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  • Active
  • Severity: Medium
  • Adware
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Mar 2017

How to remove Free WiFi Hotspot virus

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

Gabriel E. Hall · Passionate web researcher

Can you trust Free WiFi Hotspot software?

Free WiFi Hotspot virus is a potentially unwanted program (PUP)[1] that we have assigned to spyware[2] category. It is a suspicious free program that is mostly distributed via software bundles,[3] and the latest version of it is called Free WiFi Hotspot 4.2.0. On its official web page, it promotes itself with such slogans: “World’s #1 WiFi Hotspot Software,” “Turn your Laptop into Wi-Fi Hotspot and share the Internet with any devices” and so on. The program, which is developed by FreeWiFiHotspot Co., Ltd, has versions for both Windows and Mac users. After analyzing Privacy Policy document available on Free Wifi Hotspot website, we discovered that this software injects tracking cookies[4] (small text files that this PUP writes to your hard drive). Be aware of capabilities of these cookies – they can track down your passwords, preferences, and purchases. If you do not want to be tracked, do not use this suspicious hotspot-creating software and remove Free WiFi Hotspot PUP from the system immediately. Considering how doubtful this program is, and how it collects your information, we do not believe that it is safe to use this free program on a daily basis. For Free WiFi Hotspot removal, you might want to use a professional spyware removal software – we recommend FortectIntego, SpyHunterCombo Cleaner or MalwarebytesMalwarebytes software.
Free WiFi Hotspot virus

Considering that Free WiFi Hotspot spreads in software bundles, you can get infected with adware or a browser hijacker at the same time when installing the indicated program. If after installation of this software you started experiencing annoying browser redirections or if your browser started to send you dozens of pop-up ads daily, understand this as a warning that your system contains some potentially unwanted programs that need to be removed instantly.

How did I infect my PC with potentially unwanted programs?

Various PUPs like Free WiFi Hotspot hijack computers when bundled with popular free programs that computer users tend to download and install from questionable file sharing websites. Free programs can quickly trick you into installing unwanted third-party applications, especially if you tend to ignore information provided by software installers. It is essential to know that Default or Standard installation settings are not the most trustworthy ones and sometimes choosing them means that you express permission to install all additional programs suggested to you[5]. If you want to avoid installing unwanted programs, you should be choosing Custom or Advanced software installation settings at all times. These will allow you to look through the list of bundled items and give you an opportunity to deselect the ones that you don’t need/want to install.

How can I remove Free WiFi Hotspot?

If you accidentally installed Free WiFi Hotspot virus, you can remove it using anti-spyware programs. However, you can also try yourself and remove Free WiFi Hotspot PUP manually using the guide provided below the article. Quick Tip: When trying to uninstall this software, look for all other programs installed on the same day. It is highly recommended to remove programs that brought this software to your PC or that were installed alongside it. Free WiFi Hotspot removal tutorial explains how you can remove suspicious programs from the system manually, so if you’re not interested in automatic spyware removal option, take a look at these instructions instead.

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.

Reset Internet Explorer

Remove dangerous add-ons:

  1. Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
  2. Pick Manage Add-ons.
  3. You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.Remove add-ons from Internet Explorer

Change your homepage if it was altered:

  1. Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
  2. Select Internet Options.
  3. In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
  4. Click Apply and then select OK.Reset IE homepage

Delete temporary files:

  1. Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
  2. Under Browsing history, click Delete...
  3. Select relevant fields and press Delete.Clear temporary files from Internet Explorer

Reset Internet Explorer:

  1. Click on Gear icon > Internet options and select Advanced tab.
  2. Select Reset.
  3. In the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset.Reset Internet Explorer

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

Did this guide help?

4 comments

  1. Julianne

    This suspicious hotspot thingy sneaked in my system without my knowledge yesterday. I dont like that, really. That is the main reason why I am going to remove it now - Im not going to tolerate any intruders!

  2. laurra

    Thanks for explaining how this program operates. Now i understand what is it doing on my computer.

  3. laurra

    Thanks for explaining how this program operates. Now i understand what is it doing on my computer.

  4. Oscar

    I could not remove it by myself... I couldnt find it on my computer system!

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