Remove Ecosia.org Redirect (Chrome, Firefox, IE)

Are you stuck with the Ecosia.org virus? Then it is in your best interest to take action ASAP. No cyber infection should be tolerated so don’t underestimate this one. Ecosia.org has been classified as a browser hijacker. That means it’s sneaky, aggressive and dangerous. Quite a combination, isn’t it? This pest adds an extension or a plugin to all your browsers. It also messes with your search engine/homepage. What’s even worse is that these shenanigans happen completely behind your back. No, the hijacker isn’t going to ask for permission. Malware doesn’t get developed to help you surf the Internet. Its main goal is much more prosaic and much more aggravating. This program generates web traffic. This way, the virus helps its creators use the pay-per-click mechanism. Ultimately, hackers gain effortless profit online. You end up exposed to various infections in the meanwhile. For starters, Ecosia.org isn’t a safe search engine. Despite the fact hackers present it as one, you should know better than to trust crooks. The parasite will certainly not provide accurate search results. It will provide sponsored, modified, tailored web links. Furthermore, these links could be leading you to all sorts of malicious websites. You’re one click away from installing more infections. Is that a risk worth taking? We assume you’re not actively trying to infect your PC with more parasites. They why trust this virus? All it has in store are empty promises and bogus functionalities. Trust us when we say, a seemingly harmless hijacker could cause you serious harm. Keeping this pest would be extremely dangerous so don’t hesitate. As soon as you notice the intruder, make sure you uninstall it for good. Ecosia.org also replaces your default search engine and homepage with its own domain. Its questionable, unreliable, harmful domain. You’re now unable to get rid of the hijacker. After all, it wasn’t named a “hijacker” for no reason. Your entire browsing experience is hijacked and you’re no longer in charge. Hackers are. They stubbornly redirect you to some specific pages. In order NOT to become a sponsor of cyber criminals, delete their parasite now. There is nothing to lose by removing this nuisance. The parasite might display some commercials as well. As you could imagine, these ads are just as unsafe as the search results. Keep that in mind and avoid anything brought to you by the parasite. Last but definitely not least, Ecosia.org is spying on your private data at this very moment. Such a trick could result in financial scams, identity theft or some other pesky scenario. To prevent it, get rid of the hijacker.

How did I get infected with?

Did you download the virus voluntarily? We didn’t think so. Hackers are perfectly aware that nobody would infect their PC on purpose. That is why infections travel the Web via lies and deceit. The Ecosia.org hijacker is no exception. Instead of waiting for your approval, this pest relies on your distraction. Most people download freeware and shareware bundles without paying much attention. However, that is one particularly popular virus infiltration method. Next time you install bundled programs, check them out thoroughly beforehand. That will allow you to keep at eye out for potential intruders. Remember, if you’re not the one in control of the process, it will be hackers. You could never be too cautious while browsing the Web. Opt for the Custom/Advanced option in the Setup Wizard. You might spot some “bonus” program attached to the bundle that must be deselected. Unless you do so, you will have to uninstall the virus later on. Put your privacy and safety first. Another method for infections to get spread involves spam messages and email-attachments. It’s strongly recommended that you delete whatever unreliable message/email you may receive. Chances are, it’s harmful.

Why is this dangerous?

Stay away from the web links generated by this program. As mentioned, none of them is trustworthy. Ecosia.org hijacks all three of the most commonly used browsers. Its add-on brings along a rich variety of sponsored and unreliable search results. Restrain yourself from clicking as you might just worsen your already bad situation. You also get redirected to dangerous websites. In addition, your PC screen is constantly bombarded with potentially fake advertisements. The parasite displays all sorts of pop-ups. Coupons and discounts and product deals and offers. Unless you actually want to download more infections, avoid these ads. To delete the hijacker manually, please follow our detailed removal guide down below.

How to Remove Ecosia.org virus

The Ecosia.org 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 Ecosia.org 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 Ecosia.org infection, you need to purchase its full version.

STEP 1: Track down Ecosia.org in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate Ecosia.org startup location

STEP 3: Delete Ecosia.org traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

STEP 1: Track down Ecosia.org 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 Ecosia.org 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 Ecosia.org 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 Ecosia.org traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

• Open Google Chrome

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

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 Ecosia.org, 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 Ecosia.org 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 Ecosia.org 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.