pcbill941
join:2007-11-08
| EMBARQ Hijacks Browser Search Capabilities As of this morning, 11/08 here in Florida, Embarq has hijacked a persons ability to search from the address bar in Internet Explorer. They automatically re-direct you to »search.embarq.com/index.php. One has the option to opt out of “EMBARQ's non-existing domain landing service”, funny how one never opts into these things, but when you do you are left without being able to search from the address bar at all. Basically they have their servers from looking up the DNS for »auto.search.msn.com
This looks primarily as a way to shove advertising down customers throats. But I ask what’s next from ISP’s? Will they decide what we can and can’t view on the Internet?
Bill | |
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orph4824
I Ate What??
join:2001-04-26
Greeneville, TN | Re: EMBARQ Hijacks Browser Search Capabilities Haven't noticed this behavior, however I don't rely on Embarq's DNS either so that could be the reason. | |
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bctrainers
join:2004-08-03
Olathe, KS | I've been using OpenDNS for the past months now. No need to worry about the DNS Search hijacking anymore. (Unless they begin to force redirect IP's within the network!)  | |
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pcbill941
join:2007-11-08 | I looked at OpenDNS and put their IP's into my router and ended up right back at search.embarq.com/index.php when I entered a non URL in the address bar.
Bill | |
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orph4824
I Ate What??
join:2001-04-26
Greeneville, TN
| Re: EMBARQ Hijacks Browser Search Capabilities Sounds like you didn't release and renew you pc's ip/dns after you set the info in your router.
click Start
then Run
enter cmd then click ok
type the following seperately
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
That will pull a fresh ip and dns from your router, then you should no longer see Embarq's, OpenDNS has thier own mistyped url redirect also but you can opt out of it easily enough, you can even create shortcuts so for instance "dslr" can redirect you to the full dslr url.
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Life's 3 rules: 1. Stuff happens 2. Stuff happens on a regular basis 3. Better get used to the first two... (not the actual saying but you get the drift) | |
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nbnick
@embarqhsd.net
| Bastages! It just happened to me as well. I opted out but now I'm getting redirected to »domainhelp.search.com.
Anyone seen this before?
Also, I should note this only happens when I'm using IE. If I use my Firefox browser it's not a problem. | |
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bbman122
@qwest.net | Re: EMBARQ Hijacks Browser Search Capabilities Sounds like you have a toolbar or something else controlling browser behavior. | |
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Maxo
Your tax dollars at work.
Premium,VIP
join:2002-11-04
Tallahassee, FL
clubs: | I had the same thing happen to me a few weeks ago. There was an opt-out option, which I selected. | |
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gg23
@embarqhsd.net
| Re: EMBARQ Hijacks Browser Search Capabilities Just spent 40 minutes on phone with Embarq support. Ralph did not know anything about issue of address bar search failure. He spoke with Techs that are just as uninformed or will not admit they are the problem. I did Optout and my searches immediately changed from going to Embarqs Search page to "The page cannot be displayed" page, but the address bar search will not work. | |
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MrMoody
Carbon Based Lifeform
join:2002-09-03
Smithfield, NC
 ·Embarq
 ·Skype
·magicjack.com
| Re: EMBARQ Hijacks Browser Search Capabilities said by gg23 :
the address bar search will not work. That's because it relies on getting a real "domain not found" error from DNS instead of just another Embarq page that LOOKS like one. The only way to fix it is switch DNS to an unadulterated server. It would be nice if Embarq would provide this as an option.
Savvy users can run their own local DNS server if they have a machine that's always on. I've done this in the past when Time Warner's DNS servers were constantly bogged down or screwed up. It makes browsing faster, too.
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"It is a future in which globalization really does work ... and everybody winds up getting to be part of the third world." - William Gibson | |
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Maxo
Your tax dollars at work.
Premium,VIP
join:2002-11-04
Tallahassee, FL
clubs:
| Re: EMBARQ Hijacks Browser Search Capabilities said by MrMoody  :It would be nice if Embarq would provide this as an option. When you get redirected to Embarq's search there should be an opt-out button. There was for me. | |
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Maxo
Your tax dollars at work.
Premium,VIP
join:2002-11-04
Tallahassee, FL
clubs:
1 edit | Re: EMBARQ Hijacks Browser Search Capabilities I didn't realise that. Thanks for the clarification. I rarely mistype URLs. I usually start typing them and then complete it from the address bars history. I'll have to mistype a URL when I get home to watch it in action.
I don't think it will have a problem tracking who has opted out, as the DSLAM does do background PPPoE with the Redback, that the user never sees, and this can easily be stored in their LDAP server, or whatever Embarq uses to store information on it's customers. I may be wrong on this point since this is a DNS level "feature." I wonder if they have their DNS servers talking to whatever servers store the customers profile. | |
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| | | | | | dagman52
join:2007-11-12
32879
| Re: EMBARQ Hijacks Browser Search Capabilities Features and Benefits
* Per-user preferences that function independent of cookies and dynamic IP addresses for opt-out and opt-in - improves subscriber experience with holistic preferences and controls integrated into the “My Account” experience
»www2.simplicita.com/product_nxd.html | |
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| | | | NormanS
Premium,MVM
join:2001-02-14
San Jose, CA
·Pacific Bell - SBC
| May I suggest that you try using 'nslookup' from a command prompt? I don't have the Embarq DNS server IP addresses (and even if I did, Embarq may obstruct access from outside of their IP network). But I can see the difference between using an error correcting DNS server and a straight, unadulterated DNS server.
Standard DNS (provided by my ISP):
Some utilities depend upon that error to function correctly.
Error-correcting DNS (using OpenDNS):
Those utilities which depend upon an error to function properly will fail to function with this result.
If you opt out of Embarq's DNS error corrections, will you get the first result, or the second when you run 'nslookup' from a command prompt. Try it and post your results. I am curious.
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Norman
~Oh Lord, why have you come
~To Konnyu, with the Lion and the Drum | |
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Maxo
Your tax dollars at work.
Premium,VIP
join:2002-11-04
Tallahassee, FL
clubs: | Re: EMBARQ Hijacks Browser Search Capabilities If I remember when I get home tonight I'll do that. | |
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| | | | | | NormanS
Premium,MVM
join:2001-02-14
San Jose, CA
·Pacific Bell - SBC
| Re: EMBARQ Hijacks Browser Search Capabilitiessaid by Maxo :Mind you, this is on Linux: As long as the results make sense...
Your first lookup queries your router, or modem? That would hold the actual Embarq DNS servers, yes? What would interest me would be the results of looking up 'www.microsoft.con' using the Embarq DNS servers. Should be something like this:
I have actually been jumping around, trying different setting in my router. I ran with the default DHCP setting (router gets IP address, DNS servers from SpeedStream 4100) for a long time. Every so often, though, I'd hit a period of DNS lag. I thought it might be the router firmware, and tried both the latest version, and the first (router shipped with the middle version, of three). Ultimately figured it might be some kind of interaction between the router and the modem, so I manually overrode the automatic settings. I also played with OpenDNS (set up an account to configure things) and Verizon DNS server on the router. Ultimately, what I don't like about OpenDNS is that the Google lookup suggests an OpenDNS landing page for the Google site:
I am not sure why they do that. I don't know why I should trust OpenDNS more than Google.
Anyway, I'd rather keep the ATTIS DNS servers, for now (68.94.156.1/68.94.157.1). If 'at&t Yahoo!HSI' (ATTIS) changes things, I would consider jumping over to DSL Extreme for Internet service. As long as DSLX kept a basic, no-frills, no tricks DNS service. Or run with Dynamic DNS Network Services, LLC "Recursive DNS" service, if necessary. Granted, I'd have to pay for it. But it would be exactly what DNS should be.
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Norman
~Oh Lord, why have you come
~To Konnyu, with the Lion and the Drum | |
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| | | | | | | dagman52
join:2007-11-12
32879
| Re: EMBARQ Hijacks Browser Search Capabilities
Norman,
I didn't take screenshots, but nslookup is responding correctly when I'm opted out of the service (using Linux). Opting back in is overriding the queries on a known typo. I would go so far to say as Embarq's DNS servers are working as I would expect. | |
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| | | | | | | | NormanS
Premium,MVM
join:2001-02-14
San Jose, CA
·Pacific Bell - SBC
| Re: EMBARQ Hijacks Browser Search Capabilities I didn't post a single screen shot. All are "copy and paste" jobs; plain text.
If an 'nslookup' on a non-existent domain does not return an IP address to a landing page, then there is no problem that I can see.
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Norman
~Oh Lord, why have you come
~To Konnyu, with the Lion and the Drum | |
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| | | | | | | | | dagman52
join:2007-11-12
32879 | Re: EMBARQ Hijacks Browser Search Capabilitiesagreed. Perhaps we are arguing the same thing.  | |
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| | | | | | | | | NormanS
Premium,MVM
join:2001-02-14
San Jose, CA
·Pacific Bell - SBC
| Re: EMBARQ Hijacks Browser Search Capabilities I was just trying to find out what the Embarq DNS servers were really doing. I don't use them myself, and don't know if I could test them myself. At least on ISP blocks access to their DNS servers from outside of their customer network IP address space.
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Norman
~Oh Lord, why have you come
~To Konnyu, with the Lion and the Drum | |
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espaeth
Digital Plumber
Premium,MVM
join:2001-04-21
Minneapolis, MN | Re: EMBARQ Hijacks Browser Search Capabilities I ran through some of the DNS servers listed in the FAQ, it appears all of the Flordia servers are doing the mistype redirection, but once you go further down the list the results are hit and miss. | |
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Maxo
Your tax dollars at work.
Premium,VIP
join:2002-11-04
Tallahassee, FL
clubs:
| said by NormanS :Your first lookup queries your router, or modem? That would hold the actual Embarq DNS servers, yes? What would interest me would be the results of looking up 'www.microsoft.con' using the Embarq DNS servers. Should be something like this: I have a 2-Wire modem/router combo. The router is holding the DNS servers (they are set to automatically obtain.) | |
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| | | | | | NormanS
Premium,MVM
join:2001-02-14
San Jose, CA
·Pacific Bell - SBC
2 edits | Re: EMBARQ Hijacks Browser Search CapabilitiesI haven't found it. Yet. Well, maybe I did. It sort of works:
Which is satisfactory, from the standpoint of getting a proper error when a domain doesn't exist. OTOH...
From the standpoint of going straight to the source, it still resolves an OpenDNS IP address, instead of the source IP address. Or am I reading that result wrong? When compared with:
When I go somewhere, I'd like to get the data from the horse' mouth, so to speak... | |
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| | | | | | | dagman52
join:2007-11-12
32879 | Re: EMBARQ Hijacks Browser Search Capabilities Haven't found what? | |
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| | | | | | | | NormanS
Premium,MVM
join:2001-02-14
San Jose, CA
·Pacific Bell - SBC
| Re: EMBARQ Hijacks Browser Search Capabilities The place to disable OpenDNS error correction. There is a bit of lag from when I change the router to use their DNS servers, and when their Dashboard reflects that change. And I want to be sure that the change is in effect before I run the 'nslookup' command, just so I am certain that the results reflect the changes.
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Norman
~Oh Lord, why have you come
~To Konnyu, with the Lion and the Drum | |
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