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In this article we are going to try and help you remove Tpoxa.com “Virus”. Our instructions cover all Windows versions as well as most browsers – Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer etc.
In case that you’ve come across an annoying browser hijacker named Tpoxa.com “Virus” and you are looking for a way to remove it, then the removal guide below may be that helpful piece that you have been looking for. In the next paragraphs we are going to talk about the specifics of this program, the most common web locations where you can get it and, of course, how to effectively uninstall all of its traces from your PC and bring your favorite Chrome, Firefox or another browser back to normal. Since you landed on this page, you are most probably affected by some rather intrusive and undesired changes, related to your homepage, and search engine, which may now be redirecting you to some unfamiliar sponsored sites, links, banners, promotional pages and ads. The good thing is that on this page you are going to find out how to remove all that annoyance and we suggest you carefully read the information below as it may turn out to be of use.
What is Tpoxa.com used for?
To put it simply, programs like Tpoxa.com and other similar browser hijackers of this type are usually used by the online advertising industry as ad generating tools. This means that these pieces of software are created with the simple aim to generate as many advertisements and possible and display them on the user’s screen. In the case of Tpoxa.com, this happens by hijacking the user’s browser and applying some changes that replace the users’ homepage with some sponsored page so that every time they open their browser, that sponsored page would get traffic. The same is the purpose of the search engine changes that may take place just to redirect your searches to more of these promotional sites and popping ads. And although it may seem pointless to you, there is a good reason for all the marketers to disturb you with all this annoying ad-generating activity. It is called Pay-Per-Click – a business model, which many online businesses use to earn profit from redirecting you or making you click on sponsored advertisements. That is exactly what the owners of Tpoxa.com use it for. You may say that this is a quite aggressive and invasive advertising strategy, but from a legal point of view, there is nothing wrong with that method. That’s why there are so many browser hijackers available out there distributed in software bundles, torrents, spam emails, free download platforms, torrent sites, shareware and direct downloads from the web. They get more and more intrusive in their desire to expose you to as many ads as possible, however, uninstalling them is doable, and if you don’t want to tolerate that advertisement invasion, you have all the rights to decide to remove it from your PC.
Tpoxa.com’s activity: what you should be aware of
Usually, if you have a browser hijacker on your computer, you should be prepared for a flow of spontaneously popping banners, notifications, and ads, every time you open your browser and start to search the web. Also, you may need to deal with dozens of new tabs that keep coming up and disturbing you with their promotional messages and links. Your searches may constantly get redirected to different websites, that have nothing to do with what you are looking for, or you may be taken to unknown or insecure web locations instead of the sites you want. Your browser may become slow and so may do your computer due to the amount of system resources a program of this type may use. And what is more disturbing for some users is that the browser hijacker may track down your online activity such as latest searches, websites you visit regularly or things you like and share on the web, just to match them with more of its aggressively popping ads.
All this could be very annoying to some users, that’s why it is not surprising why they may find this activity unwanted. Some people may even point to the browser hijacker as a virus, or some nasty kind of malware such as a Trojan or Ransomware, however, here we need to make a major distinction. Browser hijackers like Tpoxa.com are not viruses, nor have they any malicious code that intends to harm your computer. They will not attempt to destroy your system, or encrypt your files (like the Ransomware does), that’s why they are not considered a serious threat to your machine according to security experts. However, this doesn’t make them any less disturbing, that’s why if you have been annoyed to an extent that you cannot browse the web in peace, removing them may be the best solution.
Tpoxa.com “Virus” 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 Tpoxa.com 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 Tpoxa.com 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 Tpoxa.com 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 Tpoxa.com 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 Tpoxa.com 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.