Strongpasswordsearch.com virus (Bonus: Decryption Steps) - Easy Removal Guide
Strongpasswordsearch.com virus Removal Guide
What is Strongpasswordsearch.com virus?
Reasons to remove Strongpasswordsearch.com search controller from your PC
Strongpasswordsearch.com is an enormously suspicious search engine that was created by HopeBest Inc. Media. Users who experience redirects to hxxp://Strongpasswordsearch.com/ should scan their systems for spyware[1]. It turns out that this suspicious domain is actively promoted with the help of potentially unwanted programs nowadays.
It is important to remove Strongpasswordsearch.com virus if you care about your privacy and if you seek a better web searching experience. This shady search site hardly presents any useful search results because it mainly targets to provide sponsored ones. The same can be said about other search engines developed by HopeBest Media – Tracepackagesearch.com, Checkspeedsearch.com or Newstartsearch.com.
It is strategically designed to sneak into victims’ computers unnoticed and convince victims to start using Strong Password Search like it was a completely normal search engine. Unfortunately, it is created to earn money for its developers, not to deliver quality search service to you.
When you use this search engine, you must remember that each of your searches is being tracked by cookies[2] added by the browser hijacker that we mentioned earlier. Besides, it can find out what are your favorite websites, how much time do you spend on them, what ads do you click and your IP address.
Besides, it can’t be legally punished for initiating such activities because such data is considered to be personally non-identifiable. Sadly, your search queries can contain details that might help to identify you. You can never know where Hopebest Inc. transmits such information, so be careful!
The described browser hijacker aims to use your computer as a tool to research your browsing habits and analyze market’s needs. Besides, it starts picking “the right” ads for you and placing them next to regular search results. The biggest problem is that the hijacker nor the search engine hardly checks the safety of these search results.
Links behind them can make you enter highly untrustworthy sites, possibly malicious ones. That is yet another reason why we do not recommend trusting this domain and suggest carrying out Strongpasswordsearch.com removal as soon as it is possible. A quick way to do it is to use FortectIntego, although you can try removing it manually with a help of tutorial given down below. Polish computer users are advised to visit UsunWirusa.pl[3] site for additional information.
Installation of potentially unwanted programs can be prevented
You can avoid installation of potentially unwanted programs by choosing the right settings for software installation. The main thing you should remember is that spyware-type programs (adware, browser hijackers) rarely travel on their own. In most cases, they arrive as optional components added to popular freeware such as games, media players or other programs.
To ensure that the software installer will place only the right components on your system without any unwanted ones, choose Custom or Advanced settings. This will give you an opportunity to control the installation. You will be introduced to extra programs bundled with your download, and then you will get a chance to drop them off. Do it without any hesitations.
Remove Strongpasswordsearch.com virus in a minute
Get ready to remove Strongpasswordsearch.com virus today because our team has already prepared a comprehensive tutorial on how to do it. You just need to check certain computer locations and wipe out unwanted elements from them. A detailed explanation is below the article.
However, even if you think that Strongpasswordsearch.com removal went smoothly and there’s nothing to worry about, we suggest double-checking the system with anti-malware software. It can notice and eliminate files and programs that you may have overlooked.
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 Strongpasswordsearch.com virus. Follow these steps
Uninstall from Windows
Remove Strongpasswordsearch redirect virus by uninstalling unknown applications from Windows. To do this, open Control Panel and go to Programs and Features panel.
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)
Clean up Firefox from Strongpasswordsearch's remains this way.
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
Open chrome://extensions page to remove add-ons associated with Strongpasswordsearch.com virus.
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 Strongpasswordsearch.com 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
Protect your privacy – employ a VPN
There are several ways how to make your online time more private – you can access an incognito tab. However, there is no secret that even in this mode, you are tracked for advertising purposes. There is a way to add an extra layer of protection and create a completely anonymous web browsing practice with the help of Private Internet Access VPN. This software reroutes traffic through different servers, thus leaving your IP address and geolocation in disguise. Besides, it is based on a strict no-log policy, meaning that no data will be recorded, leaked, and available for both first and third parties. The combination of a secure web browser and Private Internet Access VPN will let you browse the Internet without a feeling of being spied or targeted by criminals.
No backups? No problem. Use a data recovery tool
If you wonder how data loss can occur, you should not look any further for answers – human errors, malware attacks, hardware failures, power cuts, natural disasters, or even simple negligence. In some cases, lost files are extremely important, and many straight out panic when such an unfortunate course of events happen. Due to this, you should always ensure that you prepare proper data backups on a regular basis.
If you were caught by surprise and did not have any backups to restore your files from, not everything is lost. Data Recovery Pro is one of the leading file recovery solutions you can find on the market – it is likely to restore even lost emails or data located on an external device.
- ^ What is spyware?. BBC WebWise. Online Courses.
- ^ Tracking Cookie. F-Secure Labs. Threat Descriptions.
- ^ UsunWirusa. UsunWirusa. Virus Removal Tutorials, IT Security News in Polish language.