Remove Gangnam Game virus (Removal Guide) - 2021 update
Gangnam Game is an adware that is designed to display suspicious advertisements
Gangnam Game is deemed as an advertising platform that is used not only for promoting popular/unpopular games but may also be used for spreading other potentially unwanted programs of boosting traffic to irrelevant third party web pages. Therefore, as soon as it is installed on a target system, it enables targeted advertisements. It is compatible with all types of web browsers.
Consequently, each web browser that you are using may exhibit commercial and non-commercial advertisements (pop-up ads, banner ads, interstitial, full-page ads, new tab ads, etc.) labeled with a slogan like “Ads by Gangnam Game” or “Gangnam Game Ads.” No matter how eye-catching they may appear, keep in mind that they may be linked to unsafe web pages and cause virus/malware infiltration.
In addition to redirects, this adware can also cause web browser slowdowns. That's because it may execute several processes within the task manager and misuse CPU memory. If you do not want to experience a slower computer, you should get rid of Gangnam Game virus.
Last, but not least, do not underestimate the fact that Gangnam Game malware uses cookies and transmits browsing-related information to doubtful parties. This adware can keep track of various information:
- search queries,
- pages viewed,
- clicks,
- IP address,
- its location, etc.
Questions about Gangnam Game virus
Loss of such data may cause more ads within your web browser or even email spamming, so be careful. Are you experiencing unwanted advertising by this adware? Then don't waste your time! Perform Gangnam Game removal using SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes, or following the manual removal guide give there.
Adware uses a bundling method to stealthy get into the system
Adware developers render the 'bundling' distribution method. It's a stealthy marketing technique that allows third-party apps to get into the system without being noticed.
However, that doesn't mean that 'bundling' enables apps to enter computers without requiring permission just like virus/malware does. No. In fact, 'bundling' means that adware is usually spread along with other freeware. The trick is that the installer of this app is typically disguised under the quick/basic installation option.
Therefore, keeping in mind that people are not keen on checking Advanced/Custom settings, it becomes clear why it might seem that adware slithered onto the system without permission required, which is not true. Thus, to protect your computer from unwanted installers, perform the following steps each time when installing freeware:
- Select freeware's download source carefully;
- Read EULA/Privacy Policy of the freeware;
- Choose Advanced or Custom installation (if possible);
- Read the information given on the checkboxes;
- Unmark ticks notifying your agreement to install web browser toolbars, extensions, plug-ins, etc.
Remove Gangnam Game virus from your computer
Adware programs are not malicious if compared to virus/malware and similar pests. Therefore, you can perform their removal by yourself. To delete Gangnam Game virus, you can use the guide that is given below.
However, this way you may not remove additional/supporting components and burden your system by leaving them active. On top of that, you may skip other PUPs unnoticed. Therefore, we highly recommend you to use a professional anti-malware if you want to remove Gangnam Game adware completely.
Also, remember to use only custom/advanced installation in the future. This way you will avoid potentially unwanted programs.
You may remove virus damage with a help of ReimageIntego. 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.
To remove Gangnam Game virus, follow these steps:
Delete Gangnam Game from Windows systems
To remove Gangnam Game virus from Windows 10/8 machines, please follow these steps:
- 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 entries related to Gangnam Game virus (or any other recently installed 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.
Eliminate Gangnam Game from Mac OS X system
Remove Gangnam Game virus from Applications folder:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for Gangnam Game virus-related entries.
- Click on the app and drag it to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash)
To fully remove Gangnam Game virus, 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 related to Gangnam Game virus and then delete them.
- Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the Gangnam Game virus-related entries.
Remove Gangnam Game from Internet Explorer (IE)
Remove dangerous add-ons:
- Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
- Pick Manage Add-ons.
- You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for Gangnam Game virus and other suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.
Change your homepage if it was altered:
- Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
- Select Internet Options.
- In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
- Click Apply and then select OK.
Delete temporary files:
- Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
- Under Browsing history, click Delete…
- Select relevant fields and press Delete.
Reset Internet Explorer:
- Click on Gear icon > Internet options and select Advanced tab.
- Select Reset.
- In the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset again to complete Gangnam Game virus removal.
Uninstall Gangnam Game virus 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 Gangnam Game virus-related 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 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.
Get rid of Gangnam Game 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 plugins that are related to Gangnam Game virus 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 Options.
- 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
In case Gangnam Game virus did not get removed after following the instructions above, 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 – this should complete Gangnam Game virus removal.
Erase Gangnam Game 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 Gangnam Game virus 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 like Gangnam Game virus 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 Gangnam Game virus-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 to complete Gangnam Game virus removal.
Delete Gangnam Game from Safari
Remove unwanted extensions from Safari:
- Click Safari > Preferences…
- In the new window, pick Extensions.
- Select the unwanted extension related to Gangnam Game virus 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 Gangnam Game 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: ReimageIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes.
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.
Your opinion regarding Gangnam Game virus
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January 4th, 2016 at 4:14 am
I cant get rid of Gangnam Game ads whatever I do. I disabled it on Google Chrome, deleted it via control panel, but the ads are still there. Can someone advise?
January 4th, 2016 at 4:16 am
I had the same issue. I assume that this app has some hidden components that keeps it activated even if the main executable is removed. I removed Gangnam Game virus permanently with antispyware only. So, I think you should also try one
January 4th, 2016 at 4:17 am
Gangnam Game ads are very irritating. I always saw a new pop-up window that informed me about various games or software updates. Lame!
January 4th, 2016 at 4:18 am
I used SpyHunter to remove Gangnam Game adware. Helped