you there.

loqs wrote:

Does using an alternate DNS help?

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#8 2018-12-09 20:34:03

GameCodingNinja2
Member
Registered: 2017-12-29
Posts: 17

Re: My Google-Chrome browser was taken over by search.frontier.com

Yes, Frontier is my ISP. They have been my ISP for 5+ years now. This problem is the result of clicking on something related to a google search a few days ago. The tab displays trying to do that search when Chrome starts. I'm amazed on how something externally can cause my Chrome browser to do something I can't stop.

No I have not tried an alternate DNS.

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#9 2018-12-09 20:50:20

loqs
Member
Registered: 2014-03-06
Posts: 17,197

Re: My Google-Chrome browser was taken over by search.frontier.com

What option is Chrome configured to use on start up?
Open the New Tab page
Continue where you left off
Open a specific page or set of pages
If a specific page,  please install bind-tools then compare the output of the following where $hostname.tld is the name of the server hosting the web page.

dig $hostname.tld
dig @8.8.8.8 $hostname.tld

Edit:
If you create a new user.  Does the new user when starting chrome without being synced / logged in affected by the issue?

Last edited by loqs (2018-12-09 20:57:28)

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