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Can’t Remove www.default-search.net hijacker virus? This page includes detailed www.default-search.net Removal instructions!
The appearance of the www.default-search.net website as your new homepage is bad news. It means only one thing, your computer is infected with a browser hijacker. Do not panic. We are here to help. The www.default-search.net hijacker is removable. Yet, before we proceed, let’s take a moment to explain what this parasite does. This hijacker is an ad-generating application. Upon installation, it takes over your installed browsers and initiates an ad bombardment on you. This is not a joke. The malicious app injects ad banners and in-text adverts on every single web page you open. It turns random website text into hyperlinks and opens pop-up windows. What is worse, it can pause your online videos for commercial breaks. The www.default-search.net hijacker has no place on your computer. It is a menace that must be removed upon detection. This furtive utility did not hesitate to infect your browser. Neither should you hesitate to remove it. This app can never be beneficial to you anyway. Its removal, on the other hand, will benefit your PC. It will run much faster without the hijacker. The sooner you take action against the intruder, the better!
How did I get infected with?
The www.default-search.net hijacker did not materialize by magic. This parasite uses some well-known distribution techniques. We are talking about torrents, spam email attachments, and software bundles. All these techniques, however, can be prevented from succeeding. All you should do is to be more careful. The Internet is a dangerous place. It is roamed by many deadly parasites. You can never know where an infection may strike you from. So, always keep your guard up. Download your software from reliable sources only. When you start the installation process of any program, opt for the advanced option is the Setup Wizard. It can be a button or tab. Use it. Only under the advanced installation will you be able to see whether additional apps are about to be installed. Deselect all suspicious elements. This is your computer. You can never be too careful. And last but not least, keep your anti-virus program up to date!
Why is this dangerous?
The www.default-search.net hijacker is a menace. It can ruin your browsing experience in seconds. It opens pop-ups when you least expect them, redirects your browser to sponsored pages and on top of that, pauses your videos. Yet, all these issues can be considered minor compared to what the hijacker does behind your back. Yes, that is right. The www.default-search.net hijacker lurks in the shadows. It monitors your browser related data and collects information about you. The collected data is used for better ad-targeting. Thus, if you enter “sneakers” into some search engine, the hijacker will start to display commercials for sports shoes. Do not trust a word you read. These advertisements are not verified. Anyone willing to spend some money can use the hijacker to promote. Hackers included. One click is all it takes for a virus to be downloaded. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell which commercials are malicious and which are not. You can’t even identify all ads you are exposed to. The hijacker displays more advertisements than you might think. This furtive utility injects fake entries among the search results you are provided with. Among all search results, no matter the provider. These fake entries are usually adverts. Yet they are not marked as such. With the www.default-search.net hijacker on board, you cannot use your computer normally. Your best course of action is the removal of the infection.
How to Remove default-search.net virus
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The www.default-search.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 www.default-search.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 www.default-search.net related processes in the computer memory
STEP 2: Locate www.default-search.net startup location
STEP 3: Delete www.default-search.net traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer
STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus
STEP 1: Track down www.default-search.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 www.default-search.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 www.default-search.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 www.default-search.net traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer
-
Open Google Chrome
- In the Main Menu, select Tools then Extensions
- Remove the www.default-search.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 www.default-search.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 www.default-search.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 www.default-search.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 www.default-search.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.