Remove Centurylink.net Redirect Threat

Can’t Remove Centurylink.net hijacker virus? This page includes detailed Centurylink.net Removal instructions!

Centurylink.net is a harbinger of bad news. This website is associated with a browser hijacker. If it has managed to replace your homepage without your consent or if “Ads by Centurylink.net” pop up out of the blue, the news is bad. You are stuck with a parasite. A sneaky hijacker lurks in the shadows of your OS and plots on ruining your browsing experience and luring you into traps. The hijacker is an advertising menace that bombards its victims with banners, hyperlinks, and commercials. It inserts various ads on every website you visit, opens notifications, pauses your videos. And it doesn’t stop here. The hijacker also redirects your browser to sponsored websites, as well as turns random text into hyperlinks. It tops this madness off with unwanted browser modifications and reshuffles. The hijacker changes its victims’ homepages and new tab pages. It also replaces your default search engine and locks the changes. The hijacker forces you to use a customized search tool that displays more ads than actual organic results. It inserts unmarked sponsored links among the results you are provided with. You can never know which links are sponsored and which are organic. If you are not sure, that’s quite dangerous. Numerous dodgy websites pay for their links to be displayed at the top. The hijacker threatens to lure you into visiting deceptive, scam, and even corrupted pages. Do not put up with its unethical adverting practices! Remove the hijacker now. Take action as soon as the Centurylink.net website pops up. Find where the parasite hides and delete it upon detection!

How did I get infected with?

A hijacker sets the Centurylink.net website as your homepage. This parasite sneaks into your computer and throws you into a whirlwind of ads “Brought to you by Centurylink.net.” Do not imagine cyber-attacks, though. The hijacker is not an ingenious virus. It can’t hack your computer. The parasite uses trickery to sneak into your PC. It uses bundles, fake updates, corrupted links, and pirated software. The hijacker has numerous tricks up its sleeve. If you, however, do your due diligence, you can prevent its plans from succeeding. The good news is that your actions can prevent infections. That’s right – the hijacker preys on your naivety. Your caution, on the other hand, prevents its tricks from succeeding. So, don’t be lazy. Make the right decision: choose caution over carelessness. Don’t visit shady websites. Download software and updates from reliable sources only. And, of course, don’t skip installation steps. Opt for the advanced/custom setup wizard. Deselect the bonus apps and go through the terms and conditions. Don’t hesitate to abort an installation process if you notice anything suspicious!

Why is this dangerous?

The Centurylink.net redirects are the beginning of an ad invasion. You are stuck with a hijacker that knows no boundaries nor limits. This menace uses every opportunity to display ads, as well as constantly increases the number of its banners, hyperlinks, and pop-ups. Given enough time, it gets out of control. You, however, should not waste time worrying about its annoying ads. They are just the side effect of the infection. The true problem is their source and its malicious activities. The hijacker is not a harmless, ad-displaying app. It is a threat! Just take a close look at the “Powered by Centurylink.net” ads and you’ll understand the true nature of the parasite. This menace opens your browser to surveillance and targeted ads. Its numerous advertisements are not random but based on the websites you visit, the links you follow, the videos you watch. That’s how the hijacker operates. It studies your browsing habits and uses your preferences against you. Do you think that ends well? Do you trust the hijacker with your confidential information? Do you believe that the parasite uses the collected data for ad targeting only? Don’t be naive! The hijacker exists to generate revenue for its shady operators. These people spy on you and sell the collected information. Their practices are likely to lead to dangerous data leaks. Do not test your luck. Remove the hijacker before it gets a chance to cause you harm!

How to Remove Centurylink.net virus

The Centurylink.net 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 Centurylink.net 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.

STEP 1: Track down Centurylink.net related processes in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate Centurylink.net startup location

STEP 3: Delete Centurylink.net traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

STEP 1: Track down Centurylink.net 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 Centurylink.net 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 Centurylink.net 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 Centurylink.net traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

• Open Google Chrome

• In the Main Menu, select Tools then Extensions
• Remove the Centurylink.net 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 Centurylink.net

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 Centurylink.net, 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 Centurylink.net 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 Centurylink.net 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.