compuserve

[kingofbedsit]

I tried as you said about deleting aol but you see im on bt broadband so i access aol via google or whatever but not using aol directly.its just attached itself to aol.i cant delete compuserve as it keeps mutating inside my computer and wont go away. please help

[lisaj]

Do these questions make any sense to anyone else? I can't make head or tail of what on earth you're going on about.

[j2buttonsw]

Are you saying you use BT broadband to connect to the internet but whenever you go to www.aol.com (or whatever) either by typing in http://www.aol.com to the address bar or going via a search engine such as google, you get transported to a compuserve web site?

[kingofbedsit]

j2buttonsw. Exactly every time from typing in aol it goes directly to compuserve no matter how i try and access aol

[j2buttonsw]

What happens when you click on this: http://205.188.145.214 ?

[kingofbedsit]

it goes straight to compuserve...could it be a virus?

[j2buttonsw]

It sounds mash-up to me. I would rebuild my system and make sure you re-format the hard drive first.

[kingofbedsit]

THANX

[lisaj]

Sounds more like a simple case of the hosts file having been edited. When you look up www.aol.com, your PC will try to resolve the IP address from the local hosts file and failing that, a DNS server. If the local hosts file has had www.aol.com listed with compuserve's IP, then that'll create the effect you're experiencing. More worrying is how this arose in the first place - I wasn't aware compuserve hijacked AOL in this way! Anyway, to check, and edit your hosts file, look for c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts if you're on NT/2K/XP and for c:\windows\system32\hosts.sam if you're on 95/98/ME

[j2buttonsw]

lisaj, granted the hosts file will resolve a name to an IP address in preference to a DNS lookup but if you put the IP address into the IE address bar you are not using any resolution. kingofbetsit clearly says that if he puts the IP address of AOL in (205.188.145.214), it still redirects to compuserve, so it is not a resolution issue.

[kingofbedsit]

Thiankyou both of you for your input.As im sure you are aware by now im a true amateur.I will probably wait for a friend who has some knowledge to come and wipe the computer clean and start again,as frustrating as it is it'sprobably the quickest and easiest solution.Again thankyou for your time,until the next problem.................

[lisaj]

j2: sorry, I'd read it as having worked with the IP - tired late night eyes again ;-)