Browser Health Info virus (Virus Removal Guide) - Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge

Browser Health Info virus Removal Guide

What is Browser Health Info virus?

Installation of Browser Health Info may lead to hijacked Chrome

Browser Health Info is a suspicious browser extension for Google Chrome. This potentially unwanted application claims to be capable of checking computer’s system and protecting from cyber threats. However, it’s just a trick to convince users into installing it. It spreads via bogus websites that deliver a pop-up message stating that downloading this browser extension is necessary to leave the site. Besides, users can also find Browser Health Info promoted in software bundles. After the installation, it starts working as a browser hijacker.[1] It might alter browser’s settings in order to control user’s behavior and display commercial content. The hijacker might replace current homepage and default search engine to search.yahoo.com. This potentially unwanted program (PUP) is also designed to prevent users from removing extension simply and quickly. It does not have a visible icon on the toolbar. What is more, if users try to open Chrome’s extension list, they are redirected to chrome://apps page. Undoubtedly, manual Browser Health Info removal might be challenging. Fortunately, users can employ a professional security program, for instance FortectIntego, and let it remove browser extension.

The image of Browser Health Info

So-called Browser Health Info virus reminds us of System Health Checker. Both programs share similar features and behavior. After the hijack, this PUP modifies browser’s settings in order to provide third-party commercial content. When users click on sponsored links or ads, developers of this app generate revenue. However, users might be tricked into visiting a misleading or potentially dangerous website when they click on the search result. Undoubtedly, this feature is unfair because users always expect to find relevant and credible information on the first page of the search result. Sadly, System Health Info is interested in benefiting developers, but not users. Therefore, you can easily be redirected to a website that offers to install fake updates or programs [2]that are presented as crucial to strengthening your computer’s security. In order to avoid other cyber infections, you should not only stay away from online ads but remove System Health Info too. Apart from taking control over the browser, it might also track information about users and share it with unknown third-parties. Thus, both you and the computer might be at risk.

The picture of Browser Health Info virusBrowser Health Info is a suspicious browser extension that targets Google Chrome.

Distribution methods of the browser extension

The most common way to encounter an aggressive offer to install System Health Info is to end up on a misleading website that claims about the necessity to download it in order to leave the page. This site delivers a regular Chrome pop-up message. Thus, it might look legitimate. However, installing a suspicious PUP is unnecessary. Instead of clicking “Cancel” or “OK” buttons, users should simply close the browser or a tab. However, if close button is inactive, you should force-quit. “Cancel” button is also designed to install this PUP on the device. There are many ways how people can enter such misleading website. They might be redirected by an adware program that managed to sneak inside the system. The redirect might also occur when users browse through high-risk websites that are designed to trigger redirects to suspicious places on the web. What is more, System Health Info hijack might also occur during incorrect installation of freeware or shareware. The program might be included as an optional component in various software packages. Thus, if you rely on Basic/Recommended installation settings or rush through Advanced/Custom setup, you might accidentally install it. In order to avoid similar PUPs, you have to learn to install new programs carefully under Advanced/Custom settings and do not overlook the list of pre-selected entries. By unticking them, you stop PUPs from entering the system.

Removal of the System Health Info

As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, it might be complicated to remove System Health Info from the device manually. It alters Chrome’s settings, prevents from accessing the list of extensions and creates an invisible icon. Thus, if you cannot locate it on your own, you will need some help from reputable software. Instead of trying to terminate hijacker manually, we highly recommend opting for an automatic System Health Info removal option. Install a reputable anti-malware program (or update your current one) and run a full system scan. Once the scan is over, this suspicious extension will be gone for good.

You may remove virus damage with a help of FortectIntego. SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner and Malwarebytes are recommended to detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.

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What to do if failed?
If you failed to fix virus damage using Fortect Intego, submit a question to our support team and provide as much details as possible.
Fortect Intego has a free limited scanner. Fortect Intego offers more through scan when you purchase its full version. When free scanner detects issues, you can fix them using free manual repairs or you can decide to purchase the full version in order to fix them automatically.
Alternative Software
Different software has a different purpose. If you didn’t succeed in fixing corrupted files with Fortect, try running SpyHunter 5.
Alternative Software
Different software has a different purpose. If you didn’t succeed in fixing corrupted files with Intego, try running Combo Cleaner.

Getting rid of Browser Health Info virus. Follow these steps

Uninstall from Windows

Check the list of the installed programs. If you find some suspicious and unknown software, uninstall them immediately. They might be related to the Browser Health Info redirect virus.

Instructions for Windows 10/8  machines:

  1. Enter Control Panel into Windows search box and hit Enter or click on the search result.
  2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a program. Uninstall from Windows 1
  3. From the list, find the entry of the suspicious program.
  4. Right-click on the application and select Uninstall.
  5. If User Account Control shows up, click Yes.
  6. Wait till uninstallation process is complete and click OK. Uninstall from Windows 2

If you are Windows 7/XP user, proceed with the following instructions:

  1. Click on Windows Start > Control Panel located on the right pane (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
  2. In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program. Uninstall from Windows 7/XP
  3. Pick the unwanted application by clicking on it once.
  4. At the top, click Uninstall/Change.
  5. In the confirmation prompt, pick Yes.
  6. Click OK once the removal process is finished.

Delete from macOS

Make sure that any suspicious applications haven’t been installed on the device without your knowledge. Follow the steps below and get rid of unknown entries.

Remove items from Applications folder:

  1. From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
  2. In the Applications folder, look for all related entries.
  3. Click on the app and drag it to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash) Uninstall from Mac 1

To fully remove an unwanted app, you need to access Application Support, LaunchAgents, and LaunchDaemons folders and delete relevant files:

  1. Select Go > Go to Folder.
  2. Enter /Library/Application Support and click Go or press Enter.
  3. In the Application Support folder, look for any dubious entries and then delete them.
  4. Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the related .plist files. Uninstall from Mac 2

Remove from Microsoft Edge

Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:

  1. Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
  2. From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
  3. Click on Uninstall at the bottom. Remove extensions from Edge

Clear cookies and other browser data:

  1. Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Privacy & security.
  2. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  3. Select everything (apart from passwords, although you might want to include Media licenses as well, if applicable) and click on Clear. Clear Edge browsing data

Restore new tab and homepage settings:

  1. Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
  2. Then find On startup section.
  3. Click Disable if you found any suspicious domain.

Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:

  1. Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
  2. Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
  3. Select Details tab.
  4. Now scroll down and locate every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right-click on each of them and select End Task to stop MS Edge from running. Reset MS Edge

If this solution failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method. Note that you need to backup your data before proceeding.

  1. Find the following folder on your computer: C:\\Users\\%username%\\AppData\\Local\\Packages\\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe.
  2. Press Ctrl + A on your keyboard to select all folders.
  3. Right-click on them and pick Delete Advanced MS Edge reset 1
  4. Now right-click on the Start button and pick Windows PowerShell (Admin).
  5. When the new window opens, copy and paste the following command, and then press Enter:

    Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\\AppXManifest.xml” -Verbose Advanced MS Edge reset 2

Instructions for Chromium-based Edge

Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):

  1. Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
  2. Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove. Remove extensions from Chromium Edge

Clear cache and site data:

  1. Click on Menu and go to Settings.
  2. Select Privacy, search and services.
  3. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  4. Under Time range, pick All time.
  5. Select Clear now. Clear browser data from Chroum Edge

Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:

  1. Click on Menu and select Settings.
  2. On the left side, pick Reset settings.
  3. Select Restore settings to their default values.
  4. Confirm with Reset. Reset Chromium Edge

Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)

Remove dangerous extensions:

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
  2. Select Add-ons.
  3. In here, select unwanted plugin and click Remove. Remove extensions from Firefox

Reset the homepage:

  1. Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
  2. Choose Options.
  3. Under Home options, enter your preferred site that will open every time you newly open the Mozilla Firefox.

Clear cookies and site data:

  1. Click Menu and pick Settings.
  2. Go to Privacy & Security section.
  3. Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
  4. Click on Clear Data…
  5. Select Cookies and Site Data, as well as Cached Web Content and press Clear. Clear cookies and site data from Firefox

Reset Mozilla Firefox

If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
  2. Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information. Reset Firefox 1
  3. Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox…
  4. Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox. Reset Firefox 2

Remove from Google Chrome

In order to remove Browser Health Info extension, you have to access the list of Chrome’s extensions. If you manage to do it, uninstall all suspicious add-ons, plugins, and other entries. Once it’s done, reset the browser. It helps to delete tracking cookies and other components. However, if you cannot delete this cyber parasite manually, please opt for the automatic removal option and run a full system scan with anti-malware program.

Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

  1. Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
  2. In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all the suspicious plugins that might be related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove. Remove extensions from Chrome

Clear cache and web data from Chrome:

  1. Click on Menu and pick Settings.
  2. Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
  3. Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
  4. Click Clear data. Clear cache and web data from Chrome

Change your homepage:

  1. Click menu and choose Settings.
  2. Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
  3. Click on Open a specific or set of pages and click on three dots to find the Remove option.

Reset Google Chrome:

If the previous methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the unwanted components:

  1. Click on Menu and select Settings.
  2. In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
  3. Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
  4. Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
  5. Confirm with Reset settings. Reset Chrome 2

Delete from Safari

Remove unwanted extensions from Safari:

  1. Click Safari > Preferences…
  2. In the new window, pick Extensions.
  3. Select the unwanted extension and select Uninstall. Remove extensions from Safari

Clear cookies and other website data from Safari:

  1. Click Safari > Clear History…
  2. From the drop-down menu under Clear, pick all history.
  3. Confirm with Clear History. Clear cookies and website data from Safari

Reset Safari if the above-mentioned steps did not help you:

  1. Click Safari > Preferences…
  2. Go to Advanced tab.
  3. Tick the Show Develop menu in menu bar.
  4. From the menu bar, click Develop, and then select Empty Caches. Reset Safari

After uninstalling this potentially unwanted program (PUP) and fixing each of your web browsers, we recommend you to scan your PC system with a reputable anti-spyware. This will help you to get rid of Browser Health Info registry traces and will also identify related parasites or possible malware infections on your computer. For that you can use our top-rated malware remover: FortectIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes.

How to prevent from getting stealing programs

Choose a proper web browser and improve your safety with a VPN tool

Online spying has got momentum in recent years and people are getting more and more interested in how to protect their privacy online. One of the basic means to add a layer of security – choose the most private and secure web browser. Although web browsers can't grant full privacy protection and security, some of them are much better at sandboxing, HTTPS upgrading, active content blocking, tracking blocking, phishing protection, and similar privacy-oriented features. However, if you want true anonymity, we suggest you employ a powerful Private Internet Access VPN – it can encrypt all the traffic that comes and goes out of your computer, preventing tracking completely.

 

Lost your files? Use data recovery software

While some files located on any computer are replaceable or useless, others can be extremely valuable. Family photos, work documents, school projects – these are types of files that we don't want to lose. Unfortunately, there are many ways how unexpected data loss can occur: power cuts, Blue Screen of Death errors, hardware failures, crypto-malware attack, or even accidental deletion.

To ensure that all the files remain intact, you should prepare regular data backups. You can choose cloud-based or physical copies you could restore from later in case of a disaster. If your backups were lost as well or you never bothered to prepare any, Data Recovery Pro can be your only hope to retrieve your invaluable files.

About the author
Alice Woods
Alice Woods - Likes to teach users about virus prevention

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