Iqiyi fishes for Chinese movie watchers

Iqiyi virus operates as an adware infection which primarily targets computers located in Chinese-speaking[1] countries, but can also pop up anywhere in the world. Furthermore, it has links with the notorious and persistent adware Hao123.
On the Internet terms, this cyber parasite is relatively old. The initial reports about it reach back to September 2015. Interestingly enough, the number of users infected with this cyber threat has spiked again quite recently, although the adware itself does not seem to have changed during the year and is still working on the same principles.
Chinese users looking for entertaining videos may be redirected to this domain. Alternatively, the adware employs stealthy installation techniques (“bundling” in particular) to sneak into the computers and tries to keep its presence on the system undetected for as long as possible, allowing the virus to carry out predetermined activities without being interrupted.
And these activities are quite demanding. QyBrowser.exe, QyClient.exe, and QyKernel.exe and QiyiService.exe files that the virus installs on the computer may raise your CPU usage up to 100%, negatively impacting the rest of the computer processes.
The worst part is, that neither of these programs adds any value to your computer performance. On the opposite, they downgrade it, making your system more vulnerable and prone to more serious cyber infections. Why should you let this virus drain your computer resources and expose it to various risks? Remove Iqiyi from your computer without wasting any more time. We suggest doing that with professional antivirus software tools like FortectIntego.
Despite the previously mentioned stealthy activities, the Chinese adware may also initiate Iqiyi ads and offers which are very unlikely to go unnoticed.[2] They will start flooding your Internet Explorer, Chrome, or Mozilla browser with video commercials, online survey suggestions and a bunch of other tempting offers soon after the Iqiyi hijack.
Resisting these commercial deals and popups might not be easy since adware viruses are designed to generate them in a way which would appeal to the user, even if it does not fully disclose the true nature of the promoted content. This means that even the shady websites or products can be portrayed in the most positive light.
Sadly, due to Iqiyi redirect phenomenon, users may often find themselves in such pages. The risk to encounter malware disguised in such domain highly increases while using the services of this movie streaming domain.
Adding to the whole package, the virus also spies on the users, so one of the many processes it may run on the computer can easily be dedicated to keeping a record of what you search for online, what websites you visit and what pages you view.
You never know where such information is used after it is collected, but the studies show that it is mostly applied in the creation of specific user-targeted ads. It does not mean that the data cannot be sold to the third-parties as well. Briefly speaking, it is not safe to go on without Iqiyi removal for too long. So, you should perform it as soon as you have the chance.
Options to evade the infection
Iqiyi ads can be very annoying, and the virus itself might be difficult to remove, especially for the less experienced users. Thus, try to prevent the virus infiltration before it takes place. But before taking any action, it is useful to learn how is the virus distributed.
As we have already mentioned, this virus travels with the help of “bundling,” but what is this distribution strategy exactly? In the simplest terms, when two or more programs are added to a single software package, they form a bundle, so “bundling” is essentially the process of combining and distributing bundled software.
This strategy is widely used for the distribution of potentially unwanted programs like Iqiyi, simply because it is an effortless way of infiltrating computers. But you can end this by exposing potentially unwanted programs while they’re still at your system’s doorstep.
“Advanced” installation can help you achieve that. Make sure you chose this particular mode when installing new programs on your system and keep a lookout for the undesirable content.
Get rid of Iqiyi adware
Regardless of whether you live in the Chinese-speaking country or not, the Iqiyi virus is equally dangerous and should be terminated without hesitation. There are a couple of techniques which can be applied to eliminate the infection.[3]
Terminating the suspicious processes in your Task Manager or deleting the program which you suspect has brought the infection will not be enough to make pop-ups caused by this adware vanish from your computer.
You can emove Iqiyi manually, though it will require more time and patience. You are also free to use automatic tools to delete the adware and its web scripts. You might also find our detailed Iqiyi removal tutorial useful. In case you have any questions regarding this infection, leave us a question in the Ask Us section.
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.
Reset Internet Explorer
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 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.

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.

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2 comments
Jack
The Chinese were always good with malware. No wonder this one is spreading all over the world
Gruber
I dont even understand what do these ads say!! Its so frustrating. I got to get to the virus removal..AND FAST