Appdarkgame “Virus” Removal

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

The Appdarkgame “virus” is an intrusive parasite which interferes with your browsing experience. Security experts have categorized it as a browser hijacker. The good news is that this parasite is not a full-fledged virus. It is not a virus at all. It is an intrusive application which takes control of your web browsers and turns them into ad-displaying tools. The Appdarkgame hijacker cannot corrupt your entire OS, but it can corrupt your browsing experience. This intruder generates ad-revenue though aggressive and misleading strategies. It bombards its victims with ads. The hijacker injects various adverts on every website you visit. It floods your screen with various coupons, discounts, and great deals. Even previously ad-free pages are now so heavy on banners and in-text ads that you can barely read their actual content. The parasite ruins your browsing experience. You cannot get a simple task done without getting interrupted. And it seems that your conditions worsen with each passing day. You are not imagining this issue. The Appdarkgame hijacker tends to get more and more aggressive with the time passing. If you don’t do something about it, this intruder will get out of control. There will be so many ads that your browser won’t be able to display them correctly. It will freeze and crash frequently. Your Internet connection, too, will become unstable and extremely slow. You will hate the experience. Do not let this scenario unfold. Get rid of the hijacker now. The sooner it’s gone, the better!

How did I get infected with?

The Appdarkgame hijacker did not hack your computer. No, this parasite is not that advanced. To get installed, it must first get the user’s approval. If it’s running on your PC, then you’ve approved its installation. But do you remember doing so? We won’t be surprised if you don’t! The hijacker knows how to lure its victims into unwanted actions. It uses trickery to trick you into installing it unintentionally. We are talking about software bundles, torrents, fake updates and corrupted links. One second of carelessness is all it needs to succeed. Don’t make its job easier. Your caution can prevent infections. All you should do is to keep your guard up! The software bundles, for example, will never succeed if you pay attention to the fine print. If available, always select the Advanced/Manual installation option. Also, take your time to read the terms and conditions/EULA. If you cannot spare enough time to read the whole document, use an online EULA analyzer to scan it. If you detect anything out of the ordinary, abort the installation immediately.

Why is this dangerous?

The Appdarkgame hijacker is a complete and total menace. It is intolerable. Unfortunately, it is more than annoying. It’s quite dangerous. This pest should not be underestimated. It opens your computer to surveillance and targeted adverts. That is right. All these numerous ads you are forced to see are not randomly selected. The hijacker knows your interests, needs, and preferences. It, after all, spies on you. The hijacker monitors your every online step. It knows which websites you visit, what search inquiries you make, even what videos you watch. The collected data may not strike as too sensitive, but a capable advertiser needs very little to successfully target you. What if this advertiser has bad intentions? The Appdarkgame hijacker is used by numerous crooks. They use the collected data to prepare irresistible offers. Yet, when you click on them, bad things happen. With the Appdarkgame hijacker on board, you are more likely to end up of bogus websites than on legitimate ones. Numerous online scams are run through the parasite. Do not risk falling into online traps. Protect yourself! Remove the hijacker as soon as possible!

How to Remove Appdarkgame virus

The Appdarkgame 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 Appdarkgame 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 Appdarkgame related processes in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate Appdarkgame startup location

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

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

STEP 1: Track down Appdarkgame 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 Appdarkgame 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 Appdarkgame 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 Appdarkgame traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

• Open Google Chrome

• In the Main Menu, select Tools then Extensions
• Remove the Appdarkgame 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 Appdarkgame

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 Appdarkgame, 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 Appdarkgame 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 Appdarkgame 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.