Welcome to our Forwindownet.com Ads removal guide. The following instructions will aid you in removing the unwanted software from your PC.
Today, the focus of our article will be Forwindownet.com – a PUP (potentially unwanted program) of the Browser Hijacker type. After reading the following paragraphs, you will have learned what those programs’ main purpose is and whether your computer is threatened if a Hijacker gets installed on it. Additionally, there are detailed instructions on how to uninstall Forwindownet.com and fully remove it from your computer. You can find the removal guide below, but before getting there you should read the article itself, since the information in it is very important when it comes to dealing with programs of this type.
What is a Browser Hijacker?
As we’ve already established above, Browser Hijackers such as Forwindownet.com are a type of unwanted programs. Most of them invade your browser (whether it is IE, Edge, Chrome, Firefox or some other) and change its default search engine, add new toolbars or change the browser’s homepage. It might not sound like much but in reality, having your browser’s settings altered by some obscure and nagging software can be a real pain in the back. That is why the best course of action if Forwindownet.com has been installed on your computer would be to remove the program, in order to be able to bring your browser back to normal (which we will help you do). Internet advertising is a huge thing right now and some programs are made with the sole purpose of exploiting this. Unlike other less intrusive ways of online marketing, Browser Hijackers are all about making sure that the user of the computer they are installed on is constantly subjected to different forms of aggressive advertising. Taking control over your browser is a part of this process but there are a lot of other things many Browser Hijackers are able to do which we will cover in one of the following paragraphs. In some occasions programs like Forwindownet.com can look appealing and helpful and might even contain some actual functionality, in order to make themselves more appealing. However, this simply cannot make up for the fact that most of them would not allow you to use your browser without being constantly nagged by their presence.
Is your system threatened by Browser Hijackers?
A lot of you might think of Forwindownet.com as some form of malware. While there are undoubtedly certain similarities, the truth is that Browser Hijackers are not actual viruses. Unlike real threats like the infamous Ransomware or the nasty Trojan horses, most Hijackers are pretty much harmless for your system. Certainly, they are unwanted, but as far as your system security is concerned, there’s usually no reason to be worried since they are not real viruses. But though Browser Hijackers might not be a security threat, they are still programs that you’d surely want to have removed from your computer. As was mentioned before, taking control over some of your browser’s settings is not the only thing that some of those unwanted programs can do:
- One particularly unnerving trait of some Hijackers is their ability to keep track of what you do online. Mostly, monitoring your browser activity is done for marketing purposes; however, this does not make it any more acceptable.
- Oftentimes, your browser might be bombarded with all sorts of intrusive pop-ups and banners coming from the Hijacker. Such aggressive advertising is typical for those programs and can be extremely frustrating.
- Though this is situational, sometimes your computer might get slowed down by Forwindownet.com. This is particularly common among PC’s with lower system characteristics. Due to heavy CPU and RAM consumption from the Browser Hijacker, the machine might get sluggish and even start to crash.
Advice for keeping your system safe and clean
Finally, we will address the topic of protecting your computer and keeping unwanted programs like Forwindownet.com away from it. We have come up with a short list of simple, yet crucial tips that you need to remember and apply every time you use your PC.
- Be careful when surfing the web. Even though you have probably heard this hundreds of times, this rule is extremely overlooked and ignored by users. This is actually causes so many people to have their computers infected by all sorts of unwanted software and not only Browser Hijackers. Therefore, make sure you are safe and responsible when online – do not visit any obscure sites and use only dependable download sources.
- Never open links or download attached files to emails or other forms of online messages that look like spam, since this is one of the most common Browser Hijacker distribution methods.
- Lastly, never install software without first checking if there’s any added content. Often, the installer of some programs is actually a file bundle that contains the Hijacker. If you want to avoid installing the unwanted application alongside the main program, be sure to carefully look through the installation wizard and see if there’s anything added. Sometimes, you will have to opt for the Custom installation option in order to see the added contents. Once you find the list of add-ons, uncheck those which you think might be Hijackers or some other type of PUP before installing the actual program you want.
Forwindownet.com Ads Removal
I – Uninstallation
- Use the Winkey+R keyboard combination, write Control Panel in the search field and hit enter.
- Go to Uninstall a program under Programs.
- Seek the unwanted software, select it and then click on Uninstall
- If you are unable to spot Forwindownet.com, 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.
II – Safe mode and revealing hidden files
III – Cleaning all your browsers
- Go to your browser’s icon, right-click on it and select Properties.
- Go to the Shortcut tab and in the Target make sure to delete anything written after “.exe”.
- Now, open your browser and follow the instructions below depending on whether you are using Chrome, Mozilla or IE.
- Chrome users:
- Go to your browser’s main menu located in the top-right corner of the screen and select Settings.
- Scroll down, click on Show Advanced Settings and then select Clear browsing data. Just to be sure, tick everything and clear the data.
- 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:
- Similarly to Chrome, go to the main menu and select Add-ons and then Extensions.
- Remove any suspicious browser extensions that you may have even if they do not have the name Forwindownet.com on them.
- IE users:
- Go to Tools and select Manage add-ons.
- 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
- Go to your start menu, type Task Manager in the search field and from the results open View running processes with Task Manager.
- Thoroughly look through all processes. The name Forwindownet.com 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.
- If you spot the process ran by Forwindownet.com, 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
- In the start menu search box write View Network Connections and open the first result.
- Right-click on the network connection you are using and go to Properties.
- Select Internet Protocol Version (TCP/IPv4) and click on Properties.
- If Obtain DNS server addresses automatically is not checked, check it.
- Go to Advanced and select the DNS If there is anything in the DNS server addresses field, remove it and click OK.
- Click OK on the rest of the opened windows.
