Monday, June 2, 2014

Remove Downdapp.com Redirect Virus

In the age of Internet, computers are exposed to lots of risks. One of the most common threats is redirect virus. Nowadays, more and more redirect viruses are created by hackers to accomplish their purpose of making money. Downdapp.com redirect virus is one of such malicious redirect viruses and has done harm to many users’ PCs. It has the ability to cause chaos inside the infected computer. If your computer has been unluckily infected by this redirect virus, we suggest that you get rid of it as early as possible. Learn how to completely remove Downdapp.com redirect virus from this article now.
Downdapp.com Redirect Virus
Downdapp.com redirect virus is also known as “browser hijack” virus since it will keep hijacking your browsers to its own domain page and some other unknown websites. Generally speaking, when you launch your browsers like Mozilla Firefox, you will see the website which you have set as the default homepage. However, when your computer is infected by the redirect virus, you will notice that your default homepage has been changed to www.downdapp.com without your permission. Besides, you will also find that your default search engine has been changed to another one. When you click on one of the search results provided by the search engine, you may be taken to an undesired web page instead of the page you intend to visit. In addition, you will frequently receive a bunch of pop-up ads on the web pages you are viewing. Sometimes, you may be shown the message like “Flash Player Update” and required to download certain program onto your computer in order to watch certain video. Don’t believe in that message and download the recommended program at all. Actually, it is not safe to click on any strange links or download unknown programs when your computer is infected by Downdapp.com redirect virus. Those links may link you to some malicious websites and the programs would contain malicious codes, which could lead to invasion of other types of malware such as Trojan horse, worm, and ransomware.
It is a bad thing to have this redirect virus on your computer. It can alter your browser settings and DNS settings, causing the changes of the default homepage and search engine. You even cannot surf on the Internet normally. Your search results are often redirected to unwanted websites, and there are many pop-up ads showing on the web pages you are browsing. Besides, your computer performance will be greatly decreased since the redirect virus will consume lots of precious system resources. However, a potential risk is that the redirect virus may steal your personal information and send it to the remote hackers. It can achieve this by tracking your browsing history and browser cookies. That information collected may conclude your IP address, email address, search terms, website usernames and password, etc. Downdapp.com redirect virus is really a threat and shouldn’t be ignored. In the following, you can learn how to remove it from your computer.

Manual Removal Guide:

Remove Downdapp.com redirect virus related programs

Windows 7
1. Go to Start > Control Panel > Uninstall a program.
Uninstall-a-Program
2. Search for any programs that looks suspicious or you don’t trust, select them, click on “Uninstall” and remove them by following the prompts.
Uninstall-program-in-Windows-7
Windows 8
1. Press Windows key + W key together.
2. Type “uninstall” into the search field and click “Uninstall a program”.
windows8_uninstall_programs_1
3. Look for any suspicious programs; remove them by clicking on them and clicking “Uninstall/Change”.
uninstall program

Remove Downdapp.com redirect virus from the browsers

Internet Explorer
1. Click Tools and select Manage add-ons.
IE-Manage-Add-ons
2. On the Toolbars and Extensions tab, find out and disable the add-ons installed by the virus.
Mozilla Firefox
1. Click on Firefox menu (or the Tools menu) and navigate to Add-ons.
add-ons-Firefox
2. On the Extensions and Plugins tabs, find out any extensions or plug-ins related to the virus and remove/disable them.
Google Chrome
1. Click on the Chrome menu on the top right hand side of the browser, click on Tools and select Extensions.
Chrome-Extensions_1
2. Find out any unknown or suspicious extensions, click on the trash can icon next to each extension.

Remove Downdapp.com redirect virus related files and registry entries

Show all hidden files and folders.
1. Click on the Start button and select Control Panel.
2. Click on “Appearance and Personalization”, and then select “Folder Options”.
folderoptions_1
3. Under the “View” tab, tick “Show hidden files, folders, and drives”, non-tick the “Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)” box, and click “OK”.
Folder Options-view
Delete the malicious files
%Temp%\random.exe
%AllUsersProfile%\Application Data\random.exe
%Documents and Settings%\ All Users\Application Data\random.exe
Delete the malicious registry entries
1. Press Windows key + R key together.
2. Type “regedit” into the dialog box and click OK.
type-regedit-windows7
3. In the Registry Editor, search for the malicious registry entries and delete them.
registry-editor-win7
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\[virus name]
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “.exe”
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\[virus name]

Automatic Removal Guide:

Note that the manual removal is a method recommended only for those have sufficient computer knowledge and skills, since there are some redirect virus related files and registry entries to be deleted completely. If users accidentally delete some important system files, it may lead to some unwanted system damage. Therefore, we highly recommend the automatic removal. Automatic removal is much easier than the manual removal. Users only need to download, install and run an advanced removal tool to perform a full system scan. The removal tool will detect Downdapp.com redirect virus and thoroughly remove it in no time. If you cannot access security related websites because of the redirect virus, please download the removal tool on another computer and then transfer it to your own computer via a removable storage device.

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