Apusx (Simple Removal Guide) - Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge
Apusx Removal Guide
What is Apusx?
Apusx browser hijacker might cause unwanted changes on web browsers
Apusx is a browser hijacker[1] that is capable of altering browser’s settings installed on any Windows computer. This potentially unwanted program (PUP) might infiltrate computer’s unnoticed, alter browser’s settings, change its startup page and display aggressive or questionable ads.
When Apusx virus gets into the system (usually with the help of free program installers), it alters browser’s settings, including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer or other browsers that are supported by Windows OS.
Typically, the hijacker sets Apusx.com as browser’s startup page. Researchers detected two versions of this website. One of them displays Windows Server webpage which provides Internet Information Services. Clicking on “Welcome” icon redirects to Microsoft IIS website.
The second version of the apusx.com is a suspicious search engine which is called a “Dreamer” and promoted as a “new way to explore the world.” However, security specialists do not recommend trusting and using this Google-based search engine because it might trick you into visiting potentially dangerous websites.
Apusx.com virus might trigger unwanted redirects when you click on a specific link on the results page. Instead of redirecting you to the needed site, you might end up on a commercial third-party site. However, specialists from the bedynet.ru[2] report about highly suspicious Apusx redirect tendencies when users are rerouted to phishing sites where they can lose personal information or money.
Additionally, the appearance of the browser hijacker might increase the risk of infiltration of other malware. Apusx might also display ads that might contain misleading or malicious content. Thus, it’s highly recommended staying away from them and taking necessary measures for the hijacker’s removal.
To sum up, Apusx might cause these problems on the affected computer:
- alteration of homepage or default search engine;
- installation of unknown browser add-ons or extensions without asking user’s permissions;
- modification of Windows registry and browser’s settings in order to prevent users from reverting all the changes;
- diminished browsing experienced due to the delivery of ads and redirects;
- the general sluggishness of the computer due to the above-mentioned activities or data tracking.
In order to remove Apusx and change your homepage, you should perform a full system scan with a professional and updated anti-malware software. Tools like FortectIntego can easily locate all hijacker-related entries and wipe out this cyber threat within a couple of minutes.
However, if you can also opt for the manual Apusx removal. However, we want to warn that many users encountered difficulties with this method due to hijackers complexity. Though, we cannot stop you from trying to do it. Thus, we have provided detailed guidelines at the end of the article in order to help you.
Software bundling – the major hijacker’s distribution method
This potentially unwanted application spreads with the help of many programs that are available to download for free on various websites or P2P networks. The majority of users make the major mistake when installing freeware, so they are potential targets of the Apusx hijack or installation of other unwanted apps.[3]
The problem is that users employ “Recommended” or “Quick” installation settings that do not disclose about third-party applications that might be included in the software packages. However, using “Custom” or “Advanced” settings help to avoid this mistake.
When using “Advanced” installer, you have to unmark all pre-selected applications that are offered to download along with the primary program. It doesn’t matter they promise to improve your browsing life or to optimize your PC, most of the time it’s not true.
Remove Apusx.com and get back access to your web browser
In the first part of the article, we have mentioned two possible Apusx removal methods. One of them is automatic which requires just scanning the device with reputable anti-malware software. However, we recommend resetting the browser too to delete tracking cookies or other invisible components.
Another way to remove Apusx.com allows looking for hijacker-related components manually. We have provided detailed instructions that will help you to succeed with the removal. However, if you fail and hijacker comes back, please switch to the automatic elimination.
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.
Getting rid of Apusx. Follow these steps
Uninstall from Windows
To get rid of Apusx manually, follow these steps attentively and set your web browsers to the default state:
Instructions for Windows 10/8 machines:
- Enter Control Panel into Windows search box and hit Enter or click on the search result.
- Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.
- From the list, find the entry of the suspicious program.
- Right-click on the application and select Uninstall.
- If User Account Control shows up, click Yes.
- Wait till uninstallation process is complete and click OK.
If you are Windows 7/XP user, proceed with the following instructions:
- Click on Windows Start > Control Panel located on the right pane (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
- In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.
- Pick the unwanted application by clicking on it once.
- At the top, click Uninstall/Change.
- In the confirmation prompt, pick Yes.
- Click OK once the removal process is finished.
Delete from macOS
Remove items from Applications folder:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for all related entries.
- Click on the app and drag it to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash)
To fully remove an unwanted app, you need to access Application Support, LaunchAgents, and LaunchDaemons folders and delete relevant files:
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and click Go or press Enter.
- In the Application Support folder, look for any dubious entries and then delete them.
- Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the related .plist files.
Remove from Microsoft Edge
Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:
- Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
- From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
- Click on Uninstall at the bottom.
Clear cookies and other browser data:
- Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Privacy & security.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Select everything (apart from passwords, although you might want to include Media licenses as well, if applicable) and click on Clear.
Restore new tab and homepage settings:
- Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
- Then find On startup section.
- Click Disable if you found any suspicious domain.
Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:
- Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
- Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
- Select Details tab.
- 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.
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.
- Find the following folder on your computer: C:\\Users\\%username%\\AppData\\Local\\Packages\\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe.
- Press Ctrl + A on your keyboard to select all folders.
- Right-click on them and pick Delete
- Now right-click on the Start button and pick Windows PowerShell (Admin).
- 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
Instructions for Chromium-based Edge
Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):
- Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
- Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.
Clear cache and site data:
- Click on Menu and go to Settings.
- Select Privacy, search and services.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Under Time range, pick All time.
- Select Clear now.
Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- On the left side, pick Reset settings.
- Select Restore settings to their default values.
- Confirm with Reset.
Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
Uninstall suspicious Firefox extensions and reset its settings to remove Apusx.com from the startup page:
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
- Select Add-ons.
- In here, select unwanted plugin and click Remove.
Reset the homepage:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
- Choose Options.
- Under Home options, enter your preferred site that will open every time you newly open the Mozilla Firefox.
Clear cookies and site data:
- Click Menu and pick Settings.
- Go to Privacy & Security section.
- Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
- Click on Clear Data…
- Select Cookies and Site Data, as well as Cached Web Content and press Clear.
Reset Mozilla Firefox
If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
- Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.
- Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox…
- Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.
Remove from Google Chrome
Follow these steps to recover Google Chrome after the virus attack:
Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:
- Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
- 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.
Clear cache and web data from Chrome:
- Click on Menu and pick Settings.
- Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
- Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
- Click Clear data.
Change your homepage:
- Click menu and choose Settings.
- Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
- 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:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
- Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
- Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
- Confirm with Reset settings.
Delete from Safari
Remove unwanted extensions from Safari:
- Click Safari > Preferences…
- In the new window, pick Extensions.
- Select the unwanted extension and select Uninstall.
Clear cookies and other website data from Safari:
- Click Safari > Clear History…
- From the drop-down menu under Clear, pick all history.
- Confirm with Clear History.
Reset Safari if the above-mentioned steps did not help you:
- Click Safari > Preferences…
- Go to Advanced tab.
- Tick the Show Develop menu in menu bar.
- From the menu bar, click Develop, and then select Empty Caches.
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 Apusx 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
Access your website securely from any location
When you work on the domain, site, blog, or different project that requires constant management, content creation, or coding, you may need to connect to the server and content management service more often. The best solution for creating a tighter network could be a dedicated/fixed IP address.
If you make your IP address static and set to your device, you can connect to the CMS from any location and do not create any additional issues for the server or network manager that needs to monitor connections and activities. VPN software providers like Private Internet Access can help you with such settings and offer the option to control the online reputation and manage projects easily from any part of the world.
Recover files after data-affecting malware attacks
While much of the data can be accidentally deleted due to various reasons, malware is one of the main culprits that can cause loss of pictures, documents, videos, and other important files. More serious malware infections lead to significant data loss when your documents, system files, and images get encrypted. In particular, ransomware is is a type of malware that focuses on such functions, so your files become useless without an ability to access them.
Even though there is little to no possibility to recover after file-locking threats, some applications have features for data recovery in the system. In some cases, Data Recovery Pro can also help to recover at least some portion of your data after data-locking virus infection or general cyber infection.
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- ^ Browser hijacker. Webopedia. Online Tech Dictionary for IT Professionals.
- ^ Bedynet. Bedynet. Russian cyber security and malware news.
- ^ Wendy Zamora. How to avoid potentially unwanted programs. Malwarebytes Labs. The security blog.