I think this is an Adware question...

My top bane of using the internet are sites that appear on Google/Yahoo searches, and the instant I click on them, they re-direct me to another site (usually a 'hostage' site, or one armed with a popup-type forced downloader). If anyone knows of any sort of defense against sites using redirection...or at least an escape from 'hostage' sites, & forced downloader sites (other than re-booting), please advise. Thanks!

 

A direct answer to your request would be :
http://majorgeeks.com/SpywareBlaster_d2859.html

Further protecting yourself (assuming you have no malware right now) would involve reading and actually following the guide found here :
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=44525

If you think you may already be infected with malware, go here :
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=35407

This website is a godsend for those looking for help in keeping their computers computing correctly and at top performance.

If you are being re-directed to sites other than what you are clicking on in GOOGLE sounds like you may already be infected with malware.

What anti-virus, anti spyware, etc. are you currently using and what OS are you running ?

 

Oh wow I wasn't aware of that thread. Thanks mori !

 

Firstly, many thanks for the info on prevention. Currently I'm stuck on public computers, so nothing I can do but endure this bane. I'm planning on home PC by end of the year, and prevention is top priority. I will be going the custom-build route, and plan on three hard disk drives (one for XP Pro SP2, one for Linux, and third one to test out BeOS, PC-BSD, & maybe OS/2)...all this depends on whether I can find components that all the OSs accept. As for anti-virus, anti-spyware, ect., still researching this (narrowed it down to top tens). By the way, know of any escape from the 'hostage' & forced-downloader sites? While I'm stuck on library computers, this would be a big stress relief, as I cannot do anything to fix the redirection.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by 'hostage & forced downloader sites' . Could you give an example ? If you are on a public computer, I wouldn't be surprised if it was riddled with malware.

 

I'm probably not using the right name for these things. Lets say I'm doing a Google or Yahoo search on 'DRM Microsoft' in the search box. I get many pages of hits. I click on say ten and everything is a-okay, but the instant I click on the eleventh one I get redirected to what I call a 'hostage' site. It could be porn, could be site desperate to sell me Viagra, etc. Whatever, it ain't what I clicked on, so I click on back button. Surprise! Back button is disabled. I click on red X at top right corner...its now disabled. I hit ctrl,alt,del keys...also no good. I'm held captive at this site. Only thing librarian has suggested is to turn off the computer, and start over! Forced downloader sites also usually start with redirection. The instant you enter this sort of site, a rectangle box appears in center of screen says something like a virus has been detected on your computer and you must download this cure at once or else. Again back button, red X, & ctrl/alt/del is disabled. The little box has buttons saying 'Download Now!', 'Don't Download' and a red X at its upper right...clicking any of these starts the download...in other words your only option is to accept the download, or reboot.

 

That's malware for sure.
I hope you don't EVER input ANY personal information in public computers .

 

So I assume from the brief answer there is no escape from these sites, other than the reboot, and that as long as I'm stuck on library computers, I'll have to endure this.

 

Have you tried turning the browser off through Task Manager?
Found under the Applications tab.
Faster than doing a reboot.

 

Right. If you are stuck using public computers, you can always press ctrl, alt and delete at the same time, start task manager, then under the applications tab highlight the browser entries and click "end task". Since you are on public computers, they are notoriously malware riddled, always assume they are completely unsecure (dont EVER use personal info) and you'd be wasting your time, and perhaps breaking the library's rules to run malware cleaning steps .
Just be careful with what you do on library computers. I've heard of people sneaking hardware keyloggers inline with the keyboard jack, then coming back at a later date and WHAM they have who knows what wealth of passwords and other information .
Yes, you are stuck with crappy computers until you can get your own and set it up the way YOU want it, and be sure to follow MG steps to keep it running clean . I've been doing it since i guess 2005 now, and MG has helped me out many, many times.