Pup.Optional.Drivethelife Malware Removal

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If the Pup.Optional.Drivethelife malware lurks in the shadows of your system, prepare for trouble. The invader falls under the Adware category. It is an aggressive menace that corrupts your web browser and turns them into ad-displaying slaves. The good news is that it cannot corrupt your entire system. The bad news is that there is no immune browser. Chrome, Opera, Firefox, Edge. The adware detects and infects them alike. It alters their settings and takes control of your user experience. Pup.Optional.Drivethelife is menacing and very irritating. It injects various ads on every website you visit. Even web pages that used to be ad-free get covered in banner and in-text ads. Coupons and discounts cover your screen every time you as much as touch your browser. Even your videos get paused for commercial breaks. That’s the nature of the adware. It uses every opportunity to interrupt you with an ad of some kind. The more ads you see, the bigger the chance you click on one. And when you do click, it gets paid. That’s right. The adware generates revenue at the expense of your comfort. Pup.Optional.Drivethelife is a nightmare. It follows you around the Web and throws ads at you. It aggressive interventions, however, are not mere annoyances. They take a toll on your system, as well as jeopardize your security. Do not underestimate the adware. It is programmed to advertise, not to guarantee your well-being. This parasite threatens to lure you into online traps. Do not risk it! Remove the parasite before it gets you in trouble!

How did I get infected with?

Torrents, fake updates, corrupted links, malicious software bundles. There are myriads of ways for the Pup.Optional.Drivethelife parasite to reach your system. Its distribution strategies are very effective. They, however, are not flawless. The adware relies on your cooperation. This parasite needs you, the user, to approve its installation. No permission, no admission. If you, however, don’t pay attention to the red flags, you are very likely to install it unintentionally. Do not make its job easier. No anti-virus can protect you if you throw caution to the wind. Only your vigilance can keep your system virus-free. Even a little extra attention can spare you an avalanche of problems. Do not visit shady websites. Download software and updates from reliable sources only. And don’t rush through any installation processes. Take your time to install your apps properly. More often than not, the apps we download off the Web come bundled with bonus software. As you can imagine, the extras are often parasites. If you rush, if you don’t pay attention to the red flags, you are very likely to install unwanted bonuses. Only your caution can prevent this scenario from unfolding. When available, use the advanced/custom setup option. Under it, you would be able to deselect all suspicious apps. Make sure you know what you install. Read the terms and conditions before you agree to them. If you cannot spare enough time to go through the whole document, scan it with an online EULA analyzer. Opt out of the installation if you notice anything suspicious!

Why is this dangerous?

Pup.Optional.Drivethelife is a complete and utter menace. It sneaks into your device and wrecks everything. The parasite opens pop-ups, plays video commercials, and turns random website text into hyperlinks. It uses every opportunity to interrupt you. Whether you browse your favorite website to make a search query, the pest is always there to make your tasks harder. Its interference, of course, slows down your system. You face frequent freezes and crashes. But that should not be your main concern. These issues are the symptoms of the true corruption. The nasty Pup.Optional.Drivethelife parasite opens your device to surveillance and targeted ads. It threatens to steal sensitive information and to share it with criminals. This pest spies on you from the moment it invades. The adware records and analyzes your every online activity. Even the Incognito mode of your browser cannot hide you. The parasite knows your every online step. What’s worse, it knows how to use this information against you. It uses the data to customize its ad campaigns. Do you think that ends well? Anyone can use the adware. Numerous crooks do. They flood your browser with customized ads. The crooks show you what you want to see, but when you click, bad things happen. Spare yourself many future headaches. Take prompt action against the Pup.Optional.Drivethelife menace. Remove it the first chance you get!

How to Remove Pup.Optional.Drivethelife virus

The Pup.Optional.Drivethelife 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 Pup.Optional.Drivethelife 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 Pup.Optional.Drivethelife in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate Pup.Optional.Drivethelife startup location

STEP 3: Delete Pup.Optional.Drivethelife traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

STEP 1: Track down Pup.Optional.Drivethelife 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 Pup.Optional.Drivethelife 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 Pup.Optional.Drivethelife 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 Pup.Optional.Drivethelife traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

• Open Google Chrome

• In the Main Menu, select Tools then Extensions
• Remove the Pup.Optional.Drivethelife 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 Pup.Optional.Drivethelife

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 Pup.Optional.Drivethelife, 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 Pup.Optional.Drivethelife 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 Pup.Optional.Drivethelife 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.