Google search engine

[Alan2]

Why is the Google seach engine unobtainable today

[j2buttonsw]

Works fine with me (NTL world).

[Hippy]

No problem here

[coggles]

No probs here either.

[I3enners]

Its down for me too. my ISP is Virgin net.

[Diogenes]

If you're having problems, and you're using Internet Explorer, do this: find a file on your computer called "Hosts" and look at it using NotePad. This file is a redirecting directory which overrides the web's DNS servers. You may find that it has an IP address followed by a list of URLS. If so, it means that when you type one of those URLs into your browser, or click on a hyperlink that points to one of them, then instead of going to the correct site, you are redirected to the IP address at the top. If you're having the same problem that I had recently, then you will probably find that there is a whole list of search directory addresses being redirected by this file; not only Google but also other big name directories like Lycos, LookSmart and MSN Search. What you need to do is edit the file to remove these entries, so simply delete everything from the file except the top line. (You can make a back-up of the file first if you're not comfortable with this). Remember to save the resulting file with the same filename HOSTS. Don't use an extension (NotePad may add .TXT as a default, in which case just go into DOS and rename the file manually). That should sort the problem out.

[j2buttonsw]

If you are going to fiddle with the hosts file why not just delete it. Windows will create another next reboot. It is found in C:\windows or winnt\system32\drivers\etc and may well be hidden.

[Diogenes]

I wouldn't think it was hidden; surely it needs to be visible to be useful? (Or is there another function in later Windows releases which allows indirect access to the file?). Anyhow, in Windows 98 it's c:\Windows\Hosts and it isn't hidden.

[j2buttonsw]

Diogenes, people still use Win98? LOL! Why are some files hidden? Windows hides certain files by default. These files are system files used by Windows itself and unless you want to edit them (which requires some windows proficiency) they are perfectly fine to leave hidden. They're hidden to save from accidental deletions, and accidental editing. The system can still "find" hidden files but the users can't. If you say the hosts file isn't hidden then I agree, I just thought it may be hidden and you must make the necessary changes to make them visible.

[I3enners]

I just found out I have a trojan. the QHOSTS trojan is a new one that changes DNS settings and things. I think this may be causing my problems. haven't got to my Pc yet to check it though. http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc
/data/trojan.qhosts.html