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In this article we are going to try and help you remove the Amisites “Virus” (recently found to be connected to the amulec virus). Our instructions cover Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer.
The reason why we have assembled the article below is the constantly increasing number of infections caused by a particular program. Its name is Amisites, according to the experts it is a browser hijacker and it is used for “hijacking” all types of browsers – Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Explorer, by changing their default search engine and making them broadcast pop-ups, banners, tabs and boxes; redirect you to pages you have never seen before and even show an entirely different homepage on all of your browsers.
A browser hijacker…?
Don’t panic immediately. The name of this group of ad-producing software products is the most frightening part about them. However, browser hijackers may truly act in a questionable and shady manner and this aspect of their behavior has earned them quite a bad reputation. As you may have already experienced for yourself, these programs are to be blamed for the numerous, constantly popping up advertisements that might become a serious issue when it comes to efficient surfing. Also, they are the ones responsible for the different browser homepage that you currently have. What may concern you the most among their typical features are the ways they can redirect you to strange and completely unknown web locations.
In spite of all these disturbing traits that define the Amisites “Virus” as a browser hijacker, it is rather harmless as it cannot cause any serious damage to your machine. Remember that this is not a virus like a Trojan or ransomware and you are not dealing with a contamination. This is just a piece of ad-displaying software; it cannot change any other settings of your system, just those of your browser. Also, it is not capable of using any of your data, passwords or private details without your permission or with evil intentions, such as spying on your, stealing your identity or your money or harassing you in any way. Of course, as you may expect, it may show some rather alarming traits, such as keeping track of your search requests and analyzing them in order to determine what you may prefer to purchase. This is done because the program will later be able to show only the pop-ups and banners that contain deals that could possibly interest you.
To further understand the Amisites virus’s nature, you should be aware of the reason why such browser hijackers are developed and spread around on the web. The answer to both of the questions is money. Certain vendors are really fascinated by the opportunity to advertise their goods online. That’s why they pay certain programmers to develop the Amisites “Virus” and its sibling programs to popularize them. The payment actually comes from the generated ads, the more ads are displayed, the bigger the amount of money the hijacker developers will receive in return. The regular distribution method that programmers use to spread Amisites on the Internet is via software bundling. This process represents the mixing of numerous programs of different types and transporting them together, giving the users the chance to download and use them for free. It is very likely that the hijacker that is now bothering you has come exactly from such a program bundle. However, programmers can only spread bundles, they cannot make you install or use anything from them. You are responsible for that yourself.
Avoid that common mistake regarding Amisites
While there is really no concrete prevention advice, there is a concrete way to become infected with Amisites and it is very simple: install all the bundles that you download and want to use in the simplest way and without reading the EUCA, thus incorporating the entire content of the bundle into your machine. An infection is 99% sure when you choose the Default feature of any installation wizard as this option will grant you with your favorite hijacker Amisites and all the ads it could broadcast. Nevertheless, in case you are one of the people who do not enjoy seeing hundreds of colorful ads and banners while you are using your browser, you may consider going with the Advanced installation feature instead. In this way you are given the opportunity to install only what you truly want from a particular bundle and ignore the rest of its content.
It’s time for Removal
In case you have had enough of the ads and unauthorized changes that your browser has been experiencing, you may want to try our fully functional removal instructions at the end of this paragraph. We hope that by following the advice there you will get rid of Amisites once and for all.
Amisites Removal
Many types of malware will restrict your access to their core files. It is highly recommended that you reboot your PC in safe mode before attempting to use this guide.
- To enable Safe Mode reboot you PC, then hit F8 repeatedly. When the corresponding menu opens please select Safe Mode with Networking.
WARNING! If you are using Windows 8,0 or later and/or your operating system is installed on a fast SSD drive this may fail to work. In this case click here to see how to start your PC in Safe Mode.
#1: Uninstall the malicious program from your control panel
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Enter control panel to look for any suspicious programs, which may have installed on your PC. To do that:
- Navigate to your Desktop
- Press simultaneously the Win button together with the R button (Win+R)
- In the Run window that just opened type appwiz.cpl
- Go through the list of programs and find Amisites or anything else that may seem suspicious. Right-click on it and choose the uninstallation option
WARNING! Carefully read any confirmation messages that may be created in the process. Sometimes you may get offers to download more Adware applications and this can be linked to either the Yes or the No answer depending on the wording!
- Optional:
Go through the list of programs again and check online for any potentially unwanted programs. We have an article that covers this awesome free software that makes sure that your computer is free from bloatware and programs that you don’t need.
#2: Remove Amisites From Chrome
Now we’ll remove the extensions that the malware has attached to your browser.
- Open your Google Chrome browser.
- Type chrome://extensions/ in the URL address bar and press Enter.
- Click on “Developer Mode” on the top right and look for the extension installed by Amisites and anything that might be related to it. Copy their IDs (the string of letters), then remove them by clicking on the trash bin icon.
- Type Regedit in the Windows Start Menu and press Enter. Go in : HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Google\Chrome\Extensions and delete the entries corresponding to the suspicious IDs you recorded.
#3: Remove Amisites From Firefox
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser.
- Type “about:support” in the URL address bar and press Enter.
- Click on the “Refresh Firefox” button on the right and confirm.
#4 Remove Amisites From Internet Explorer
- Open your Internet Explorer internet browser.
- Click on the Gear icon on the up right, then on manage add-ons.
- Go through the list disable any suspicious extensions.
#5 Remove any leftover parasitic processes
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From the task manager:
- Use Ctrl + Shift + Esc and open the Task manager, then click on the Processes
- Go through the list of processes and look for unknown or otherwise suspicious entries.
- If you see anything suspicious right click on the process and shoes Open File Location, then terminate the process and delete any files you find in the directory.
WARNING! If the directory you open from this menu has no files inside of it it’s probably because the malware has hidden them. You need to reveal hidden files and folders in order to be able to see them. Click here if you don’t know how to do that.
From the start menu:
- Press simultaneously the Win button together with the R button (Win+R)
- In the Run window that just opened type msconfig
- Click on the Startup tab.
This menu controls which programs are loaded when windows starts after a reboot. Disable anything that seems suspicious. Optionally you can also disable any program that you don’t need and also has a high impact on your startup time.
Feel free to write to us in the comment section with any questions that you may have. Also if we have been helpful to you please share this article to help us reach more people like you.