Remove Seek123.net Hijacker (Chrome/Firefox/IE)

Seek123.net poses as a legitimate search engine. Well, it’s not. It’s a facade. And, once you look past it, you find trouble. The page is a front. If you spot it, be wary. There’s an infection, lurking on your PC. And, it’s a browser hijacker. They are invasive, malicious programs that threaten your system’s well-being. And, do you know what else? Your privacy. Yes, on top of everything the tool puts you through, it jeopardizes your privacy. That’s because the hijacker follows certain programming. It’s designed to spy on you from the moment it settles into your computer. The application, using Seek123.net as a shield to lurk behind, is the same. It follows the same programming. As soon as it invades, it begins to monitor your browsing. It tracks your every online move, and catalog it. That’s right. It keeps a record of your activities. After it determines it has collected enough data, it proceeds to send it. To whom, you wonder? Well, to the people that published the program. The unknown third parties behind it. We’re talking strangers with agendas. Are you willing to allow cyber criminals into your private life? Here’s some advice: don’t! Protect your privacy and your PC. Locate the hijacker’s lurking spot on your PC. Then, delete it on discovery. Nothing good comes after a hijacker invasion. Get rid of it. Now!

How did I get infected with?

The Seek123.net site shows up on your screen after there’s a hijacker on your PC to make it. And, how do you suppose one made its way into your system? These programs have to ask you for permission on their install. They are bound to seek access. And, they can only enter after receiving it. In other words, Seek123.net is a sign you agreed to install a hijacker. But don’t beat yourself up too hard. The application didn’t just come forward to ask your approval. What if you refused it? Instead, it asks in the most covert way possible. It turns to the old but gold methods of infiltration. Like, freeware, spam email attachments, corrupted links, fake updates. The list goes on and on. But do you know what all methods have in common? They need your carelessness to work. Without you distracted, they cannot succeed. So, don’t give into gullibility. Don’t throw caution to the wind. Don’t rush. Instead, do your best to always be vigilant. Do your due diligence. Even a little extra attention goes a long way.

Why is this dangerous?

Once the hijacker dupes you into allowing it in, your grievances begin. It doesn’t take long for the issues to manifest. It begins with your browsing. One day, every move you make online gets intercepted by Seek123.net. That site seems to be the only thing you see. It pops up when you surf the web. It’s among the results in your searches. It’s there’s when you open a new tab. It’s a constant in your browsing experience. You can’t seem to escape it. The hijacker forces it on you incessantly. But it’s not the only online intrusion, you’ll be forced to endure. The program also redirects you to other obnoxious websites. And, it also showers you with pop-up ads. And, everything it throws at you cannot be trusted. Take the pop-ups, for example. They conceal more malicious tools. And, every time you click on an ad, by choice or accident, that’s it. You agree to install the malware, lurking behind it. So, unless you want to get stuck with more unwanted infections, click nothing! Or, do what’s best for you, and spare yourself the trouble altogether. Find and delete the hijacker, lurking somewhere on your computer! The sooner you do, the better. That way, you’ll avoid all the nastiness, the infection forces on you on a daily basis. Not to mention, you’ll keep your personal and financial data away from cyber criminals. So, do yourself a favor, and act against the threat ASAP! The appearance of Seek123.net is your sign to urge you into action. Take it!

How to Remove Seek123.net virus

The Seek123.net 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 Seek123.net 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 Seek123.net infection, you need to purchase its full version.

STEP 1: Track down Seek123.net in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate Seek123.net startup location

STEP 3: Delete Seek123.net traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

STEP 1: Track down Seek123.net 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 Seek123.net 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 Seek123.net 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 Seek123.net traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

• Open Google Chrome

• In the Main Menu, select Tools then Extensions
• Remove the Seek123.net 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 Seek123.net

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 Seek123.net, 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 Seek123.net 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 Seek123.net 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.