Guide to Remove Search.weather-genie.com Redirect Virus

Search.weather-genie.com is a browser hijacker that gets into computers silently and alters Internet settings of common web browsers including Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Internet Explorer. This redirect virus can cause changes of the default homepage and the search results to be redirected to websites which promote certain products or services. Our suggestion is that users remove Search.weather-genie.com timely, as it is really a dangerous threat to the infected computers and personal information.

Since the redirect always sneaks into the infected system in secret ways, most of the users will not realize its existence in time. Users might not think too much when they are required to download and install a piece of software. Commonly, users take no notice of the installations of new programs and choose the recommended installation to unwarily allow additional unwanted programs to sneak into their machines. Freeware and shareware applications are the most popular carriers of PUPs or malware. It's neccessary and highly recommended to be cautious when you try to download anything from the Internet.

The bad effects this Search.weather-genie.com redirect virus can bring to a computer is huge and beyond your imagination. In fact, those add-ons are not as helpful as they claim; they attempts to monitor users¡¯ online activities, record their browsing history and send that information to its creators for the purpose of making profits. It is also frustrating to generate popups when one is focus on something with the computer. If users click on the URLs and visit those websites, they may be misled into buying specific fake products or non-existent services.

If users¡¯ computers are infected by Search.weather-genie.com redirect virus, other malware may be able to seize the chance to break into the compromised computers, making things even worse. Remote hackers may be able to gain unauthorized access to the vulnerable PC and steal the victim¡¯s confidential information, such as credit card details, passwords saved in browsers and identity data, violating user¡¯s personal privacy. The main purpose of the cyber criminals who create such viruses are to collect useful information from the computer and gain illegal profits from pay-per-click principle. Since this virus can cause great damage on the infected PC, it is suggested that PC users should remove it as soon as possible. Here is the removal guide for this redirect virus infection.

Search.weather-genie.com Redirect Virus Removal Guide

Step 1: Remove the redirect virus related programs.
1. Click Start menu and select Control Panel.
2. Click on Uninstall a program under the Programs category.
3. In the programs list find out any suspicious programs, and then click on the Uninstall.
4. Follow the wizard to accomplish the removal.
Step 2: Remove all unwanted extensions from the browsers.
Internet Explorer
1. Start the Internet Explorer, click on Tools, and select Manage Add-ons in the drop-down list.
2. Click on Toolbars and Extensions, find out and disable the add-ons related to Search.weather-genie.com redirect virus.
Mozilla Firefox
1. Run the Mozilla Firefox, click on Tools and choose Add-ons.
2. Click on Extensions, then select the unwanted add-ons in the list and click on Remove\Disable button.
3. Click Plugins, and remove\disable any unknown add-ons.
Google Chrome
1. Launch Google Chrome and click on the menu icon.
2. Click the Tools in the list then select Extensions.
3. Click on Extensions, then find out the redirect virus related add-ons and delete them.
Step 3: Remove all malicious files and registry entries.
1. In the local disk C, local the following folders:
%Temp%\
%Program Files%\
%UserProfile%\Desktop\
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\
%Document and Settings%\[UserName]\Application Data\
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\
2. In the above folders, find out and remove any malicious files.
3. Open the registry editor by following the steps: click Start menu, type ¡°regedit¡± into the search box, and click ¡°regedit.exe¡± from the results list.
4. In the registry editor, find out and delete any malicious registry entries from your PC.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run ¡°[RANDOM].exe¡±
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run ¡°[RANDOM].exe¡±
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\Explorer\run\Random.exe

 

Conclusion

It can be a disaster when a computer is attacked by the Search.weather-genie.com virus especially when he or she is not a computer savvy. Currently, many cyber infections similar to this kind of virus lurk everywhere on the Internet and wait for opportunities to break into computers. Thus, users need to learn how to protect their PCs and keep away from cyber infections. Be cautious when browsing unknown websites since those sites may contain malware like Trojan horse, worms, adware and spyware. In some cases, users encounter this redirect virus for the reason that they have no self-protection awareness. Meanwhile, it is necessary to update anti-virus, firewall, system patches regularly to protect the infected computer.