How to Remove Smartinf.ru Hijacker

Can’t Remove Smartinf.ru hijacker virus? This page includes detailed Smartinf.ru Removal instructions!

If the Smartinf.ru website has replaced your homepage without your consent, if “Ads by Smartinf.ru” pop up out of the blue, the news is bad. Your computer is no longer free of infections. A browser hijacker lurks in the shadows of your OS and wreaks havoc. Brace yourself! The intruder is a complete and utter menace! It throws its victims into a whirlwind of reshuffles. The hijacker replaces both your homepage and default search engine. There is nothing you can do to restore your preferences. As long as the parasite remains active on your PC, you are stuck with its modifications. And as if that’s not annoying enough, but the hijacker also interferes with your online activities. This menace follows you around the Web and throws ads at you. Whether you browse your favorite website or watch a video, it is always there to annoy you. The hijacker inserts banners on every website you visit. It opens pop-ups, plays video commercials, and turns random text into hyperlinks. You can barely get any work done. The hijacker always finds a way to interrupt you. Click nothing, though. These ads are not reliable! They arise unwarranted expectations at best. At worst, they redirect traffic to deceptive and malicious websites. That’s the nature of the hijacker. It not only floods you with annoying ads but also opens your browser to numerous online threats. Don’t put yourself through this! As soon as the Smartinf.ru website appears, take action. Find where the hijacker hides and delete it upon detection. The sooner you remove the intruder, the better!

How did I get infected with?

A browser hijacker forces the Smartinf.ru website on you. The parasite sneaks into your OS and floods you with countless ads. The parasite, however, doesn’t “hack” your PC. Do not imagine cyber attacks. No, this intruder is not a virus. It is a simple application that needs you, the user, to approve its installation. No permission, no admission, the hijacker is bound to seek your approval. And here’s the catch. Having to ask is not the same as having to do so outright. The hijacker hides in the fine print. It gets installed when you “forget” to deselect it. Don’t make that mistake. This hijacker preys on your naivety. Your caution, on the other hand, prevents it from succeeding. So, don’t let your guard down. Always take the time to do your due diligence! Don’t visit questionable websites. Download software and updates from reputable (preferably official) sources only. And forget about the “Next-Next-Finish” setup strategy. More often than not, the apps we download off the Web come bundled with bonus software. If you rush through the installation process, you might install a malicious extra. Don’t rely on luck! When available, use the advanced/custom installation option. Deselect all unwanted bonus apps. And before you click on the “Accept” button, go through the terms and conditions. If you can’t read the whole document, scan it with an online EULA analyzer. Even a little extra attention can spare you an avalanche of problems. Opt out of the installation if you notice anything suspicious!

Why is this dangerous?

There is no such thing as a safe hijacker. And the parasite behind the Smartinf.ru web page is not an exception. This menace sneaks into your OS and corrupts your browser. The hijacker replaces your homepage and forces you to use its questionable search engine. And if you are not sure, that’s bad! This engine inserts sponsored links among the results it displays. The ads, however, are not marked as such. You can’t be sure which entries are organic search and which are promoted. Bear in mind that many dodgy websites pay for their links to be displayed at the top. You risk ending up on misleading and potentially corrupted websites. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! You can notice the full extent of the corruption only if you take a closer look at the “Powered by Smartinf.ru” ads. These annoying pop-ups are related to your online activities, aren’t they? That’s because they are targeted at you. The hijacker doesn’t waste time with random ads. No, this intruder studies your browsing habits and bases its ad selection on the gathered data. The hijacker spies on you from day one. It knows which websites you visit, which links you follow, which videos you watch. The Incognito mode can’t hide you. The parasite knows everything! And when the hijacker deems it has enough data, it proceeds to sell it! Do you think that ends well? Some pieces of data, your search queries, may leak personal and financial details. Don’t risk it! Protect yourself and your privacy. Remove the hijacker ASAP!

How to Remove Smartinf.ru virus

The Smartinf.ru 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 Smartinf.ru 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 Smartinf.ru related processes in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate Smartinf.ru startup location

STEP 3: Delete Smartinf.ru traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

STEP 1: Track down Smartinf.ru 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.

• Write down the file location for later reference.

Step 2: Locate Smartinf.ru 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 Smartinf.ru 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 Smartinf.ru traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

• Open Google Chrome

• In the Main Menu, select Tools then Extensions
• Remove the Smartinf.ru 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 Smartinf.ru

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 Smartinf.ru, 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 Smartinf.ru 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 Smartinf.ru 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.