Firefox, proxy settings, and me

Bobble

So for some reason, something about my internet settings changed the other day, and nothing would load in firefox.

The proxy server is refusing connections
Firefox is configured to use a proxy server that is refusing connections.

I managed to find the proxy settings in my options, flipped it from 'use system proxy settings' to 'auto-detect proxy settings for this network' and everything seems to be perfectly fine now. However, I'm wary of magical fixes that I don't really understand and don't know what else I affected. I don't really understand proxy settings in the first place, but why would the system settings suddenly be a problem? Resetting the router and modem have had no effect.

Is there a simple explanation for what happened? Should I be trying to get it 'fixed' so that I'm using the system settings?

Thanks.

Thanatos

Almost certainly a virus. Changing proxy settings is a typical strategy in order to make it so you can't find solutions, or are stuck using their server redirects to get everything from the internet.

I'd suggest scanning with MalwareBytes Anti-Malware and SuperAntiSpyware, maybe Microsoft Security Essentials, too.

splash

Yea, what he said.

I recently fixed a virus that did this but also changed the hosts file that had a bunch of redirect addresses listed in it. When they do this it also tends to cause people to get reinfected with viruses. You may not have had this problem but you might want to open the hosts file using notepad to check, it's in:

C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc

Bobble

No funny redirect addresses, just the localhost IPs. Security Essentials quickscan found nothing. Full scan's an hour in so far. AVG scan found nothing. Anti-Malware's a half hour in and no hits so far.

Internet browsing's fine, but I launched WoW out of curiosity and the Launcher told me it couldn't connect, so something's off (and WoW was working last night, so now I'm pretty confused).

Not sure how I go about fixing the proxy settings for the system, which it seems I'm gonna have to do regardless of the results of the spyware/virus scans.

Ruckus

Bobble wrote: »

No funny redirect addresses, just the localhost IPs. Security Essentials quickscan found nothing. Full scan's an hour in so far. AVG scan found nothing. Anti-Malware's a half hour in and no hits so far.

Internet browsing's fine, but I launched WoW out of curiosity and the Launcher told me it couldn't connect, so something's off (and WoW was working last night, so now I'm pretty confused).

Not sure how I go about fixing the proxy settings for the system, which it seems I'm gonna have to do regardless of the results of the spyware/virus scans.

If you look at the proxy settings before you clear them, it's most likely "localhost" and a public range port number. On mine it was like fifty three thousand something something something. It's a very common chunk of malware that's been making the rounds, sets your proxy the local host and then runs an app to monitor the port and pass the requests, watching for anything interesting. Most antivirus software kills the process before they can do anything, so the biggest annoyance is that it makes you unable to browse until you fix the proxy settings. Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware will clean up anything that your normal AV didn't get.

The proxy settings are changeable via Control Panel>Internet Options>Connections Tab>LAN Settings button. There's a check-box for Proxy Server there that you just have to uncheck.