Yowwinnerprize.com “Virus” Removal

Can’t Remove Yowwinnerprize.com hijacker virus? This page includes detailed Yowwinnerprize.com Removal instructions!

Yowwinnerprize.com is a hijacker-related site. Its appearance is bad news. Consider the website a sign. A big, bright neon sign that screams ‘You’re in trouble!’ Yowwinnerprize.com is a clue that announces the presence of a hijacker. Yes, a browser hijacker has taken residence on your computer. The infection managed to slither its way in undetected, so had no idea it was there. Not until it chose to reveal itself via the website. Yowwinnerprize.com is a warning. It warns that your system is no longer infection-free. You best heed that warning, and act on it. Hijackers don’t make for good company. It’s quite the opposite. They’re invasive, dangerous, and damaging. The more time one such tool spends on your PC, the worse your predicament gets. At first, you ignore its interference. You discard it. You consider its meddling to be nothing more than a minor inconvenience. But, as time goes by, that changes. Issues grow. They evolve. What begins as a browsing intrusion turns into a severe security threat. Are you going to allow that escalation? Or, would you rather, avoid the troubles that follow the hijacker? Do yourself a favor, and pick the latter. Yowwinnerprize.com is a harbinger of trouble. Acknowledge it as the warning it is, and accept that you’re in danger. Do your best to locate the exact lurking place of the hijacker. And, delete it on discovery. The sooner, the better. Prompt deletion is the best course of action you can take. Take it ASAP!

How did I get infected with?

Yowwinnerprize.com pops up, because of you. Yes, you. You’re the reason you get stuck seeing the site, non-stop. Confused? Well, it’s rather simple. The website shows up, because of the hijacker that’s forcing it on you. And, the hijacker appears, because you agreed to install it. Odds are, you don’t recall doing it. But you did. Here’s the thing. A hijacker has to ask if you agree to install it. Only if you do, can it continue with admission. No permission, no entry. So, it turns to slyness and finesse to swindle you out of your YES. Freeware, spam emails, corrupted links, fake updates. There’s an array of methods, it can turn to. But every one of them needs your carelessness to succeed. Consider it the key ingredient for success. The infection needs you to throw caution to the wind. To rely on luck, instead of due diligence. To rush, and skip reading terms and conditions. To say YES, and hope for the best. It relies on your distraction, naivety, and haste. Don’t provide it. Don’t oblige! Do NOT make the hijacker’s invasion easier! Always take the time to be thorough. Vigilance goes a long way. It helps to keep an infection-free PC. Remember that, next time you install tools, updates, or anything else off the web. It’s a dangerous place. Don’t underestimate it. Or, you might end up with Yowwinnerprize.com.

Why is this dangerous?

After the hijacker gains access to your PC, prepare for problems. It doesn’t take long before you start to get flooded with them. At first, you notice only online interference. When you try to surf the web, the hijacker intrudes. You get redirected to Yowwinnerprize.com. You see a myriad of ads come your way. It’s annoying, yes. But that’s it. Then, as time goes by, it gets worse. You start to suffer frequent system crashes. Your computer’s performance slows down to a crawl. Programs that used to run fine have difficulties running at all. You can’t do anything that isn’t accompanied by lagging. The hijacker turns your online experience into hell. And, that’s only on the surface. You face much worse. The infection doesn’t only mess with your system’s well-being. Oh, no. It also jeopardizes your security. The tool follows programming to spy on you. And, so it does. Its espionage begins as soon as it invades. The hijacker tracks your online activities. And, not only that, but also records everything you do. When it deems it has gathered enough information, it sends it. To whom? Well, to the unknown individuals that unleashed it onto the web. To the cyber criminals behind it. People with malicious intentions, who do NOT have your best interests. Are you willing to trust them with your personal and financial details? Or, would you rather, your private life stays private? Don’t allow that scenario to unfold. Don’t stand by as the hijacker fulfill its thieving plan. Keep these strangers with agendas away from your sensitive information. Don’t allow the hijacker to wreak havoc on your PC. Find and delete it the first chance you get. You will NOT regret it.

How to Remove Yowwinnerprize.com virus

The Yowwinnerprize.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 Yowwinnerprize.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.

STEP 1: Track down Yowwinnerprize.com related processes in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate Yowwinnerprize.com startup location

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

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

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

• Open Google Chrome

• In the Main Menu, select Tools then Extensions
• Remove the Yowwinnerprize.com 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 Yowwinnerprize.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 Yowwinnerprize.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.

• in the target field remove Yowwinnerprize.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 Yowwinnerprize.com 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.