FF Helper Checker (Simple Removal Guide) - Tutorial
FF Helper Checker Removal Guide
What is FF Helper Checker?
FF Helper Checker Firefox add-on causes unwanted activities on the affected browser
FF Helper Checker is a potentially unwanted program (PUP) that targets Mozilla Firefox users. This add-on is harshly promoted on compromised websites and after infiltration might flood the browser with commercial content, such ads, pop-ups, etc.
Netizens are often redirected to such website after visiting a potentially dangerous site, for instance, gambling or adult-themed. However, scammers also take advantage of adware programs to spread FF Helper Checker virus too. For this reason, users might be forced to visit such site after incorrect freeware[1] installation.
The FF Helper Checker website has a malicious JavaScript that displays a fake warning about the necessity to update Firefox manually. The website states that this update is needed to protect users activities online and decrease possibility to encounter virus or malware attacks,
Additionally, the compromised delivers a pop-up that asks to install an FF Helper Checker add-on. Users are warned not to click “Cancel” button which is supposed to reject installation of the unwanted app and help to leave the website. However, scammers use obfuscated buttons which performs opposite tasks.
If you click “Cancel” on the FF Helper Checker pop-up, you will turn Mozilla Firefox into full-screen mode. It means that you might not have any other choice, just to install it. However, if you found yourself in such compromising situation, you should force quit the browser.
If you think that the add-on may still be installed on the system, we highly recommend scanning the device with reputable anti-malware software. If your machine was actually infected, a tool like FortectIntego would remove FF Helper Checker and other malicious components within a couple of minutes.
However, the malicious extension is known for being capable of blocking about:addons page. It means that FF Helper Checker removal might be impossible unless you run Firefox in Safe Mode.[2] You can find detailed removal guide at the end of this article.
FF Helper Checker add-ons is aggressively being promoted on corrupted websites.
Software installers might hide potentially unwanted applications
When you download free programs from the internet, you always have to choose between Advanced and Recommended installation settings. Researchers from semvirus.pt[3] tell the majority of users rely on the latter options.
The issue with Recommended installers is that they do not openly disclose about additional applications that might be attached to the primary program. Hence, by using this setup, you give indirect permission to install everything that was added to the bundle.
Now you can understand how FF Helper Checker hijack may have occurred – during one of the recent freeware installations. However, this could have been avoided if you have opted for Advanced setup and unmarked pre-selected additional downloads.
Remove FF Helper Checker virus from Firefox
You can uninstall FF Helper Checker as an ordinary Firefox extension. However, if you cannot do it, you should scan the device with professional anti-malware software and reset the browser. In this way, all adware-related entries should be eliminated.
However, you should also check manual FF Helper Checker removal guide to make sure that all files, programs or other components that are related to PUP are wiped out from the system too. If some of the entries are left, you might be redirected to a fake Firefox update again and again.
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 FF Helper Checker. Follow these steps
Uninstall from Windows
Follow these steps to remove adware from the computer and stop redirects to fake Mozilla Firefox update website:
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
Mac OS X users are rarely targeted by this adware. However, if it bothers you, follow this guide to get rid of it:
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)
In order to uninstall FF Helper Checker, you have to run Firefox in Safe Mode or just reset the browser and terminate all adware-related entries immediately.
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
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 FF Helper Checker 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 adware
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.
- ^ Tim Fisher. What Is Freeware?. Lifewire. Tech how-to guides and tutorials.
- ^ How to start Firefox in Safe Mode. Mozilla Support. The official website.
- ^ Semvirus. Semvirus. Cyber security news.