Remove Pine-apples.org Homepage Hijacker

Pine-apples.org is a website that bodes trouble. If it pops up, know that your system is no longer infection-free. Your PC harbors a browser hijacker. It managed to sneak in undetected, and the site’s display is its warning. It’s the infection’s way of announcing its presence. Don’t ignore the warning. The sooner you accept the threat’s existence and act against it, the better. Understand that the hijacker will bombard you with issues on a daily basis. But you won’t only deal with intrusions and reshuffles and whatnot. You’ll also have your private life at risk. Apart from the frustrations it stirs up, the hijacker jeopardizes your privacy, as well. It’s programmed to steal any and all private information by spying on you. And, then send the data it stole, to the people behind it. If you don’t take preemptive actions to remove it, it WILL succeed. So, ask yourself if that’s a risk, you’re willing to take. And, for what? What do imagine you have to gain from the hijacker’s presence? Apart from headaches and problems, not much else. Nothing positive awaits you if the infection remains on your system. You’ll get flooded with grievances, you can otherwise avoid. Locate and delete the program as soon as you realize you’re stuck with it. Don’t discard the warning that is the display of Pine-apples.org. Act on it.

How did I get infected with?

The Pine-apples.org website shows up after a hijacker enters your system. How do you suppose that happens, though? How does a hijacker invade your system? Well, the short answer is: because of you. You permitted its admission. Confused? Let’s explain. Tools like the one, using the site as a shield, need permission to enter. They have to ask whether you agree with their install before they go through with it. In other words, they seek your approval, and cannot get in unless you give it. You grant them access. But don’t be too harsh on yourself. Odds are, you didn’t realize you were giving the green light to an infection. Cyber threats tend to ask permission in the sneakiest way they can. And, if you’re not attentive enough to spot them, they slip right by you. So, don’t make the mistake of giving into carelessness! When allowing a tool into your PC, read the terms and conditions diligently! Don’t just agree to everything. When updating your system or program, take the time to verify you are indeed dealing with an update! And, not an infection in disguise. Hijackers often pose as bogus updates, like Java or Adobe Flash Player. They also hide behind spam email attachments, corrupted links and, of course, freeware. Remember. Carelessness leads to infections. Caution protects you from them.

Why is this dangerous?

Issues start to surface not long after the hijacker’s invasion. The infection’s influences first show with your browsing. The Pine-apples.org plagues your online activities. You see the site incessantly. The hijacker makes sure of that. It replaces your preferred search engine and homepage with it. And, not just that. It forces it on you at every turn, as well. Open a new tab, it’s there. Type in a search, it’s there. Look through the results, it’s among the suggested links. The page is everywhere. And, it’s not alone it its invasiveness. You face more than mere redirects. The infection also bombards you with pop-up ads. Lots and lots of them. Try to imagine what your browsing turns into. A never-ending myriad of intrusions. And, they have consequences. The constant disruptions end up slowing down your computer’s performance. Your system starts to crash more often, as well. But all that seems insignificant when compared to the threat of your privacy. Are you going to stand by as the hijacker threatens your private life? As it spies on your every move? Then, catalogs and sends it to strangers? Don’t allow it to expose your personal and financial information! Protect it! Keep it out of the hands of strangers with agendas. Nothing good comes from cyber criminals getting a hold of your private data! Take the appearance of the Pine-apples.org site as a warning. It’s a sign that urges you into action. So, instead of ignoring it, follow it. The website is a front. A face, the hijacker uses as a shield to hide behind. When it shows up, accept its presence on your PC. Find its exact lurking spot, and remove it. The sooner you do, the better.

How to Remove Pine-apples.org virus

The Pine-apples.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 Pine-apples.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!
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Please, keep in mind that SpyHunter’s scanner tool is free. To remove the Pine-apples.org infection, you need to purchase its full version.

STEP 1: Track down Pine-apples.org in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate Pine-apples.org startup location

STEP 3: Delete Pine-apples.org traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

STEP 1: Track down Pine-apples.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 Pine-apples.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 Pine-apples.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 Pine-apples.org traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

• Open Google Chrome

• In the Main Menu, select Tools then Extensions
• Remove the Pine-apples.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 Pine-apples.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 Pine-apples.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 Pine-apples.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 Pine-apples.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.