Remove Search.hlivetvnow.co Hijacker

Can’t Remove Search.hlivetvnow.co hijacker virus? This page includes detailed Search.hlivetvnow.co Removal instructions!

Did the Search.hlivetvnow.co website replace your preferable homepage without your consent? If yes, the news is bad. This website indicates the presence of a browser hijacker. Somewhere on your OS, a parasite is lurking. Do not panic. The truth is, you could have been infected with a worse parasite. The Search.hlivetvnow.co hijacker is not a full-fledged virus, but a malicious application. It is programmed to replace your preferable homepage as well as your default search engine. The app injects commercials on every website you open and redirects your web traffic to sponsored web pages. Its goal is to turn you from a visitor into a customer. Do not underestimate this program. It is not harmless. It uses misleading and deceptive marketing strategies. What is worse, it can easily get out of control. With every passing day, the hijacker gets more and more aggressive. You will see more and more advertisements. Websites that used to be ad-free will be heavy on coupons, discounts, and “great” deals. Every time you as much as touch your browser, you will get drowned in a sea of advertisements. You will hate the experience. Furthermore, this intensive marketing has a price. To carry out its processes, the Search.hlivetvnow.co hijacker consumes a lot of computer resources. This utility can cause both your browser and OS to freeze and crash frequently. Keeping this app on board is not worth the hassle. If you act promptly, you can remove it relatively easy. We have provided a manual removal guide below this article. You can also use a trustworthy anti-virus app. Choose your method and act! The sooner you clean your device, the better!

Remove Search.hlivetvnow.co

How did I get infected with?

Did the Search.hlivetvnow.co hijacker surprise you with its appearance? We can safely assume that you have no idea how did it manage to infect your computer. Well, we have bad news for you. It was you the one who installed the furtive app. That is right. The Search.hlivetvnow.co hijacker is not an ingenious virus. It cannot install itself. This parasite is a simple computer program. Just like any other program, it needs your approval to be installed. Yet, it doesn’t need to ask openly. This furtive utility uses a lot of trickery. It asks in the sneakiest way possible. It hides in software bundles, torrents, and fake software updates. If you don’t pay close attention to the fine print, you will install the parasite unintentionally. Whenever you are installing a program, opt for the Advanced installation method in the Setup Wizard. Under it, you will be presented with a list of all extra programs that are about to be installed. Examine this list carefully. These third-party programs, more often than not are malicious. Make sure you know what you are giving your approval to. Read the Terms and Conditions/End User License Agreement (EULA) or research the apps online. It is up to you to keep your computer virus-free. Don’t let programs like the Search.hlivetvnow.co hijacker deceive you. Your caution can keep your device clean!

Why is this dangerous?

The Search.hlivetvnow.co hijacker should not be tolerated. This utility ruins your browsing experience. It bombards you with dozens and dozens of commercials and redirects your browser. It can pause your online videos or force you to watch commercials. But wait. There is more. The hijacker displays ads that you are not aware of. This parasite modifies the search results you are provided with. It doesn’t matter which search engine you use, the hijacker injects fake entries among the results. These entries are also advertisements. Yet, they are not marked as such. Dodgy websites pay hefty sums for their links to be displayed at the top. Don’t trust a word you read. With the Search.hlivetvnow.co hijacker on board, you are very likely to be redirected to bogus websites. Yet, these issues are nothing compared to what the hijacker does behind your back. The parasite tracks your browsing related data and stores it on a remote server. Anyone willing to spend some money can access the data and use it to target you with customized marketing campaigns. Keep in mind that the hijacker has no verifying mechanism. All sorts of crooks can use it to expose you to misleading ads. If an offer looks too good to be true, it probably isn’t. The hijacker can easily redirect you to scam websites. If you are extremely unlucky, you may even end up on an infected page. The Search.hlivetvnow.co hijacker is too hazardous to be kept on board. Your best course of action is the immediate removal of the parasite.

How to Remove Search.hlivetvnow.co virus

The Search.hlivetvnow.co 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 Search.hlivetvnow.co 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 Search.hlivetvnow.co related processes in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate Search.hlivetvnow.co startup location

STEP 3: Delete Search.hlivetvnow.co traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

STEP 1: Track down Search.hlivetvnow.co related processes 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 Search.hlivetvnow.co 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 Search.hlivetvnow.co 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 Search.hlivetvnow.co traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

  • Open Google Chrome

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

disable Search.hlivetvnow.co 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 Search.hlivetvnow.co 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 Search.hlivetvnow.co from ie

  • Restart Internet Explorer

Step 4: Undo the damage done by Search.hlivetvnow.co

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 Search.hlivetvnow.co, 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 Search.hlivetvnow.co 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 Search.hlivetvnow.co Virus (automatic) Removal Guide

Please, have in mind that once you are infected with a single virus, it compromises your whole system or network 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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