RAFO Technology virus. How to remove? (Uninstall guide)
RAFO Technology is a company that has released an annoying browser hijacker, which seems incredibly annoying and hard to remove. We have already received numerous questions about RAFO Technology browser hijacker. Therefore, we have prepared this report and a guide on how to remove it.
Description of RAFO Technology virus
We would like to point out that this hijacker is NOT malicious. However, its activity is very unpleasant, and you should not tolerate it. Once installed, it changes homepage in every Internet browser and sets it to Mystart.dealwifi.com. This search engine is considered unreliable since it initiates redirects to questionable third-party Internet sites. However, RAFO Technology redirect issue is not the only negative feature of this browser hijacker. What seems suspicious is that this program is designed to hide deeply in the computer system with the purpose to prevent the user from deleting it and changing browser’s homepage settings. When this rogue program enters the PC, it adjusts Registry entries to make mystart.dealwifi.com appear each time the user launches the web browser. As a result, even if the victim resets homepage settings and cleans shortcuts of web browsers, this shady website is still going to show up.
Questions about RAFO Technology virus
We hope that this questionable application hasn’t convinced you to use mystart.dealwifi.com search engine yet. We highly recommend you to stay clear of it, since it can take you to websites that you would generally try to avoid visiting. You can end up on shady sites that promote questionable applications, suggest updating software or ask to participate in shady lotteries. We advise you to think before doing anything on the Internet. Try to avoid downloading third-party applications from vague web pages, refuse to install suspicious updates, and especially stay clear of websites that urge you to enter your name, surname, or credit card details. In general, sites that mystart.dealwifi.com can redirect you too are not worth your trust.
How did RAFO Technology hijack your PC?
You can be affected by RAFO Technology redirect virus if you have installed a product from this company – DealWifi, but you can also end up installing it unconsciously. To prevent that from happening, we advise you to install computer programs carefully. No matter if you download new applications from download sites or peer-to-peer file sharing networks, you have to check them before you install them. You just need to see whether your download includes any unexpected attachments, such as browser toolbars or apps. To do that, choose Advanced or Custom settings to install your download. If you see a list of optional applications after selecting these settings, opt all of them out. Commonly, these apps are not trustworthy or basically are useless. If you used to ignore installation settings and leave the pre-selected option on, then you might have installed several more questionable apps on your computer. That is why we recommend you to scan your PC with an anti-spyware tool (e.g. Reimage) and see if there are any more dangerous programs on your computer.
How to remove RAFO Technology hijacker?
If you think that it’s time to let RAFO Technology virus go, decide how do you want to eliminate it. Please take note that this hijacker is more complicated than other typical hijackers, and it can be much harder to delete it manually. However, if you still want to do that, then follow these RAFO Technology removal instructions provided below this article. If you are thinking about the easier removal option, then install our recommended software and let it scan your PC system for you. Then just simply select which PUPs you want to delete and get rid of them for good.
You can remove virus damage automatically with a help of one of these programs: Reimage, Malwarebytes MalwarebytesCombo Cleaner, Plumbytes Anti-MalwareMalwarebytes Malwarebytes. We recommend these applications because they detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.
To remove RAFO Technology virus, follow these steps:
Remove RAFO Technology from Windows systems
-
Click Start → Control Panel → Programs and Features (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
-
If you are Windows 10 / Windows 8 user, then right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once Quick Access Menu shows up, select Control Panel and Uninstall a Program.
- Uninstall RAFO Technology and related programs
Here, look for RAFO Technology or any other recently installed suspicious programs. -
Uninstall them and click OK to save these changes.
- Remove RAFO Technology from Windows shortcuts
Right click on the shortcut of Mozilla Firefox and select Properties. -
Go to Shortcut tab and look at the Target field. Delete malicious URL that is related to your virus.
Repeat steps that are given above with all browsers' shortcuts, including Internet Explorer and Google Chrome. Make sure you check all locations of these shortcuts, including Desktop, Start Menu and taskbar.
WindowsMac OS XInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariGet rid of RAFO Technology from Mac OS X system
-
If you are using OS X, click Go button at the top left of the screen and select Applications.
-
Wait until you see Applications folder and look for RAFO Technology or any other suspicious programs on it. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash.
Erase RAFO Technology 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 and choose Manage Add-ons. -
You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for RAFO Technology and other suspicious plugins. Disable these entries by clicking Disable:
-
Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Click on the gear icon (menu) on the top right corner of the browser and select Internet Options. Stay in General tab. -
Here, remove malicious URL and enter preferable domain name. Click Apply to save changes.
-
Reset Internet Explorer
Click on the gear icon (menu) again and select Internet options. Go to Advanced tab. - Here, select Reset.
-
When in the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset again to complete RAFO Technology removal.
Eliminate RAFO Technology virus from Microsoft Edge
Reset Microsoft Edge settings (Method 1):
- Launch Microsoft Edge app and click More (three dots at the top right corner of the screen).
- Click Settings to open more options.
-
Once Settings window shows up, click Choose what to clear button under Clear browsing data option.
-
Here, select all what you want to remove and click Clear.
-
Now you should right-click on the Start button (Windows logo). Here, select Task Manager.
- When in Processes tab, search for Microsoft Edge.
-
Right-click on it and choose Go to details option. If can’t see Go to details option, click More details and repeat previous steps.
-
When Details tab shows up, find every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right click on each of them and select End Task to end these entries.
Resetting Microsoft Edge browser (Method 2):
If Method 1 failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method.
- Note: you need to backup your data before using this method.
- Find this folder on your computer:
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe.
-
Select every entry which is saved on it and right click with your mouse. Then Delete option.
- Click the Start button (Windows logo) and type in window power in Search my stuff line.
-
Right-click the Windows PowerShell entry and choose Run as administrator.
- Once Administrator: Windows PowerShell window shows up, paste this command line after PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> and press Enter:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml -Verbose}
Once these steps are finished, RAFO Technology should be removed from your Microsoft Edge browser.
WindowsMac OS XInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariUninstall RAFO Technology from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
-
Remove dangerous extensions
Open Mozilla Firefox, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Add-ons → Extensions. -
Here, select RAFO Technology and other questionable plugins. Click Remove to delete these entries.
-
Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Click on the menu (top right corner), choose Options → General. - Here, delete malicious URL and enter preferable website or click Restore to default.
-
Click OK to save these changes.
-
Reset Mozilla Firefox
Click on the Firefox menu on the top left and click on the question mark. Here, choose Troubleshooting Information. -
Now you will see Reset Firefox to its default state message with Reset Firefox button. Click this button for several times and complete RAFO Technology removal.
Delete RAFO Technology from Google Chrome
-
Delete malicious plugins
Open Google Chrome, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Tools → Extensions. -
Here, select RAFO Technology and other malicious plugins and select trash icon to delete these entries.
-
Change your homepage and default search engine if it was altered by your virus
Click on menu icon and choose Settings. -
Here, look for the Open a specific page or set of pages under On startup option and click on Set pages.
- Now you should see another window. Here, delete malicious search sites and enter the one that you want to use as your homepage.
-
Click on menu icon again and choose Settings → Manage Search engines under the Search section.
-
When in Search Engines..., remove malicious search sites. You should leave only Google or your preferred domain name.
-
Reset Google Chrome
Click on menu icon on the top right of your Google Chrome and select Settings. -
Scroll down to the end of the page and click on Reset browser settings.
-
Click Reset to confirm this action and complete RAFO Technology removal.
Remove RAFO Technology from Safari
- Remove dangerous extensions
Open Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu at the top left of the screen. Once you do this, select Preferences. -
Here, select Extensions and look for RAFO Technology or other suspicious entries. Click on the Uninstall button to get rid each of them.
-
Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Open your Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu section. Here, select Preferences as it was displayed previously and select General. -
Here, look at the Homepage field. If it was altered by RAFO Technology, remove unwanted link and enter the one that you want to use for your searches. Remember to include the "http://" before typing in the address of the page.
-
Reset Safari
Open Safari browser and click on Safari in menu section at the top left of the screen. Here, select Reset Safari.... -
Now you will see a detailed dialog window filled with reset options. All of those options are usually checked, but you can specify which of them you want to reset. Click the Reset button to complete RAFO Technology removal process.