# My Internet Thinks I'm in Germany (and I'm not)?



## enronian (May 6, 2008)

For some reason my internet recently started thinking I was in Germany:

yahoo.com goes to http://de.yahoo.com/?p=us

google.com goes to http://www.google.de/

I've checked all my language and regional settings that I can think of (internet settings and control panel) but I can find no way of changing it back. Malware/virus scans find nothing. Does anyone know how this could have happened and how I can fix it?


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## techdawg667 (Mar 11, 2008)

Do you have Google Toolbar? If so then check to see the language or region settings.


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## enronian (May 6, 2008)

Cant find where that option is, but when I installed the google toolbar it said english us as the setting however when I go to google it still says google germany.


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## techdawg667 (Mar 11, 2008)

Go to Settings (for Google Toolbar) > Options > Features tab > Search Box Settings > Then in the "Use Google Site" dropdown menu choose US.


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## enronian (May 6, 2008)

Says united states of america (.com) ><


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## leroys1000 (Aug 16, 2007)

Are you using an anonimity program through a proxy?
I use JAP sometimes and it defaults to a german IP.


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## enronian (May 6, 2008)

No I am not.


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## enronian (May 6, 2008)

Any other ideas?


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## Eriksrocks (Aug 7, 2005)

Go here:
http://www.whatismyipaddress.com/

It will tell you where the physical location of your IP is. Is it close to where you really live or is it in Germany?


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## enronian (May 6, 2008)

It says I am in Kansas although I am in Minnesota, both are not anywhere close to Germany


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## Eriksrocks (Aug 7, 2005)

I'm in Minnesota too D), but it actually says I'm in Minnesota and not Kansas. Refresh that page a couple of times and see if you're IP and/or location changes. Restart the browser a couple of times also and go to that page and see if it changes.

If it does, you're using some kind of proxy, whether you're meaning to or not.


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## enronian (May 6, 2008)

Nope no changes in IP


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## enronian (May 6, 2008)

I can set it to the US sites by clicking on the US option at yahoo/google but whenever I clear the internet cache (such as cookies and history) it starts bringing me to the german version again.


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## Eriksrocks (Aug 7, 2005)

Try it on a different browser such as Firefox, or if you're using Firefox try it on IE and see if you are still redirected to the German versions. 

It's very odd because it looks like your IP is where it should be (or close), but you're still getting redirected to the German versions. Here is an explanation from Yahoo! on how they redirect people to country specific sites:

[webquote=http://help.yahoo.com/l/sg/yahoo/homepage/troubleshooting/troubleshoot-02.html]We redirect users located in selected countries other than the United States from Yahoo.com to one of our country-specific sites (e.g. sg.yahoo.com for Yahoo! Singapore) to provide our users with the most locally relevant Yahoo! experience. We use your computer's IP address, which is usually the internet address of your Internet Service Provider (ISP), to determine your country location and corresponding Yahoo! site.

If you'd prefer to visit Yahoo.com instead, click on the Yahoo.com link located directly below the Yahoo! Singapore logo.

If you have cookies enabled, your browser will navigate directly to Yahoo.com on all subsequent visits. For more information on cookies, please visit our privacy page.

If cookies are disabled, you'll continue to be redirected each time you visit Yahoo! You can prevent this either by enabling cookies or directly typing http://us.yahoo.com into your browser. Visitors to http://us.yahoo.com will be shown the same site as Yahoo.com.

Finally, if you feel that we're detecting your IP address incorrectly, please use the Feedback link below to send us the following information:

1. Your IP address.
If you don't know your IP address, please visit http://www.whatismyip.com and send us the IP that is listed on the top of the page. Your IP address will look something like this: 217.148.184.7
2. Your location (e.g. Seoul, Korea).
3. The Yahoo! site you're being redirected to (e.g. sg.yahoo.com).

If we're able to fix the problem at the time you reported, we'll do so as soon as possible.[/webquote]

And the explanation from Google:
[webquote=http://www.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=873]We normally redirect users in countries other than the United States from Google.com to one of our country-specific sites (e.g. www.google.co.uk for Google UK) to provide easy access to country-specific search features. We use your computer's IP address, which is frequently the internet address of your Internet Service Provider (ISP), to determine your location and the corresponding Google domain.

If you'd prefer to visit Google.com instead, click on the "Google.com" link on the bottom right-hand side of the Google homepage.

If you have cookies enabled, your browser will connect directly to Google.com on all subsequent visits. For more information on cookies, please visit http://www.google.com/cookies.html and http://www.google.com/privacy.html

If cookies are disabled, you'll experience the same redirect each time you visit Google. You can solve this either by enabling cookies or setting a bookmark for http://www.google.com/webhp. In the latter case, you'll be taken to http://www.google.com/webhp, which is exactly the same as Google.com, each time you select the bookmark.

Finally, if you feel that we're detecting your IP address incorrectly, please use the "Contact us" link below to send us the following information:

1. Your IP address. If you don't know your IP address, please visit http://www.whatismyip.com and send us the IP that is listed on the top of the page. Your IP address will look something like this: 217.148.184.7
2. Your physical location (for example, Paris, France).
3. The Google site you're being redirected to (for example, Google.co.in).

If we're able to fix the problem on our end, we'll do so within a few weeks.[/webquote]
It's almost laughable how similar they are - almost exact copies!  

And that's why it's so odd. Your IP shows you're in Kansas, but Google and Yahoo are both detecting that you're in Germany.


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## enronian (May 6, 2008)

I still am, either on Firefox or IE (even after installing firefox 3 still in german)


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## Eriksrocks (Aug 7, 2005)

See my edited post above.


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## Eriksrocks (Aug 7, 2005)

One other thing to try: 

If you go to msn.com are you redirected to de.msn.com?
If you go to ask.com are you redirected to de.ask.com?


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## enronian (May 6, 2008)

Thanks Ill try that and Ill change my links


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## enronian (May 6, 2008)

Hmmm no I'm not, maybe the google/yahoo deal stuff they've been doing messed something up


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## Eriksrocks (Aug 7, 2005)

Yeah, I would do what they say and use the Contact Us/Feedback form on each site to send them your IP, your location, which site you're getting redirected to, etc. as they describe. 

It's most likely just some misconfiguration on their end, because msn.com and ask.com work fine.


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## enronian (May 6, 2008)

Yeah, thanks for some insight into this finally, I'm hoping they fix this soon I can't sign up for a new email at gmail


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## Eriksrocks (Aug 7, 2005)

enronian said:


> I'm hoping they fix this soon I can't sign up for a new email at gmail


If you want to, you can use an online proxy like AlwaysBrowse.com to sign up for a new account - just enter www.gmail.com in the URL field and sign up as you normally would.


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## enronian (May 6, 2008)

Eriksrocks said:


> If you want to, you can use an online proxy like AlwaysBrowse.com to sign up for a new account - just enter www.gmail.com in the URL field and sign up as you normally would.


For some reason it doesnt let me using that, something to do with sending secure data.


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## DoubleHelix (Dec 10, 2004)

You've verified that there's no proxy server setup?
What about installed programs? Anything security or privacy related? Something is running that's redirecting your Internet traffic. Either that, or the problem is with your ISP.


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## enronian (May 6, 2008)

I've done full virus/malware scans and got nothing, can't find any security/privacy settings that are messed up, and I've never installed a proxy server nor have one set up ><


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## DoubleHelix (Dec 10, 2004)

Look through Add/Remove Programs. Look for something installed related to Internet security. What anti-virus software do you use? What about a firewall? Does this happen in different browsers? 

You may need to post a HijackThis log in the malware forum and have someone look at it.


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## enronian (May 6, 2008)

I use symantec and malwarebytes , only use windows firewall. does happen in IE, firefox 2 and firefox 3 that I installed recently. Ill go post that hijackthis log see what comes up.


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## g1i2n3g4 (Jun 19, 2008)

Is this happening whilst at work or on your home PC?


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## enronian (May 6, 2008)

home PC


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