Remove Cacaoweb virus

Cacaoweb is the questionable PUP that acts like hijacker and shows ad-supported content

Cacaoweb virus

Cacaoweb virus is a rogue application developed by CACAOWEB LIMITED, located in the UK and registered in Hong Kong. Its authors claim that the app allows users to share data and communicate with friends, as well as integrate content from the internet. However, upon closer inspection, it turned out that the program is, in fact, adware^[1] in disguise. Cacaoweb virus injects Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari with pop-ups, in-text links, auto-play video and audio ads, and other commercial content. Additionally, digging through the Privacy Policy, we found that, by registering to the service, users agree for their personal information to be shared with third parties for marketing purposes.

Summary
Name	Cacaoweb
Type	Adware/PUP/ redirect virus
Developer	CACAOWEB LIMITED
Distribution	Software bundling, the official website
Symptoms	Intrusive ads and redirects plague each of the affected browsers
Potential dangers	Sensitive data loss, malware infections
Elimination	Use our instructions below this article and then scan your device with the anti-malware tool
Repair	You can recover the proper performance with applications like Fortect Intego that can find and fix issues with the virus damage

Users can find the program on the official website, although it is not how Cacaoweb is usually injected into their computers. Instead, the app relies on software bundling – a deceptive marketing technique used all over the world by shareware and freeware authors. For that reason, it is classified as a potentially unwanted program, and many AV engines recognize it as such.

While some adware can be pretty harmless and easily detectable/removable, this browser app is not so much. Officially, it cannot be classified as malware, but it certainly posses several features. The program performs the following upon installation:

Adds an exclusion to itself on Windows Firewall;
Modifies Windows Registry;
Runs cacaoweb.exe in the background;
Starts installing additional components without users' permission.

These factors alone should warrant thorough virus removal. For that purpose, users should check our instructions below, and then scan the device using Fortect Intego to repair Windows Registry and other PC functions.

Another terrifying feature of Cacaoweb adware is information gathering. It turns out that developers harvest a large amount of personal and non-personal data by using cookies and web beacons^[2] technologies. While non-PI collection is a common practice among PUPs, personal information sharing raises serious privacy and security concerns.

We struggled to find the Privacy policy of the application immediately, as it was not listed on the main site. Only after entering the Terms of Service, we managed to find a link to it. It states the following:

The Personal Information that you submit to us remains your property, but by submitting such information to us you grant us the right, subject to applicable state and federal law, to use the Personal Information (other than Sensitive Information) for marketing purposes. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, we reserve the right to share, sell, rent, lease and/or otherwise distribute any and all Personal Information (other than Sensitive Information) with/to any third-party for any and all uses permitted by this Privacy Policy and applicable law

Developers then claim that your telephone number and email address can be passed on to e-mail marketers, telemarketers, SMS text-based marketers, and similar. In case your inbox is cluttered with spam – now it should be clear where all the junk is coming from.

We cannot stress enough that providing personal details for apps like Cacaoweb is not a good idea. In the best-case scenario, you will end up with advert spam on all possible platforms you own. In the worst case, you could get your identity or money stolen.

Thus, if you value your online safety and do not wish to be disturbed by telemarketers constantly, make sure you remove the virus before it's too late. If you already installed the app and provided personal details, removing yourself from lists might be exceptionally complicated, as you would have to contact all partners of Cacaoweb and request your PII withdrawal.

Cacaoweb adware

Potentially unwanted programs can also be dangerous or even malicious, so avoiding them is the key

As we already mentioned, most adware applications are simply annoying to deal with, but they usually do not endanger computer safety if the user is careful enough. Nevertheless, some adware-type programs are incredibly aggressive in their operation and closely resemble malware.

Therefore, experts^[3] advise users to avoid the installation of rogue programs by following these tips:

Do not click on suspicious links that pop up on questionable sites;
Always read up online about the program that is being offered to you before proceeding with the installation;
Use official sites for your downloads;
Read through the Privacy policy and ToS before installing anything. Do not risk installing software that does not provide these documents;
When prompted, always pick Advanced or Custom installation mode;
Untick any pre-selected boxes that offer add-ons, toolbars, system optimization tools, etc.

Get rid of the Cacaoweb adware to protect your personal data

There is no need to risk your online safety for the supposedly useful functionality of the app. There are plenty of other programs that are capable of doing the same things but do not track and share your personal details for marketing purposes. Thus, if your machine is infected, you should not wait any longer and remove the Cacaoweb virus.

You should first try using our manual instructions below – if you do everything correctly, there will be no problems. However, if you find the guide too confusing, we can suggest automatic Cacaoweb removal using security software. We listed several anti-malware applications below, although you can try any other trusted sources.

Remember that you should reset each of the installed browsers as per our instructions below. Otherwise, several components of adware might be still present, and the unwanted activity might continue.

Uninstall from Windows

Uninstall from Windows 10/8:

Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.

Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:

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

Remove the unwanted program:

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

Delete from macOS

Remove the unwanted application:

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

Delete leftover files and folders:

Select Go > Go to Folder.
Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.
Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.

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 Remove.

Clear cookies and other browser data:

Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
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.

Restore new tab and homepage settings:

Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
Then find On startup section.
Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.

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.

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.
This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.

Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)

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 the unwanted extension and click Remove.

Reset the homepage:

Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
Choose Settings.
Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.

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 and Temporary cached files and pages, then click 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

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 suspicious extensions 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 dangerous extensions:

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

Clear history and website data:

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

Reset Safari:

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

How to remove Cacaoweb virus

Cacaoweb is the questionable PUP that acts like hijacker and shows ad-supported content

Potentially unwanted programs can also be dangerous or even malicious, so avoiding them is the key