my Computer Quest

08 July, 2017

How To Remove Cleanserp.net Search Engine Hijacker From Chrome

Logo used from the start of the Chrome project until March 2011 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

July 8, 2017

Recently I was plagued by cleanserp.net search engine taking over Google. I do a search and out comes cleanserp.net taking over Google.com, and that is even when you type Google.com in the web address!

I let this happen for a couple of days, until I got fed up. I was thinking that it was a bit difficult to remove this search engine browser hijacker, but my curiosity got the better of me.

So I did a search, and guess what? It is easy enough, easier than I expected, even if it were to be done manually.

I'm not telling anything anymore about what cleanserp.net is, of how it got into your computer, and what it does, and more.

So here are the steps:

1. Check the browser shortcut by doing right-click on it, then Properties. If after the .exe it shows "http://cleanserp.net", remove that. Then click on OK.

2. Change your startup page, it must not be "http://cleanserp.net".

3. Uninstall any program that may be related to anything rogue or questionable. Since you know your computer better, you know what you are installing, and anything that doesn't look like a legit program, you uninstall these.

Specific to Google Chrome, if changing the search engine throws out “This setting is enforced by your administrator”, try the following (this is what fixed my problem):

1. Open %WINDIR%\System32\GroupPolicy folder (just copy that path and paste into the address bar of Windows Explorer). Delete the contents of that folder.

2. Next, open %WINDIR%\System32\GroupPolicyUsers and delete all of its contents.

3. Finally, restart your computer.

There is a possibility that a few more minutes will be added than before to your computer's restart process, but that is just the first time reboot after doing the change. it would return to normal afterwards.

Some more info can be got here: How to Remove Cleanserp.net [Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge]

Hope this helps.

Thank you, and till then!

06 April, 2017

Kernel Panic - Not Syncing After Ubuntu Upgrade, Update

Ubuntu Desktop 11.04 started from Live CD with Install window open (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Kernel panic - not syncing! I upgraded to Ubuntu 16.04, and that is what I got.

After being away from my blogs for so long a time, building my own website, and letting it go after a year, I am back to Blogger.com.

Since my last blog, it was about 2 years already, I think more than. And I have forgotten what my e-mail was. I mean, there is one e-mail that I always use, as much as I can remember. But I tried to log in using that account, and it was not!

I tried my second best candidate, and even that one, it was not!

Searched a bit on how to find out who the blog owner is, found some things, like looking at the profile, etc. Didn't work for me.

Finally, I had to log-in with the account that I knew I always use, and checked out the settings, and I saw another e-mail account, and to my surprise! I mean, I can't believe, and I doubted, that I am using that e-mail in my blogs.

Nothing would be lost, so I tried, and what do you know? That was the correct e-mail account!

And I had to put this in writing, the error I encountered when I updated Ubuntu Linux to 16.04. That was the reason why I was anxious to start blogging again.

Kernel panic - not syncing... and some other texts.

Problem:

After upgrading Ubuntu Linux to 16.04, I can't boot up Ubuntu Linux. Grub shows, but after selecting Ubuntu, OS stops at that line: Kernel panic - not syncing....

Solution(s):

1. boot-repair - this was the first thing I did. Using a Live CD/USD of the same distro, I booted up my laptop to Ubuntu, and issued below commands line-by-line:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install -y boot-repair

boot-repair

There is a good graphical article here in help.ubuntu.com: Boot-Repair.

That fixed Grub, and Ubuntu is able to boot up properly again. But Windows is now not showing in Grub! So I searched for possible fixes.

2. bootrec /rebuildbcd. That was the suggested fix, which requires botting up with a Windows installation CD/USD. And that was required to be run in a command prompt environment.

At first, it was not a success. Further searches, I got the idea that I need to mount Windows drive, which I unmounted when I tried to install 16.04 over my 15.04 version.

3. mount Windows partition. I booted up to Ubuntu Live CD/USB, opened up disks from terminal, click-select Windows partition, flicked the switch to mount, then remove hibernate file by adding in mount option: ,remove_hiberfile.

Then I ran grub repair utility. Still didn't see Windows in the Grub list.

4. boot-repair. I ran it a second time, and I saw that it is already seen as one of the OSes. I completed the repair.

As I was able to boot up Ubuntu Linux and Windows, I did 2 cycles of booting up Windows and Ubuntu Linux without touching anything yet. Once I am confident that Grub is properly working again, I did the last step of customization.

5. Grub Customizer. I removed Windows 8, moved up and down Ubuntu, Advanced Ubuntu Options and Windows according to my liking, and I am back.

I am posting up this article from Ubuntu Linux 16.04 distro. I hope it helps me in the future, if the opportunity comes, and I hope that it helps somebody else who face the same problem.

Till then!

18 May, 2015

e-Commerce, Internet Marketing, Online Business

This is the logo for Yodel Australia. Yodel Australia is an online advertising and internet marketing company located in Sydney, NSW. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

18-May-2015

If you are one like me who has been searching for so long, and have tried many things, and ending up only failing, today may be your day.

Free membership, with option to become a Premium member
Free training and guidance from the 200k+ community of members
2 free websites, to begin with
And the possibility of making money, even if you don't go Premium

Isn't that incentive to try it out?
Go ahead, it is free.

It just might be what you have been looking for to make it in the world of internet: e-commerce, internet marketing, affiliate marketing, online business.

This is no scam, for sure. a 200,000+ community of legitimate members should tell you that this is something: real people, real system, real results.

Try it. You'll be glad you did:

e-Commerce, Online Business, Internet Marketing, Affiliate Marketing

When you did, let me know how it went. You don't get rich quick, but you will be shown the way to make it big in the online world.

Till then!