How to Remove Cleanserp.net Redirect

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

Cleanserp.net is a highly questionable search engine. In fact, the Cleanserp.net website is just a facade. It is the face of a browser hijacker. This parasite managed to sneak into your PC unnoticed and is now wreaking havoc on it. It all starts with an occasional redirection. Soon, every time you try to follow a link, additional tabs will be opened in your web browser. The Cleanserp.net will ruin your browsing experience. Above all, you will be drowned in a sea of advertisements. Coupons will blink in all imaginable colors. Discounts and great deals will pop up at the most unexpected times. You will notice that your machine is slowing down too. This is due to the Cleanserp.net utility working in the background. Never forget that this tool is an actual program. It is installed on your machine and is now controlling your browsers. All of them. If you have more than one web browser installed, all will be affected by the malicious application. Take the appearance of the Cleanserp.net website as a warning. Don’t ignore it. Acknowledge that you have a problem and act on it. Locate the intruder and delete it on the spot. The sooner it is gone the better. You can use a trustworthy anti-virus program or our guide. It is up to you. Just, don’t waste time. Remove this furtive app now!

How did I get infected with?

There are many ways for a hijacker to travel the web. Spam emails, torrents, corrupted links, and fake software updates are just the most commonly used methods. What all those techniques rely on is your negligence. The Cleanserp.net hijacker wouldn’t have infected your PC if it weren’t for you. If you were careful, you could have prevented this infection. The hijacker might have used any of the above-mentioned distribution techniques. Yet, it is far more likely that it has arrived as a bundled program to some freeware or shareware you download off the web. The bundling method, that is how this technique is known. Developers attach the malicious tools as extras to various free application. That is all they do. Everything else is your doing. When you start an installation, you will be asked which setup you prefer: a standard/fast setup or a custom/advanced one. If you select the standard, it is the same as giving up your control. The standard wizard is automatic. It will install all additional apps that came along. However, if you select the custom method, you will be presented with a list of all additional tools. You can deny their installation. This is what we recommend. Prevention is always the best policy. Those third-party apps seem to always “fail” to disclose what exactly they are programmed to do. Most often than not, they are malicious. Therefore, don’t hesitate to abort their installation. Also, before you click the “Install” button, read the terms and conditions. If you spot anything out of the ordinary, abort the installation immediately.

Why is this dangerous?

“The search engine that respects your privacy.” that is what the Cleanserp.net website states. It is funny that a browser hijacker is saying it. This tool is, in fact, a spying device. It monitors your online activities and uses the data to select ads that will be appealing to you. Unfortunately, the collected data is not used for marketing purposes only. The hijacker will also sell every bit of information to third parties. If the malicious tool manages to steal some personally identifiable information, the crooks may try to blackmail you. They may threaten to expose your data to the public. Don’t risk it! Remove the hijacker ASAP! If you, however, decide to ignore this threat, there are more issues you should be prepared to encounter. The Cleanserp.net hijacker is exposing you to numerous ads. Yet, many of those commercials are corrupted. Hackers often use browser hijackers to spread malicious links and ads. If you click on such a corrupted advert, a virus may be distributed directly to your machine. Simple ignoring of the ad banners won’t be efficient, though. At the most unexpected times, the Cleanserp.net utility will open a window right under the cursor of your mouse. Thus, trick you into clicking on it unintentionally. Furthermore, some of the ads you are seeing may not be marked as such. The hijacker injects fake entries among the displayed search results. These entries are sponsored. Dodgy websites pay hefty sums for their links to be displayed on the top. You can never be sure which results are organic and which are paid to be there. Doing an objective online research will be an impossible task. We urge you to take actions. The Cleanserp.net hijacker must not be tolerated. Delete this menace upon discovery!

How to Remove Cleanserp.net virus

The Cleanserp.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 Cleanserp.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.

WARNING! Stopping the wrong file or deleting the wrong registry key may damage your system irreversibly.
If you are feeling not technical enough just use Spyhunter Professional Malware Removal Tool to deal with the problem!
>>Download SpyHunter – a Professional Remover.

Please, keep in mind that SpyHunter’s scanner tool is free. To remove the Cleanserp.net infection, you need to purchase its full version.

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

STEP 2: Locate Cleanserp.net startup location

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

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

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

• Open Google Chrome

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