How to Remove PcHandler Virus

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PcHandler is an adware-type PC infection. It sneaks itself onto your machine in silence and starts wreaking havoc on the spot. That means you certainly should not underestimate this program. Many people tend to overlook the threat adware poses thinking adware can’t cause any damage. The PcHandler virus will very quickly make you realize just how dangerous it is. Instead of ignoring this infection, take action as soon as possible. Even the most harmless-looking parasite could eventually get out of control. PcHandler is no difference. It belongs to one notoriously irritating family of viruses. Adware is famous for being extremely annoying as it brings along commercials. All kinds of commercials. All the time. There is no more surfing the Internet at peace now that the parasite is on board. In fact, PcHandler targets your browsers first. It adds an extension or a plugin to your favorite browsers. As you could imagine, your permission (or the lack of it) has nothing to do with these changes. Hackers won’t think twice before messing with your preferred browser settings. After all, this is why adware parasites get developed. PcHandler adds a malicious extension or a plugin to your browsers. By doing so, the virus injects your browsers with its never-ending pile of pop-ups. We’re talking coupons, discounts, product deals, offers, price comparisons. Not a single one of these commercials is to be trusted, though, so keep that in mind. Adware generates a very specific category of web links – sponsored ones. That means the devious PcHandler pop-ups may or may not be harmless. You could be more than positive some of the advertisements are corrupted. However, there is no telling which ad is real and which one isn’t. The only way to find out is by clicking the ad open which could lead you straight to malware. Thanks to the pay-per-click mechanism, crooks gain profit at your expense. They also create a complete mess by flooding your PC screen with pop-ups. PcHandler effectively destroys your everyday browsing experience. It redirects you, slows down the PC speed and collects browsing-related data as well. Long story short, PcHandler is beyond problematic and must be removed as soon as possible.

How did I get infected with?

Freeware or shareware bundles are a commonly used infiltration technique. This is perhaps the easiest way for infections to travel the Web. Furthermore, the installation happens behind your back. It might take you a good while to even realize your PC has been infected. Needless to say that the virus uses all that time to cause you trouble. In the future, always watch out for potential intruders. If you download program bundles, make a thorough check beforehand. Hackers often rely on your distraction during the installation process. Unless you spot and deselect a virus in advance, you compromise your own safety. That’s how it goes. We’d recommend that you opt for the Custom option in the Setup Wizard. Deselect all bonus programs you may come across in the bundle. Otherwise, the parasites will manage to slither themselves on your computer system. To prevent virus infiltration, you have to constantly keep an eye out for viruses. It only takes one moment of haste to infect your PC. Removing parasites, on the other hands, takes much more time and effort Another popular distribution method involves fake email-attachments and messages. When you receive emails/messages you find untrustworthy, stay away from them. There are plenty of ways to compromise your security so be careful. You won’t regret it.

Why is this dangerous?

PcHandler bombards you with sponsored pop-ups. That makes it impossible for you to browse the Web at peace, let alone to find what you search for. Keep in mind that a sponsored commercial could turn out to be immensely harmful. If you’re unlucky enough, the PcHandler pop-ups could cause you irreversible damage. The adware-type nuisance might also serve as a back door to more infections. It also steals your browsing-related data such as browsing history, usernames, passwords, email addresses. All your sensitive details get sent into the greedy hands of hackers. Such a trick simply cannot end well for you and you know it. There are various monetizing platforms online that hackers use to gain revenue. Unfortunately, all of them put your privacy in serious danger. The sooner you uninstall the adware, the better. Make sure you protect both your security and privacy. You will find our detailed manual removal guide down below.

How to Remove PcHandler virus

The PcHandler 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 PcHandler 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 PcHandler infection, you need to purchase its full version.

STEP 1: Track down PcHandler in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate PcHandler startup location

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

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

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

• Open Google Chrome

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

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 PcHandler, 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 PcHandler 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 PcHandler 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.