Remove LinkSwift (updated Jan 2021) - Easy Removal Guide
Is it safe to use LinkSwift?
LinkSwift virus is presented as a practical and legitimate application. However, IT specialists do not recommend to use it. since it is classified as a potentially unwanted application. Its only mission is to cram users devices with annoying commercial offers and banners. Such behavior does not only annoy users as the ads distract them while surfing the Web but they also negatively affect the browser’ processing capabilities. The ads are typically filled with information about discounts, prices, coupons to appeal users with the opportunities to save some money. Even more, after clicking a link that is usually incorporated into the ad, victims may be redirected to unknown, and potentially unsafe websites that seek the only thing – to increase their page rank or sales. So the app hardly seeks to help you in saving the money. If you don’t want to run into ads all the time, remove LinkSwift from the system. The process does not take long if you install ReimageIntego to assist you with the elimination. It performs LinkSwift removal within seconds.
The adware application easily invades the system using another application as a disguise. For a while, users do not suspect that a PUP has infiltrated the system until they start noticing an increasing amount of LinkSwift ads on their browsers. Their primary goal is to tempt you into purchasing certain commodities or direct you to affiliated domains. Likewise, you might find yourself in a different shopping, gaming or even gambling websites. However, LinkSwift redirect problem might have destructive effects. As previously mentioned, the redirect domains might contain viruses within them. Thus, if you lurk in those web pages too long, the risk to catch a virus or two boosts up.
Furthermore, this adware may also lead you to privacy related issues. Since there is no cause, it may start tracking your browsing on the Internet and may collect such things as your recently visited websites. Search entries, IP location, and even personal details, if you provide it deliberately, might fall into the hands of the developers of this PUP. According to their privacy policy, they grant themselves the right to share the collected non-personal data which might include personal information, with its partner companies for marketing purposes. As a result, your browser gets crammed with personalized commercial offers. Besides that, the Inbox folder of your email account might not escape the stream of spam messages. However, there is always a risk that the personal details might find another recipient – cyber criminals.
The distribution ways of the adware
LinkSwift hijack usually occurs when you install a new application without paying an attentive look to the installation guide. Even legitimate applications such as Adobe Reader or Skype might contain the suspicious add-ons. You can prevent infiltration of this or other free addition by supervising the installation process. Choose “Advanced” mode. It discloses additional applications which wait for the opportunity to settle on the system. Thus, once you spot the add-ons, carefully unmark all applications.
Removing the adware
If you want to get rid of LinkSwift virus, you can do it into ways. The first encompasses manual elimination. This method might be more applicable for users who have more time and patience to deal with similar PUPs. Nonetheless, precision and attention are crucial in confronting this PUP. If this option does not seem befitting, then opt for automatic LinkSwift removal. This option might be more effective as the software detects all files linked to the PUP and completely eradicates them. It is especially significant since remnants might cause the re-hijack. Lastly, this utility is less time-consuming as you do not need to look for and remove LinkSwift on your own.
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 LinkSwift, follow these steps:
Get rid of LinkSwift from Windows systems
To remove LinkSwift 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 LinkSwift (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.
Uninstall LinkSwift from Mac OS X system
If your macOS is displaying some infection symptoms, proceed with the following guide:
Remove LinkSwift from Applications folder:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for LinkSwift-related entries.
- Click on the app and drag it to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash)
To fully remove LinkSwift, 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 LinkSwift and then delete them.
- Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the LinkSwift-related entries.
Eliminate LinkSwift 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 LinkSwift 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 LinkSwift removal.
Delete LinkSwift 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 LinkSwift-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.
Reset MS Edge if that 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.
Remove LinkSwift 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 LinkSwift and click Remove.
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.
In case LinkSwift 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 LinkSwift removal.
Erase LinkSwift from Google Chrome
If you worry that there might have some files related to LinkSwift adware might remain, follow these guidelines to fully restore your browser to a previous state.
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 LinkSwift 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.
If the above-methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the LinkSwift-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 LinkSwift removal.
Get rid of LinkSwift from Safari
Remove unwanted extensions from Safari:
- Click Safari > Preferences…
- In the new window, pick Extensions.
- Select the unwanted extension related to LinkSwift 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 LinkSwift 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 LinkSwift
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March 16th, 2014 at 3:43 pm
Thank you for this! This has been annoying me for ages, and I finally got rid of it.