Skip to content
  • Active
  • Severity: High
  • Stealing programs
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Jul 2016

How to remove RAFO Technology virus

A step-by-step removal guide for affected devices. Follow the verified procedure below — most readers complete it in under 10 minutes.

Olivia Morelli · Ransomware analyst

RAFO Technology is a company that has released an annoying browser hijacker, which seems incredibly annoying and hard to remove. We have already received numerous questions about RAFO Technology browser hijacker. Therefore, we have prepared this report and a guide on how to remove it.

Description of RAFO Technology virus

We would like to point out that this hijacker is NOT malicious. However, its activity is very unpleasant, and you should not tolerate it. Once installed, it changes homepage in every Internet browser and sets it to Mystart.dealwifi.com. This search engine is considered unreliable since it initiates redirects to questionable third-party Internet sites. However, RAFO Technology redirect issue is not the only negative feature of this browser hijacker. What seems suspicious is that this program is designed to hide deeply in the computer system with the purpose to prevent the user from deleting it and changing browser’s homepage settings. When this rogue program enters the PC, it adjusts Registry entries to make mystart.dealwifi.com appear each time the user launches the web browser. As a result, even if the victim resets homepage settings and cleans shortcuts of web browsers, this shady website is still going to show up.

RAFO Technology virus

We hope that this questionable application hasn’t convinced you to use mystart.dealwifi.com search engine yet. We highly recommend you to stay clear of it, since it can take you to websites that you would generally try to avoid visiting. You can end up on shady sites that promote questionable applications, suggest updating software or ask to participate in shady lotteries. We advise you to think before doing anything on the Internet. Try to avoid downloading third-party applications from vague web pages, refuse to install suspicious updates, and especially stay clear of websites that urge you to enter your name, surname, or credit card details. In general, sites that mystart.dealwifi.com can redirect you too are not worth your trust.

How did RAFO Technology hijack your PC?

You can be affected by RAFO Technology redirect virus if you have installed a product from this company – DealWifi, but you can also end up installing it unconsciously. To prevent that from happening, we advise you to install computer programs carefully. No matter if you download new applications from download sites or peer-to-peer file sharing networks, you have to check them before you install them. You just need to see whether your download includes any unexpected attachments, such as browser toolbars or apps. To do that, choose Advanced or Custom settings to install your download. If you see a list of optional applications after selecting these settings, opt all of them out. Commonly, these apps are not trustworthy or basically are useless. If you used to ignore installation settings and leave the pre-selected option on, then you might have installed several more questionable apps on your computer. That is why we recommend you to scan your PC with an anti-spyware tool (e.g. FortectIntego) and see if there are any more dangerous programs on your computer.

How to remove RAFO Technology hijacker?

If you think that it’s time to let RAFO Technology virus go, decide how do you want to eliminate it. Please take note that this hijacker is more complicated than other typical hijackers, and it can be much harder to delete it manually. However, if you still want to do that, then follow these RAFO Technology removal instructions provided below this article. If you are thinking about the easier removal option, then install our recommended software and let it scan your PC system for you. Then just simply select which PUPs you want to delete and get rid of them for good.

Uninstall from Windows

Uninstall from Windows 10/8:

  1. Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
  2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.Uninstall from Windows 10/8

Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:

  1. Click on Windows Start > Control Panel (Windows XP users should click on Add/Remove Programs).
  2. In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.Uninstall from Windows 7/XP

Remove the unwanted program:

  1. In the Programs and Features window, look for any recently installed suspicious entries, select them, and click Uninstall.
  2. If User Account Control appears, click Yes to confirm, then complete the removal.Uninstall the unwanted program from Windows

Delete from macOS

Remove the unwanted application:

  1. From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
  2. In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).Uninstall from Mac

Delete leftover files and folders:

  1. Select Go > Go to Folder.
  2. Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
  3. Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.Delete leftover files from Mac
  4. Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.

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 Remove.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 Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
  2. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  3. Select Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files. (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 Remove next to any suspicious startup page.

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

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.
  5. This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.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 the unwanted extension 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 Settings.
  3. Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.

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 and Temporary cached files and pages, then click 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

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 suspicious extensions 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 dangerous extensions:

  1. Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
  2. Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.Remove extensions from Safari

Clear history and website data:

  1. Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
  2. Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.Clear history from Safari

Reset Safari:

  1. Click Safari in the menu and select Preferences > Advanced.
  2. Enable Show Develop menu in menu bar.
  3. From the menu bar, click Develop and select Empty Caches.Reset Safari

4 comments

Spyware news
Privacy preferences

We use cookies to improve your experience and analyze traffic. Some cookies enable embedded content like videos and social posts. Choose what you allow — you can change this anytime.