Remove Search.dondelink.com virus (Virus Removal Guide) - Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge
Search.dondelink.com redirects to potentially insecure domains?
Search.dondelink.com virus operates supposedly as a search engine. Once you enter the address, you get redirected to a completely blank page. It turns out to be a fictitious browsing tool.
Nonetheless, the cyber market is flooded with such dubious web pages so, naturally, you may raise the question, for what purpose this website is designed for.
The real purpose may not please users. It is likely to serve for redirects to insecure domains. It is likely that the search tool may also contain embedded malevolent scripts.
Therefore, the risk to encounter real malware highly increases. If you get directed to this web page, we recommend you to remove search.dondelink.com. Reimage Reimage Cleaner Intego or Malwarebytes may come in handy.
Speculations arise over the purpose of such PUP
According to the domain name, it seemed to be designed for providing search services. Even if this web page fell short of such mission, you should not exclude the possibility of search.dondelink.com redirect. The key danger remains getting directed to an insecure domain.
Furthermore, this domain is likely to be sponsored by third parties. Commercial pop-ups[1] may recur once in a while, promoting questionable tools.
In overall, these factors may negatively affect not only the performance of the browser but have long-term effects on the computer as well.
Note that Dondelink PUP may be associated with tech support scams[2] or corrupted browser extensions. They may not only spy on your online activities but collect personal information.
Advertising online companies greatly value such information as they can employ it for generating more relevant customized advertisements. If this domain contains tracking tools, your Inbox folder might be flooded with spam as well.
These spam messages might contain more exquisite menaces. Thus, make sure you to start search.dondelink.com removal right away. You may use Reimage Reimage Cleaner Intego or Malwarebytes to speed up the process. 
Even if search.dondelink.com presents no content, it may still contain highly troublesome elements.
PUP transmission peculiarities
Usually, PUP-like programs are attached to legitimate free file converters or media players under “Recommended” settings. Since users dash through the settings without giving a second look, they often overlook optional download options.
Speaking of Search.dondelink.com hijack the process, specifically, you might have facilitated it after visiting the web page which contained such links. Specifically, clicking on a corrupted link redirected you to this domain.
Search.dondelink.com termination steps
There are dozens of similar web pages so it is likely that you may encounter it even if you cautiously surf the Web. Luckily, search.dondelink.com removal does not take long if you opt for malware elimination tool. Check if it is updated and run the scan.
You may also remove search.dondelink.com virus and its associated browser scripts with the assistance of manual guidelines.
You may remove virus damage with a help of Reimage Reimage Cleaner Intego. 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 Search.dondelink.com virus, follow these steps:
Remove Search.dondelink.com from Windows systems
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Click Start → Control Panel → Programs and Features (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
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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 Search.dondelink.com and related programs
Here, look for Search.dondelink.com or any other recently installed suspicious programs. -
Uninstall them and click OK to save these changes.
- Remove Search.dondelink.com from Windows shortcuts
Right click on the shortcut of Mozilla Firefox and select Properties.
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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.
Get rid of Search.dondelink.com from Mac OS X system
This hijacker may also appear for Mac OS users, so avoid clicking on any additional links. If you get redirected to Search.dondelink.com and additional alerts, asking you to enable any extensions, appear, click on Prevent this page from creating additional dialogs.
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If you are using OS X, click Go button at the top left of the screen and select Applications.
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Wait until you see Applications folder and look for Search.dondelink.com or any other suspicious programs on it. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash.
Delete Search.dondelink.com from Internet Explorer (IE)
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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.
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You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for Search.dondelink.com and other suspicious plugins. Disable these entries by clicking Disable:
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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.
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Reset Internet Explorer
Click on the gear icon (menu) again and select Internet options. Go to Advanced tab. - Here, select Reset.
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When in the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset again to complete Search.dondelink.com removal.
Erase Search.dondelink.com 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.
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Once Settings window shows up, click Choose what to clear button under Clear browsing data option.
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Here, select all what you want to remove and click Clear.
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Now you should right-click on the Start button (Windows logo). Here, select Task Manager.
- When in Processes tab, search for Microsoft Edge.
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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.
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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.
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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, Search.dondelink.com should be removed from your Microsoft Edge browser.
Uninstall Search.dondelink.com from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
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Remove dangerous extensions
Open Mozilla Firefox, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Add-ons → Extensions.
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Here, select Search.dondelink.com and other questionable plugins. Click Remove to delete these entries.
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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.
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Click OK to save these changes.
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Reset Mozilla Firefox
Click on the Firefox menu on the top left and click on the question mark. Here, choose Troubleshooting Information.
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Now you will see Reset Firefox to its default state message with Reset Firefox button. Click this button for several times and complete Search.dondelink.com removal.
Eliminate Search.dondelink.com from Google Chrome
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Delete malicious plugins
Open Google Chrome, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Tools → Extensions.
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Here, select Search.dondelink.com and other malicious plugins and select trash icon to delete these entries.
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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.
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Click on menu icon again and choose Settings → Manage Search engines under the Search section.
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When in Search Engines..., remove malicious search sites. You should leave only Google or your preferred domain name.
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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.
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Click Reset to confirm this action and complete Search.dondelink.com removal.
Remove Search.dondelink.com 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.
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Here, select Extensions and look for Search.dondelink.com or other suspicious entries. Click on the Uninstall button to get rid each of them.
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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 Search.dondelink.com, 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.
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Reset Safari
Open Safari browser and click on Safari in menu section at the top left of the screen. Here, select Reset Safari....
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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 Search.dondelink.com removal process.
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. It is a hassle when your website is protected from suspicious connections and unauthorized IP addresses.
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 server or network manager that need to monitor connections and activities. This is how you bypass some of the authentications factors and can remotely use your banking accounts without triggering suspicious with each login.
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. It is better to clock the access to your website from different IP addresses. So you can keep the project safe and secure when you have the dedicated IP address VPN and protected access to the content management system.
Backup files for the later use, in case of the malware attack
Computer users can suffer various losses due to cyber infections or their own faulty doings. Software issues created by malware or direct data loss due to encryption can lead to problems with your device or permanent damage. When you have proper up-to-date backups, you can easily recover after such an incident and get back to work.
It is crucial to create updates to your backups after any changes on the device, so you can get back to the point you were working on when malware changes anything or issues with the device causes data or performance corruption. Rely on such behavior and make file backup your daily or weekly habit.
When you have the previous version of every important document or project you can avoid frustration and breakdowns. It comes in handy when malware occurs out of nowhere. Use Data Recovery Pro for the system restoring purpose.
About the author
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References
- ^ Daisuke Wakabayashi and Sapna Maheshwari. YouTube Advertiser Exodus Highlights Perils of Online Ads. The New York Times.
- ^ Alison DeNisco . FTC looks to shut down fake tech support scams with Operation Tech Trap. TechRepublic. News, Tips, and Advice for Technology Professionals.
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