Remove Zwangi.com Hijacker (Chrome/Firefox/IE/EDGE)

Zwangi.com is a website, you don’t want to come across. It poses as a legitimate search engine. But it’s not. It does a good job at faking it. But that doesn’t change the fact it’s a fake. The page is a mere facade. It’s a front, used by a dangerous cyber infection. If you see the site, you’re stuck with that infection, using it as a shield to lurk behind. In the case of Zwangi.com, you’re dealing with a browser hijacker. Hijackers are quite the obnoxious programs. But apart from throwing you into a whirl of annoyance and unwanted disruptions, they also threaten your privacy. Yes, the tool that’s lurking on your PC right now, jeopardizes your privacy. It’s designed to steal your personal and financial information by spying on you. And, to then send the stolen data to the third parties that published it. The hijacker begins its espionage as soon as invades your system. It keeps track of your online activities, and records everything. Every move you make gets filed. And, later exposed to the cyber criminals behind the infection. Don’t allow that! Do yourself a favor, and avoid that risk. And, all the rest, for that matter. There’s a lot to worry about when it comes t hijackers. Do what’s best for you, and remove the one, located on your computer. The sooner you locate and delete it, the better.

Remove Zwangi.com

How did I get infected with?

Hijackers enter your system because you allow it. They manage to get you to approve their installation. Yes, they ask whether you agree to let them in, and enter after you do. So, how do you suppose you consent to give the green light to such a dangerous tool? Well, you got duped. The infection doesn’t just pop up and seek access. That way, you can deny it. Instead, it uses every known trick in the book to deceive you. Hijackers turn to the usual methods of invasion to succeed. Like, hiding behind freeware. Or, hiding behind corrupted links or sites. Spam email attachments are also a common means of infiltration. And, of course, bogus updates. Yes, hijackers often pretend to be a false update to sneak in. Like, Java or Adobe Flash Player. And, if you’re not careful enough when installing tools or ‘updates,’ you can get stuck with infections. Always read the fine print! Choose caution over carelessness. Due diligence goes a long way. The lack thereof leads only one – to cyber threats.

Why is this dangerous?

Zwangi.com turns into an utter nightmare after the hijacker gains access. The page pops up all the time. It’s in place of your default search engine and homepage. Why? Well, the hijacker put it there. It can force various reshuffles on you. Reshuffles, you didn’t ask for or approve. And, yet, there they are. For example, it can allow more malware into your system. Yes, if it chooses to, it can install more malicious programs. In fact, it can approve the admission of so many tools that your PC gets flooded with them. And, how long do you think it will endure with all those infections? How long before it gives up, and displays the dreaded blue? Granted, The Blue Screen of Death is a rather minuscule possibility. But as minor as it may be, it still exists! After all, unlikely does not equal non-existent. Ask yourself if you’re ready to take your chances? Or, would you rather avoid the risk altogether? Do yourself a favor, and pick the latter. Remove the hijacker from your system ASAP! That way, you won’t only protect yourself from more unwanted malware. You won’t just avoid the potential risk of the dreadful blue. You’ll also save yourself the headaches of dealing with the plethora of other grievances, you face. For example, the endless redirects. Every time you go online, you get redirected to unreliable websites, with Zwangi.com at the helm. You also get bombarded with a never-ending stream of pop-up ads. Courtesy of the ads and redirects, your browsing experience turns hellish. Your computer slows down to a crawl, and your system crashes all the time. Consider all these inconveniences, and ask yourself. Wouldn’t you rather avoid them? When Zwangi.com pops up, take it as a warning that urges you into action. Do your best to find where, on your PC, lurks the hijacker behind it. Then, after you discover its hiding place, get rid of it. Don’t waste time. Do it now!

How to Remove Zwangi.com virus

The Zwangi.com 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 Zwangi.com 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 Zwangi.com infection, you need to purchase its full version.

STEP 1: Track down Zwangi.com in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate Zwangi.com startup location

STEP 3: Delete Zwangi.com traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

STEP 1: Track down Zwangi.com 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 Zwangi.com 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 Zwangi.com 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 Zwangi.com traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

  • Open Google Chrome

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

disable Zwangi.com 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 Zwangi.com 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 Zwangi.com from ie

  • Restart Internet Explorer

Step 4: Undo the damage done by Zwangi.com

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 Zwangi.com, 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 Zwangi.com 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 Zwangi.com 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.

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