Remove Weknow.ac Virus (Mac Guide)

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Welcome to our Weknow.ac Virus removal guide. The following instructions will aid you in removing the unwanted software from your PC.

An application like Weknow.ac on your computer may be the main reason behind many of the browsing issues that you might have been facing lately. This type of software may add a new toolbar to your default browser, install a new search engine or alter the settings of your homepage and/or new tab without asking you for an approval. It may also initiate automatic page-redirects to some sponsored sites full of nagging ads, pop-ups and banners and force you to visit them without you wanting to do so. All of these are typical symptoms that indicate you are dealing with a Browser hijacker on your system. The presence of such a software may significantly decrease the quality of your web browsing and may not let you use your Chrome, Firefox, Explorer (or other browsers) in an effective way.

It seems that Weknow.ac is an application that has similar effects once installed on the computer. In fact, a lot of users have recently reported it as a source of potentially unwanted browser changes and intrusive ads generation. That’s why, our “How to remove” team has decided to create a detailed guide which aims to explain the typical features of this Hijacker and its potentially unwanted effects. If you are here because you need help with uninstalling Weknow.ac, stay with us. We have prepared a detailed Removal Guide below as well as provided our visitors with a trusted Weknow.ac removal tool for quick removal of the pesky app.

Browser hijackers – the things you need to know

Browser hijackers are pieces of software which are all about messing with your browsers and making them redirect you to different sponsored websites or Pay-Per-Click ads. The main idea behind all this annoying and potentially unwanted activity is very simple actually – to advertise something. It could be a homepage, a new search engine, a toolbar, some new add-on or an application, sales platforms, software products, online services and practically anything which can be advertised on a computer screen. Browser Hijackers, along with Adware programs and similar page-redirecting and ad-generating applications, are the most commonly used tools for revenue generation from sponsored ads positioning. The people who create and own such applications basically earn money from the clicks and the amount of traffic they manage to redirect to their partnering businesses and their ads. That’s why they often set applications such as Weknow.ac to modify the users’ Internet settings and to take over certain aspects of their browsers in order to display their sponsored content every time the user uses their browser.

Sadly, in most of the cases, shortly after their installation on the system, these applications tend to cause immense irritation and browsing disturbances because they usually try to flood your screen with page redirects and advertisements which makes it difficult for the user to reach the actual site or page that they might be looking for. Furthermore, some Browser hijackers may display ads and offers that are just click-baits that could actually be redirects to unreliable or even unsafe content.

Is all of this dangerous?

The risk of clicking on something malicious is always present whenever there are random ads getting displayed on your screen. Whether you are visiting certain sites or getting redirected to certain web locations by applications like Weknow.ac, there is always a chance that some of the content might be used as a potential transmitter of malware. Furthermore, it is a well-known fact that the cyber criminals tend to camouflage nasty infections such as Ransomware, Spyware and Trojans as ads and different links and offers. That’s why, the general advice to stay away from randomly popping messages, new tabs and unfamiliar sites is something you should always bear in mind.

As far as the hijackers are concerned, they are not the same as viruses. Sure, their activities and page-redirects can be very annoying and even, in some cases, may increase the chances of encountering a computer threat. However, the nature of these pieces of software is typically not malicious. They are seen as mere online advertising tools and are usually not classified as a source of any high-security risk. Compared to a real threat, such as a Ransomware or a Trojan-virus, they cannot really initiate harmful encryption, steal your data or corrupt your OS. Still, the changes in your default browser and the never-ending stream of ads that the Hijackers may generate is still a good enough reason for you to remove the pesky page-redirecting app from your machine.

Distribution and uninstallation

Most hijackers normally get on people’s computers through a sneaky software installation method known as “software bundling”. A bundle is an installation package which contains more than one software piece in its setup. Usually, applications like Weknow.ac can typically be found bundled with different free games, free optimization tools, document readers or converters and some new or attractive applications which are usually available to download free of charge. The hijacker’s installation is normally enabled by default along with the main program from the ile bundle and when the user runs and completes the setup, they end up with the added potentially unwanted piece of software on their computer. Luckily, by clicking on the Advanced or the Custom installation settings, all this can be prevented and the undesired software can be left out of the main installation pack. In case that the customization settings have been skipped and the bundled application has already been installed, the help of a professional malware removal tool or a manual removal guide like the ones from this page may be needed to eliminate the unwanted hijacker.

Weknow.ac Virus Removal

I – Safe mode and revealing hidden files

1. Boot your PC into Safe Mode /link/
2. Reveal hidden files and folders /link/

II – Uninstallation

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1. Use the Winkey+R keyboard combination, write Control Panel in the search field and hit enter.
   
2. Go to Uninstall a program under Programs.
   
3. Seek the unwanted software, select it and then click on Uninstall

If you are unable to spot Weknow.ac, search for any unrecognized programs that you do not remember installing on your PC – the unwanted software might disguise itself by going under a different name.

III – Cleaning all your browsers

1. Go to your browser’s icon, right-click on it and select Properties.
   
2. Go to the Shortcut tab and in the Target make sure to delete anything written after “.exe”.
   
3. Now, open your browser and follow the instructions below depending on whether you are using Chrome, Mozilla or IE.

• Chrome users:

1. Go to your browser’s main menu located in the top-right corner of the screen and select Settings.
   
2. Scroll down, click on Show Advanced Settings and then select Clear browsing data. Just to be sure, tick everything and clear the data.
   
3. Now, in the left pane, go to Extensions and look through all extensions that are integrated within your browser. If you notice any suspicious add-on, disable it and then remove it.
   

• Firefox users:

1. Similarly to Chrome, go to the main menu and select Add-ons and then Extensions.
2. Remove any suspicious browser extensions that you may have even if they do not have the name Weknow.ac on them.

• IE users:

1. Go to Tools and select Manage add-ons.
   
2. Click on all add-on types from the left pane and check if there is anything suspicious in the right panel. In case you find anything shade, make sure to remove it.

IV – Removing Shady processes

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1. Go to your start menu, type Task Manager in the search field and from the results open View running processes with Task Manager.
   
2. Thoroughly look through all processes. The name Weknow.ac might not be there, but if you notice any shady looking process that consumes high amounts of memory it might be ran by the unwanted program.
3. If you spot the process ran by Weknow.ac, right-click on it, open its file location and delete everything in there. Then go back to the Task Manager and end the process.
   

V – DNS check

1. In the start menu search box write View Network Connections and open the first result.
   
2. Right-click on the network connection you are using and go to Properties.
   
3. Select Internet Protocol Version (TCP/IPv4) and click on Properties.
   
4. If Obtain DNS server addresses automatically is not checked, check it.
   
5. Go to Advanced and select the DNS If there is anything in the DNS server addresses field, remove it and click OK.
   
6. Click OK on the rest of the opened windows.