How to Remove HidenGate Adware

Can’t Remove HidenGate ads? This page includes detailed ads by HidenGate Removal instructions!

HidenGate is yet another adware. This parasite uses trickery to sneak into your OS. Once on board, it wreaks utter havoc. The adware corrupts your web browsers and turns them into ad-displaying tools. Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, there is no immune browser. The adware corrupts them and takes over your browsing experience. This invader injects ads on every website you load. It can also open pop-ups and new tabs. Every time you click on an ad, the parasite gets paid. Thus, it has no intentions of limiting the number of its advertisements. Quite the contrary: the more ads you see, the bigger the chance you click. The HidenGate adware drowns its victims in a sea of advertisements. This parasite knows no boundaries. It even dares pause your online videos for commercial breaks. If you, however, refuse to click, it gets more aggressive. It starts browser redirection. The parasite is more than capable of loading sponsored websites. It redirects your browser to shady websites and forces you to watch video commercials. The HidenGate adware can ruin your browsing experience in seconds. Do not put up with this invader. Spare yourself many future headaches. Remove the adware the first chance you get!

How did I get infected with?

The HidenGate adware uses mass-distribution methods to reach a broad spectrum of potential victims. The parasite lurks behind fake updates, software bundles, and torrents. These methods deliver the adware to your system, but they don’t install it. Only you can do that. The adware needs your permission to get installed. Yet, it doesn’t need to ask openly. Be very careful what you are giving your approval to. Pay attention to the fine print! One second of carelessness is all it takes for a parasite to sneak into your OS. Bear in mind that no anti-virus app can protect you if you act recklessly. Always do your due diligence! Don’t visit shady websites. Download your software from reputable sources only. When available, use the advanced/custom setup option. Don’t skip the terms and conditions, either. If you cannot spare enough time to read the whole document, scan it with an online EULA analyzer. Abort the installation if you detect anything suspicious!

Why is this dangerous?

The HidenGate adware is like a pain in the neck: the more you tolerate it, the worse it becomes. This parasite gets more and more aggressive with each passing day. It tends to get out of control. Its aggressive behavior, unfortunately, is not harmless. It takes a toll on your device. You face system underperformance, browser crashes, and Internet connection instability. Do not focus on these issues, though. They are nothing compared to the things that happen in the shadows. The HidenGate adware threatens to steal your personal and financial information. The parasite spies on you. It monitors your browsing-related data. Even the Incognito mode of your browser cannot hide you from the adware. The parasite records and analyzes your every online action. The collected information might not strike as too sensitive, the parasite knows how to use it against you. For example, if you enter “sneakers” into a search engine, it would display ads for sports shows. That’s bad news because these “great offers” are very likely to redirect you to dangerous websites. The adware has no security mechanism. It doesn’t verify its ads. Neither does it check the advertisers behind them. Thus, numerous crooks take advantage of the parasite. They create customized ads and force them on you. The crooks show you what you want to see, but when you click, bad things happen. You might end up on phishing, scam, and infected websites. Do not play with your luck. Do what’s best for you and your system’s well-being. Remove the HidenGate adware ASAP!

How to Remove HidenGate virus

The HidenGate 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 HidenGate 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 HidenGate in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate HidenGate startup location

STEP 3: Delete HidenGate traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

STEP 1: Track down HidenGate 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 HidenGate 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 HidenGate 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 HidenGate traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

• Open Google Chrome

• In the Main Menu, select Tools then Extensions
• Remove the HidenGate 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 HidenGate

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 HidenGate, 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 HidenGate 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 HidenGate 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.