How to Remove Gifables “Virus”

Can’t Remove Gifables hijacker virus? This page includes detailed Gifables Removal instructions!

So, you have opened your web browser and discovered that your homepage is replaced. Also, a strange toolbar appeared. And you have nothing to do with those changes, right? First of all, you have a browser hijacker on board. Second, you are partly responsible for the infection. The Gifables hijacker tricked you to install it on your PC. The good news is, this tool is not a real virus. Yet, it can be quite harmful. Gifables has only one goal, to generate revenue for its owners. To do so, it uses a pay-per-click marketing system. This system is a bit tricky. It can be both, useful and hazardous. It all depends on the way it is applied. And Gifables is misusing the system. It is abusing it. The hijacker knows no boundaries. It will turn your browsing experience into a nightmare. No joke here. Every website you visit, even the ones that used to be ad-free, will be heavy on ad banners. When you try to follow a link, additional tabs will open in your browser. You won’t be able to read an article without being interrupted by a pop-up window. You will notice that random website text is turned into hyperlinks. It is all Gifables’ doing. This furtive utility turned your own browser against you. You will also notice that your computer is performing poorly. It will slow down and you seem to be unable to find the reason. The answer is right before your eyes. It is, again, the hijacker that causes problems. Don’t forget that this app is running on your CPU. It uses your computer’s resources. And it uses a lot of them. The more ads you see, the slower your PC will become. Luckily, we can help you. To put an end to this madness, you must remove Gifables. Follow our guide or use a trustworthy anti-virus program. It is up to you. Take action now!

How did I get infected with?

As we already mentioned, you are partly responsible for the miserable state your browser is. To operate on your machine, Gifables needs your approval. And you provided it. However, you may not remember doing so. This is so because the furtive app never asked you openly. You were deceived. The hijacker might have arrived as a bundled program to some freeware you downloaded off the web. When installing a program, opt for an advanced wizard. This option will be presented as a suitable choice for IT experts only. Yet, there is nothing complicated in it. The custom installation is a step-by-step process. It will present a list of all extra programs that are about to be installed. Also, read the terms and conditions. We know it is extremely annoying. Yet, the EULA is the only way you can spot breaches. If you can’t make yourself to read pages of conditions, at least, use an online EULA analyzer to check them. If you agree to unlawful clauses without realizing, the consumer law will protect you. Yet, there is a catch. To do so, you need to go to court. More often than not, this is not worth the trouble. Therefore, avoid such situations. Download your software from reliable websites only. Before proceeding with the installation, read reviews online. Your computer’s security is your responsibility. Other malware distribution techniques involve spam emails, corrupted links, and torrents. Your caution can prevent such infections.

Why is this dangerous?

Gifables is a menace that should not be tolerated. This tool entered your machine unnoticed and wreaked havoc on it. You have seen your new homepage, but have you noticed that your default search engine is also replaced? The hijacker did it. It has complete control over your web browser. Now, the search results you are seeing are corrupted. All of them. No matter the provider, Gifables will inject fake entries among the results. These, most of the time, are ads. However, they are not marked as such. You can never be sure which results are organic and which are sponsored. Doing an objective online research will become an impossible task. Furthermore, dodgy websites pay hefty sums to get their links to the top. Gifables doesn’t distinguish between reliable and shady websites. You may become a victim of a fraud. Luckily. If you act promptly, you can remove Gifables with ease. Don’t waste your time. Delete this intruder immediately.

How to Remove Gifables virus

The Gifables infection is specifically designed to make money to its creators one way or another. The specialists from various antivirus companies like Bitdefender, Kaspersky, Norton, Avast, ESET, etc. advise that there is no harmless virus.

If you perform exactly the steps below you should be able to remove the Gifables infection. Please, follow the procedures in the exact order. Please, consider to print this guide or have another computer at your disposal. You will NOT need any USB sticks or CDs.

WARNING! Stopping the wrong file or deleting the wrong registry key may damage your system irreversibly.
If you are feeling not technical enough just use Spyhunter Professional Malware Removal Tool to deal with the problem!
>>Download SpyHunter – a Professional Remover.

Please, keep in mind that SpyHunter’s scanner tool is free. To remove the Gifables infection, you need to purchase its full version.

STEP 1: Track down Gifables related processes in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate Gifables startup location

STEP 3: Delete Gifables traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

STEP 1: Track down Gifables related processes in the computer memory

• Open your Task Manager by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ESC keys simultaneously
• Carefully review all processes and stop the suspicious ones.

• Write down the file location for later reference.

Step 2: Locate Gifables startup location

Reveal Hidden Files

• Open any folder
• Click on “Organize” button
  
• Choose “Folder and Search Options”
• Select the “View” tab
• Select “Show hidden files and folders” option
• Uncheck “Hide protected operating system files”
• Click “Apply” and “OK” button

Clean Gifables virus from the windows registry

• Once the operating system loads press simultaneously the Windows Logo Button and the R key.

• A dialog box should open. Type “Regedit”

• WARNING! be very careful when editing the Microsoft Windows Registry as this may render the system broken.

Depending on your OS (x86 or x64) navigate to:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run] or
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run] or
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]

• and delete the display Name: [RANDOM]

• Then open your explorer and navigate to: %appdata% folder and delete the malicious executable.

Clean your HOSTS file to avoid unwanted browser redirection

Navigate to %windir%/system32/Drivers/etc/host

If you are hacked, there will be foreign IPs addresses connected to you at the bottom. Take a look below:

STEP 3 : Clean Gifables traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

• Open Google Chrome

• In the Main Menu, select Tools then Extensions
• Remove the Gifables by clicking on the little recycle bin
• Reset Google Chrome by Deleting the current user to make sure nothing is left behind

• Open Mozilla Firefox

• Press simultaneously Ctrl+Shift+A
• Disable the unwanted Extension
• Go to Help
• Then Troubleshoot information
• Click on Reset Firefox

• Open Internet Explorer

• On the Upper Right Corner Click on the Gear Icon
• Click on Internet options
• go to Toolbars and Extensions and disable the unknown extensions
• Select the Advanced tab and click on Reset

• Restart Internet Explorer

Step 4: Undo the damage done by Gifables

This particular Virus may alter your DNS settings.

Attention! this can break your internet connection. Before you change your DNS settings to use Google Public DNS for Gifables, be sure to write down the current server addresses on a piece of paper.

To fix the damage done by the virus you need to do the following.

• Click the Windows Start button to open the Start Menu, type control panel in the search box and select Control Panel in the results displayed above.
• go to Network and Internet
• then Network and Sharing Center
• then Change Adapter Settings
• Right-click on your active internet connection and click properties. Under the Networking tab, find Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4). Left click on it and then click on properties. Both options should be automatic! By default it should be set to “Obtain an IP address automatically” and the second one to “Obtain DNS server address automatically!” If they are not just change them, however if you are part of a domain network you should contact your Domain Administrator to set these settings, otherwise the internet connection will break!!!

You must clean all your browser shortcuts as well. To do that you need to

• Right click on the shortcut of your favorite browser and then select properties.

• in the target field remove Gifables argument and then apply the changes.
• Repeat that with the shortcuts of your other browsers.
• Check your scheduled tasks to make sure the virus will not download itself again.

How to Permanently Remove Gifables Virus (automatic) Removal Guide

Please, have in mind that once you are infected with a single virus, it compromises your whole system or network and let all doors wide open for many other infections. To make sure manual removal is successful, we recommend to use a free scanner of any professional antimalware program to identify possible registry leftovers or temporary files.