Gikayo.org virus (Improved Instructions) - Free Instructions
Gikayo.org virus Removal Guide
What is Gikayo.org virus?
Gikayo.org search engine and its questionable features
Gikayo.org is a questionable search site that can suddenly replace your home, new tab page and become the default search provider as well. It mostly targets German computer users[1]. The site is promoted with the help of a potentially unwanted program (PUP) that belongs to browser hijacker’s[2] category. Once installed, it assigns hxxp://gikayo.org to certain browser settings.
The search tool is developed by The GbR Kurowski + Timke. This search engine is touted as a tool that uses the pay-per-click revenue for a good purpose – it claims to be donating money for animals.
However, no matter how innocent this potentially unwanted program looks, it steals personal information about users in a very aggressive way.
Privacy Policy provided on that site suggests that the site collects private user data and uses it for email advertising, market research, and postal advertising. For this reason, we suggest you stay away from Gikayo.org as far as you can.
The site also collects personally non-identifiable information such as user’s search queries, tracks visited websites, ads clicked, and related information. Although such information seems to be irrelevant, it is actually valuable and helps to provide targeted advertisements. You will receive them in the form of search results.
Keep in mind that clicking on untrustworthy search results triggers a redirect to external websites that might be untrustworthy. It seems that Gikayo.org redirect virus aims to generate money without endorsing content shared by advertised sites. This puts the user in danger as he can never be sure whether search results contain links leading to secure websites.
Gikayo.org search engine is not as trustworthy as it looks. It serves sponsored results and collects some information about the user.
Considering how the described search page uses your personal data, we recommend you to remove Gikayo.org ASAP. Only after removing it you will get a chance to change browser’s homepage and search settings.
Modify them according to your needs right after Gikayo.org removal. You can delete the suspicious program automatically or manually – we provided the instructions right below this article. For best results, we suggest using FortectIntego software.
Suspicious search tools promote themselves with the help of other free programs
Free programs provide free services to PC users, but they need to monetize them somehow. In most cases, they choose to promote third-party applications and earn pay-per-install money. Sadly, advertised programs are often useless and highly annoying. Installing them can ruin your mood for a very long time.
To prevent installation of unwanted software, we highly recommend choosing the right software installation settings. This simple trick helps to prevent unwanted additional programs from sneaking into your computer unnoticeably. You need to go for Advanced or Custom option and then disagree to install presented additions.
It is important to choose reputable websites to download programs from. However, even the most trustworthy sites can provide links to download software bundles[3], so always stay careful!
Remove Gikayo.org search engine from Chrome and other browsers
Failure to remove Gikayo.org virus is something that you do not want to happen. Therefore, we highly recommend choosing automatic spyware removal option. With a trustworthy anti-spyware program, you will delete the hijacker in less than 20 minutes.
However, if you choose to go for manual Gikayo.org removal, make sure you read the provided instructions attentively. Do not rush and do not overlook a single step of this tutorial for a successful Gikayo search 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 Gikayo.org virus. Follow these steps
Uninstall from Windows
This guide explains how to uninstall programs associated with the browser hijacker. It also helps to uninstall all suspicious applications from your system. The last part of this tutorial is meant to help you to clean compromised browser shortcuts. It is a very important step, so do not miss it!
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)
The tutorial given below explains how to remove questionable add-ons related to Gikayo virus and how to refresh Firefox.
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
Use the provided instructions to reset 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 Gikayo.org 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.
- ^ DieViren. DieViren. Virus Removal Tutorials in German language.
- ^ What is Browser Hijacking?. McAfee Blogs. Securing Tomorrow. Today.
- ^ FIREBALL – The Chinese Malware of 250 Million Computers Infected. Check Point Blog. Security News, Insights, and more.