Centurylink.net Pop-ups Removal

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

If Centurylink.net takes over your homepage, you are in for trouble. This deceptive website is the face of a browser hijacker. Its appearance is a clear sign that your computer is infected. Brace yourself! You are stuck with a menace. The hijacker is a parasite that throws its victims in a whirlwind of reshuffles. It corrupts your web browser and makes a mess out of it. The parasite replaces your homepage and default search engine. It locks the changes and forces you to use its questionable search tool. And if you are not sure, that’s dangerous! The hijacker uses a customized search engine which displays more ads than actual results. Apart from the obvious sponsored links, the search engine inserts fake entries among the results it provides. These entries are also sponsored, yet, they are not marked as such. You can never know which results are organic and which are ads. And that’s a big problem because you can’t trust the “Powered by Centurylink.net” advertisements. A parasite provides these ads! You can’t expect the hijacker to be safe, much less trustworthy. Its ads often redirect web traffic to deceptive, spam, and corrupted websites. They arise unwarranted expectations at best. At worst, they lure people into online traps! That’s the nature of the hijacker. It not only floods you with ads but also threatens to cause you harm. Spare yourself many future headaches. Remove the hijacker ASAP! Take action as soon as the Centurylink.net website pops up!

How did I get infected with?

A browser hijacker displays the Centurylink.net website. This parasite sneaks into your computer and floods you with “Ads by Centurylink.net.” Do not, however, imagine cyber-attacks. The hijacker can’t “hack” your device. This parasite, as advanced as it may seem, is a simple app. As such, it needs you, the user, to approve its access. No permission, no admission! The hijacker is bound to seek your consent. And it does. It always asks. But it does so in the sneakiest, most deceitful way possible. The hijacker hides in software bundles, fake updates, corrupted links, pirated apps, and spam messages. It lurks in the shadows and waits for you to let your guard down. Do not make that mistake! No anti-virus app is powerful enough to protect you if you throw caution to the wind. Only your actions can prevent infections. The good news is that even a little extra attention can spare you an avalanche of problems. So, don’t be lazy! Always take the time to do your due diligence. Don’t visit dodgy websites. Download software and updates from reliable sources only. And, of course, don’t skip installation steps. Forget about the “Next-Next-Finish” strategy. If available, use the advanced/custom option. Deselect the unwanted bonus apps and go through the terms and conditions. Don’t hesitate to abort the installation if you notice anything suspicious!

Why is this dangerous?

The Centurylink.net ads are a plague. They flood your browser as soon as you so much as touch your browser. They cover every website you visit, pop up out of the blue, pause your videos. The ads are annoying and irritating. They, however, are also your clue. If you take a close look at them, you’ll realize the full extent of the problem. You are in serious trouble. The “Brought to you by Centurylink.net” ads are not random but targeted at you. They are based on the websites you visit, the links you follow, the videos you watch. That’s because you are under surveillance! The hijacker studies your browsing habits and uses your preferences against you. The problem is that it doesn’t keep that information confidential. Quite the contrary – it sells everything! Anyone willing to spend some money can use the hijacker and its resources against you. And not only that but if you run out of luck, some pieces of the gathered data, your search queries, for example, may provide them with personal and confidential details. Do you think that ends well? Do not take unnecessary risks. Remove the hijacker before it gets a chance to cause you harm. Find where this menace hides and delete it upon detection!

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.