How to Remove Captcha-Today.Top pop-up Ads

Can’t Remove CaptchaToday.top ads? This page includes detailed CaptchaToday.top Removal instructions!

CaptchaToday.top is fraudulent website that asks users to verify their human status while disguising itself as a captcha verification service. Users are tricked into giving push notification access by the scammers’ false human verification process. This can be done by making a false verification page or pop-up that appears to be a human verification, such CAPTCHA or reCAPTCHA. To make it look like a genuine human verification, the fraudster may urge the user to carry out tasks like responding to questions, clicking buttons, pressing links, etc. The main objective of this fictitious human verification is to get push notification rights, though. Once the user gives permission for push notifications, scammers can exploit it to display advertising, phishing scams, or other malicious content right on the user’s smartphone, even when the user is not browsing.

Here is a screenshot of the website:

 

How did I get infected with?

A browser hijacker like Captcha Today can infect a user’s device in a number of ways:

• Browser hijackers may occasionally be packed with freeware, shareware, or other software that you download from the internet. Downloading infected software or files.
• Visits to maliciously coded websites, such as those that host pirated content, might also result in the installation of a browser hijacker.
• Drive-by downloads: When a user visits a website that is infected, a browser hijacker is immediately downloaded and installed without the user’s knowledge or consent.
• Phishing emails: Scammers may send emails that look legitimately from a source, but contain a link or attachment that, when activated, infects the user’s device with a browser infection.

It’s important to be cautious when downloading software or visiting websites, and to always keep your antivirus software and browser up to date to help prevent these types of infections.

Why is having CaptchaToday.top dangerous?

When CaptchaToday.top is installed on a device, unsolicited and potentially obtrusive banners, pop-up adverts, and other advertisements may appear, slowing down the device and interfering with browsing. In addition to displaying phishing pages intended to steal personal and financial information, the browser hijacker can also be used to do this. Then, this information might be exploited maliciously for things like financial fraud or identity theft. Additionally, the browser hijacker may disseminate malware in the form of Trojans, viruses, or other malware that might harm the device or steal personal data. Furthermore, without the user’s knowledge or consent, the browser hijacker may gather and share personal and browsing data with third parties, endangering their privacy. To avoid these security risks, it is recommended to remove CaptchaToday.top from the device as soon as possible, either through the use of antivirus software or by manually removing it.

How to Remove CaptchaToday.top virus

The CaptchaToday.top 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 CaptchaToday.top 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 CaptchaToday.top in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate CaptchaToday.top startup location

STEP 3: Delete CaptchaToday.top traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

STEP 1: Track down CaptchaToday.top 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 CaptchaToday.top 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 CaptchaToday.top 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 CaptchaToday.top traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

• Open Google Chrome

• In the Main Menu, select Tools then Extensions
• Remove the CaptchaToday.top 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 CaptchaToday.top

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 CaptchaToday.top, 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 CaptchaToday.top 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 CaptchaToday.top Virus (automatic) Removal Guide

Please, have in mind that once you are infected with a single virus, it compromises your system 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.