How to Remove Pagesnews.org Hijacker

Pagesnews.org is a malicious domain, associated with a cyber threat. The site’s display links to the presence of an infection. So, if it pops up, your PC harbors a hijacker. That’s right. A browser hijacker managed to slither its way in, and the page is your first clue. Take it as a warning. That’s exactly what it is. It’s a big, bright sign that should urge you into action. As soon as you spot it, act! Accept there’s a hijacker on your system. Do your best to find its exact hiding place. As soon as you do, delete it on discovery. Hijackers don’t make good company. They make a mess. One that grows with time. One that evolves in severity. What begins as redirects to Pagesnews.org when you browse, may end with your privacy exposed. So, ask yourself. Are you willing to allow that? Or, would you rather be on the safe side, and avoid the risks that follow a hijacker? Do yourself a favor, and pick the latter. Locate and remove the cyber threat ASAP. It’s not one, you should trifle with. You’ll regret it if you do.

Remove Pagesnews.org

How did I get infected with?

The Pagesnews.org site shows up after a hijacker invasion. How do you suppose it came to be? How did you find yourself with a hijacker tool? Before you answer, bear in mind, these tools need user’s permission to enter. Your permission. So, if your answer differs from “Because I let it in,” you’re mistaken. Yes, as difficult as it may seem to believe, you agreed to install the nasty program. It asked whether you consent to install it, and you did. In fact, you held the door open as it paraded in. All, while looking straight at it, but not seeing it. Do you know why that it? Well, the tool doesn’t outright pop up and seek access. That leaves too much room for rejection. Instead, it turns to trickery and deceit. And, you got duped. So, don’t be too hard on yourself. You still take a large portion of the blame, but not all of it. After all, if you were as attentive as you should have been, you wouldn’t be stuck in this predicament. Let’s elaborate. Yes, hijackers seek your approval. But they do it via the old but gold methods of invasion. Freeware, spam email attachments, fake updates, corrupted links. Most commonly, the tool hides behind a tool or an update. And, if you’re not thorough enough to spot it, you get stuck with it. That’s why caution is crucial. Always read the terms and conditions. Never give into gullibility, haste, and distraction. Infections prey on carelessness, so why grant it? Choose vigilance instead. It helps you keep an infection-free PC.

Why is this dangerous?

Once the hijacker gains access to your PC, issues ensue. You get flooded with an ever-flowing waterfall of headaches and grievances. It may sound a bit dramatic, but it’s true nonetheless. The hijacker has an array of unpleasantness to throw your way. It begins its mess-making by messing up your browsing. It turns the experience hellish by forcing endless intrusions on you. Pagesnews.org becomes your new best friend. It plagues you online habits like a shadow. You get redirected to it every time you so much as touch your browser. And, it’s not only the Pagesnews.org site. You also get bombarded with countless other pages. All, as unreliable as Pagesnews.org. Not to mention, the incessant stream of pop-up ads that plague your browsing, on top of the redirects. What’s more, these disruptions don’t go unnoticed for long. Your system starts to crash all the time, and your PC slows down. And, do you know what? Everything mentioned so far falls under the ‘minor’ category. These are the more insignificant issues you face. The ones, you may even choose to overlook, if you have nerves of steel. Don’t. Follow experts’ advice, and delete the hijacker menace ASAP. The more time it spends on your PC, the bigger the threat you face. As was mentioned, the tool threatens to expose your privacy. It’s programmed that way. The application keeps track of your online activities, and catalogs your every move. Then, it sends the stolen data to the people behind it. Don’t stand by and let it succeed. Protect yourself. And, your PC for that matter! Don’t grant strangers access to your personal and financial data. Locate and delete the hijacker at once. Pagesnews.org is a warning. Don’t ignore it.

How to Remove Pagesnews.org virus

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

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

STEP 2: Locate Pagesnews.org startup location

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

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

STEP 1: Track down Pagesnews.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.

end-malicious-process

  • Write down the file location for later reference.

Step 2: Locate Pagesnews.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 Pagesnews.org virus from the windows registry

  • Once the operating system loads press simultaneously the Windows Logo Button and the R key.

win-plus-r

  • A dialog box should open. Type “Regedit”

regedit

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]

delete backgroundcontainer

  • 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:

hosts-redirect-virus

STEP 3 : Clean Pagesnews.org traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

  • Open Google Chrome

  • In the Main Menu, select Tools then Extensions
  • Remove the Pagesnews.org by clicking on the little recycle bin
  • Reset Google Chrome by Deleting the current user to make sure nothing is left behind

disable Pagesnews.org from chrome

  • Open Mozilla Firefox

  • Press simultaneously Ctrl+Shift+A
  • Disable the unwanted Extension
  • Go to Help
  • Then Troubleshoot information
  • Click on Reset Firefox

remove Pagesnews.org from 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

remove Pagesnews.org from ie

  • Restart Internet Explorer

Step 4: Undo the damage done by Pagesnews.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 Pagesnews.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.

safebrowsing-biz-shortcut-removal

  • in the target field remove Pagesnews.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 Pagesnews.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.

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