Jimdo.com “Virus” Spam Removal

Welcome, reader, to our Jimdo.com “Virus” removal guide. The following instructions will aid you in removing the unwanted software from your PC.

There is a category of software programs that most people want to have removed from their PC, as soon as they notice it due to their intrusiveness, yet applications of this kind cannot be classified as viruses, since they are generally regarded as safe and are mostly legal. The term used for such software that stands in between viruses and legit and useful programs is PUP (potentially unwanted program). In the current article, we will be focusing on one particular type of PUP – Browser Hijackers. Recently, a new application of that kind has been released and many people have started sending reports and seeking support for removing the program. The name of that new Hijacker is Jimdo.com. Similarly to its predecessor, the Jimdo.com “Virus” tends to latch onto the user’s Firefox, IE or Chrome browser and modify it by changing its homepage and adding new search engines and toolbars. Here, you can learn some valuable information concerning this program, as well as how you can remove it from your computer if it has been installed on it.

General characteristics and purpose of Browser Hijackers

Think of Jimdo.com as an online marketing tool, because this is what the main purpose of these programs almost always is. Some of them might seem beneficial to the user at first sight but don’t be fooled. Even if a Hijacker does indeed have some sort of useful feature, it’s just not worth enduring the negative effects of the program. After all, most of the time programs like the Jimdo.com “Virus”are aimed solely at gaining income for their developers through a number of different marketing techniques and methods. Bear in mind that in most cases, the only people, who truly gain anything from Browser Hijackers, are their creators.

Why you need to remove Jimdo.com ASAP

As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, despite their general annoyance, Browser Hijackers are usually not dangerous or harmful to your system unlike actual viruses like Ransomware or Trojan horses. Many people tend to panic, thinking that they have landed some sort of malicious Ransomware, when they first encounter the Hijacker. In fact, there’s really no need to worry as long as you remain cautious. However, this certainly does not mean that you should allow the nagging software to remain on your HDD any longer than it already has and here are several more reasons why:

• Some Hijackers have the nasty tendency of invading your online privacy and scanning through your browsing activity. This provides them with information that can later be sold to third-party companies or be directly employed by the Hijacker to display ads that are in line with your preferences, effectively making them more attractive to you.
• The Jimdo.com “Virus” can trick you into installing more unwanted or low-quality software by displaying false or exaggerated warnings about errors on your PC. This is usually a clever ruse used to urge you into downloading some system optimization program that’s supposed to deal with the errors (which might have been non-existent in the first place). Make sure that you avoid interacting with those.
• A lot of Browser Hijackers tend to cause PC performance issues such as slow-downs, freezes, browser crashes, etc. The best and most effective way to resolve those issues is surely to make sure that the software that’s causing them is uninstalled and removed from your machine. For that, you can use our Jimdo.com “Virus” removal guide located right beneath this article. Just make sure that you read our last paragraph before you go there, where you will learn how to keep your system safe and clean in the future.

Securing your PC

In this last paragraph, we have summarized and listed several simple, yet extremely valuable rules and guidelines that you must adhere to if you want to avoid any future instances of Browser Hijacker installation.

• Mind your browsing – this is one of the most overlooked aspects of PC security. However, if you really want to keep unwanted software from your PC, you must make sure that you only visit reputable sites and use trustworthy sources for your downloads. If you tend to wander throughout the darker corners of the World Wide Web, it is highly possible that you’d end up landing some other unwanted or maybe even malicious piece of software.
• Spam – Junk mail has always been one of the most common methods for distribution all sorts of unwanted stuff and Browser Hijackers are by no means an exception. You must always be on your guard when checking your inbox and delete everything that seems shady or sketchy before even opening it.
• Bundling – You’ve surely noticed how many programs come bundled with additional applications added to them that get installed along the main thing. This method known as software bundling is also widely used by Browser Hijacker developers to spread their products more effectively. That is why we always advise our readers to be vigilant when installing new software. Carefully look through the setup wizard and see if there are any optional installs that you can uncheck. In some instances, you’d need to open the custom settings menu to see if and what has been added. Whatever the specific case, make sure that you uncheck all add-ons that look like potential Hijackers or other forms of unwanted software before installing the main program on your PC.

SUMMARY:

Name	Jimdo.com
Type	Browser Hijacker
Danger Level	Medium (nowhere near threats like Ransomware, but still a security risk)
Symptoms	Hijackers often add unwanted new search engines and toolbars to your browser as well as change its default frontpage and display intrusve banners and pop-ups.
Distribution Method	Most of the time, Browser Hijackers are being spread by spam messages that contain hyperlinks or file attachments, torrent/file-sharing websites and also via file/program bundles.

Jimdo.com Spam Removal

I – Uninstallation

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
   1. If you are unable to spot Jimdo.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

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

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 Jimdo.com 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

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 Jimdo.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.
3. If you spot the process ran by Jimdo.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

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.