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In this article we are going to try and help you remove Trotux. Our instructions cover all Windows versions as well as most browsers – Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer etc.

If you have noticed an increased amount of ads in your browser, regardless of the websites you’re visiting, you could have been infected by a thing called Trotux. It’s a type of browser redirect, which is specifically designed to bombard you with those ads, in case you were wondering what the point of them was. You might also have noticed some other changes that have recently taken place within your browser, like a different homepage from the one you had originally set, or perhaps your default search engine has been set to another one, too. Chances are you could have also been puzzled by the fact that some of the many ads displayed in the swarm of pop-ups, banners and box messages oddly match your recent search queries.

These are all sure symptoms of an browser redirect infection and the below guide has been put together to help you remove it. Read on to gain a better understanding of what it is you’re dealing with, so you stand a higher chance of avoiding it in the future.

Possible risks involved with Trotux “virus”

First, let us clarify something important. Contrary to popular belief Trotux “virus” is not actually a virus, nor malware. Like it is with pretty much any browser redirect representative, there are a few things that ought to be considered, where safety is involved. browser redirect is by no means a virus or malware of any kind, it will not destroy your information or try to abuse your computer’s resources, as a Trojan horse for example would, and it will not tamper with your precious files, as is the case with another dangerous threat – ransomware. However, Trotux does have the capacity of exposing you to threats like that and we will explain to you just how that could play out.

For one, it is very possible that some of the numerous ads that parade across your screen might not be real. In fact, they might even turn out to be dangerous. You could for whatever reason happen to click on one of those deceitful adverts and land on a malicious website, infested with all kinds of viruses. For the record, by the way, research has shown that one of the most common ways of getting infected by the world’s number one cyber threat ransomware is through malvertisements. And even if you don’t necessarily end up on a nasty website with malicious intents, it’s still pretty common practice to get directed from one ad to something else entirely – not what you were looking to find.

Another crucial aspect to browser redirect, which lies deep within its core, embedded in the very principles of its functioning is the fact that it quite blatantly spies on your browsing activity. Programs like Trotux can collect your search queries, browsing history and can learn to track your browsing patterns in general, in order to get a feel of what it is you strive to gain from surfing the web. The idea behind this is as simple as putting jam on a bread. The browser redirect developers aim to adjust their ads to suit your personal preferences with the goal of you eventually landing a click on one (or more) of their ads. Each click an ad gets is a penny for the developers, as most browser redirect operates based on the Pay per click scheme, which is a popular money-making technique. The only thing is that all this valuable information about you can easily be sold to third parties for whatever purposes, which don’t necessarily have to be crystal-clear and totally transparent. Needless to say, the danger of becoming victim to crimes like identity theft, especially given the scale of such illegal activity nowadays, is pretty real.

Prevention is key

With all that scary information we’ve thrown at you, you must be scrambling by now for all the protection methods thinkable. And you should be. However, staying out of browser redirects’ way is quite simple, as long as you’re armed with common sense. Because browser redirect developers like to hide their annoying programs in program bundles, you should be extra cautious when attempting to download whatever freeware, shareware or other not-particularly-trustworthy-ware you may be after. Check the source, make sure it’s a reputable one and by all means go for the advanced/custom installation settings in the setup wizard. This way you will be able to spot the additional software that’s been bundled in with your desired program and you will be able to choose from it: what goes and what stays. In addition to this, it should be common knowledge by now that a reliable antivirus program is an absolute must, preferably with a browser extension. Make sure to regularly run virus scans and keep your security system up-to-date.

Remove Trotux from Chrome/Firefox

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:

1. Navigate to your Desktop
2. Press simultaneously the Win button together with the R button (Win+R)
3. In the Run window that just opened type appwiz.cpl

4. Go through the list of programs and find Trotux 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 browser redirect 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 Trotux From Chrome

Now we’ll remove the extensions that the malware has attached to your browser.

1. Open your Google Chrome browser.
2. Type chrome://extensions/  in the URL address bar and press Enter.
3. Click on “Developer Mode” on the top right and look for the extension installed by Trotux 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.

1. 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 Trotux From Firefox

1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser.
2. Type “about:support” in the URL address bar and press Enter.
3. Click on the “Refresh Firefox” button on the right and confirm.

#4 Remove Trotux From Internet Explorer

1. Open your Internet Explorer internet browser.
2. Click on the Gear icon on the up right, then on manage add-ons.
3. Go through the list disable any suspicious extensions.

#5 Remove any leftover parasitic processes

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From the task manager:

1. Use Ctrl + Shift + Esc and open the Task manager, then click on the Processes
2. Go through the list of processes and look for unknown or otherwise suspicious entries.
3. 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:

1. Press simultaneously the Win button together with the R button (Win+R)
2. In the Run window that just opened type msconfig
3. 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.