MaskSearch.com Browser Hijacker Removal Guide

MaskSearch.com is found to be a browser hijacker component to Internet browsers which is used by cyber criminals to achieve their goals such as boosting internet traffic and obtaining benefits by tricking computer users to some pop-up ads pages. This redirect virus is able to force users to visit its own domain frequently. It makes profit by letting PC users click per-click-paid techniques on this MaskSearch.com site. In other words, the hijacker is invented to help hackers to obtain money. We suggest you not to click on the pop-up ads or sponsored links that provided by the site, otherwise your computer may be infected by other malware like Trojans, spyware or rogue programs and you may suffer from huge losses.

MaskSearch.com Virus Consequences

Once MaskSearch.com has been installed to the infected browser successfully, the Internet settings on the infected browser will be totally modified. The original homepage and search engine will be replaced with the browser hijacker. Sometimes your browser may become unstable and exhibit frequent errors. Since being installed, MaskSearch.com starts to bombard the screen with ads. Those ads are usually include ads, coupons, deals, revenues, pop-banner, and sponsored links, which are utilized to rope victims into purchasing some fake or non-existent products or services. Then the cyber criminals are able to take money from the victims. Apart from that, the sensitive information will be used to perform evil activities.

How to Deal With MaskSearch.com Redirect Effectively?

Removing MaskSearch.com is a complicated process since it can make changes to the default browser settings and add its malicious codes to the computer system. Even though you restore all Internet settings tampered by the redirect virus, you computer may still be attacked by such virus again since its components are very stubborn. It is highly advised to download a professional toolkit to eliminate the redirect virus from an infected system safely.

Guide to Remove MaskSearch.com Redirect Virus from the Infected PC

1. Stop running processes related to this redirect virus
a: When the Windows Task manager appears, switch to Processes tab.
b: Find out and select the processes related to the virus by name random.exe, and click on the ¡°End process¡± button.
2. Remove the redirect virus from Internet Explorer:
a: Start IE, go to Tools and select Internet Options.
b: Find General section, remove the unwanted address as a home page.
c: Then go to Search section, find Settings button and choose Manage Add-ons
d: Erase the redirect and after the action, close Manage Add-ons
3. Remove the redirect virus from Mozilla Firefox:
a: Open Mozilla Firefox browser, click on tools and go to Options.
b: Switch to General tab, remove the unwanted address as a startup site.
c: Then, go to: Firefox -> Add-ons -> Add-ons Manager -> Remove.
d: In the Search list, select Manage Search Engines and erase this redirect and choose OK
4. Remove the redirect virus from Google Chrome:
a: Open Google Chrome and navigate to Settings tab and Set pages.
b: Erase MaskSearch.com which was seta as the startup site and choose OK
c: Find Manage search engines and here, erase this redirect.
d: Press on OK, and restart Google Chrome.
5. Delete all registry files created by this redirect
a. While the Registry Editor is opened, search for the registry key ¡°HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\ MaskSearch.com.¡± Right-click this registry key and select ¡°Delete.¡±
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run ¡°[RANDOM].exe¡±
b. Navigate to directory %PROGRAM_FILES%\ MaskSearch.com \ and delete the infected files manually.
%AppData%Local[random].exe
C:\Documents and Settings\LocalService\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\
C:\Documents and Settings\LocalService\Local Settings\

Conclusion

MaskSearch.com can be distributed in different ways and it is usually bundled with third-party applications, especially freeware and shareware, and installed on the target machines silently when users download and install certain software from the Internet. The browser hijacker virus slips into a computer as many PC users neglect to read the End-User License Agreement, assenting the installation of the MaskSearch.com toolbar. They just install the software without thinking that other malicious program might be installed as well. And the malicious toolbar, add-ons and other items can be installed to the infected browser without PC users¡¯ permission. Then it sends the collected information to the remote severs for illegal benefits, such as credit card numbers, bank account numbers, logon names, passwords, ID and other personal information. This will help MaskSearch.com finally redirects browser search results to the web pages run by its adware creators. Still do not know how to do? It can not only perform a full scan of your computer, but also can delete the threat automatically with a few clicks and prevent other threats from your PC.