Themovie-hub.net (Virus Removal Guide) - Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge
Themovie-hub.net Removal Guide
What is Themovie-hub.net?
Themovie-hub.net search engine might appear on your homepage out of nowhere
Themovie-hub.net is movie-themed search engine created by FirstGate Mobile Limited. However, it’a browser hijacker that seems to be related to themovie-portal.com and movie-quest.co. Thus, this potentially unwanted program (PUP) is also capable of hijacking[1] popular web browsers and trying to control user’s activities online.
Themovie-hub.net virus spreads as a Movie Quest extension that might be offered to download on the official website, Chrome web store or various free programs. The add-on requires these permissions:
Read and change all your data on the websites you visit
Change your search settings to: themovie-hub.net
Therefore, after the Themovie-hub.net hijack, you might find replaced default search engine with a movie-themed search tool. Additionally, it might change your built-in search box and homepage address. However, the PUP prevents users from reverting these changes by altering browser’s settings, Windows Registry or even installing helper objects.
The biggest issues related to Themovie-hub.net are that it diminishes browsing experience by:
- display intrusive ads;
- redirecting to questionable or promotional websites;
- installing suspicious add-ons without user’s knowledge;
- causing a browser crash and freezing.
The questionable Themovie-hub.net redirect tendencies might force you to visit not only suspicious online shops but phishing domains as well. Therefore, if you do not want to become another victim of the cyber crime, you should get rid of the PUP immediately.
Browser hijackers are generally not dangerous cyber threats. Thus, you can remove Themovie-hub.net either manually or automatically. However, it’s not enough just replace default search engine address’ with a new one. Once you reboot your PC, the hijacker will come back.
Thus, you have to work harder on Themovie-hub.net removal. However, if the manual removal instructions seem challenging or complicated, you should opt for the automatic elimination method and terminate the virus with FortectIntego or another anti-malware.
Themovie-hub.net might replace your default search engine after incorrect installation of freeware.
Do not overlook additional downloads during freeware installation
One of the ways how hijacker spreads is software bundling. This method allows adding PUP as an optional component in freeware or shareware package. Therefore, when installing new programs incorrectly, you might experience Themovie-hub.net hijack.
The security team from the LesVirus.fr[2] note that most of the users install PUPs when they choose Quick/Recommended installation settings that do not openly disclose about third-party components that spread along the primary program. Thus, you should always use Advanced/Custom setup, monitor installation process and reject installation of “optional downloads.”
Eliminate Themovie-hub.net from Chrome, Firefox, Explorer and other web browsers
In order to remove Themovie-hub.net from the browser, you have to uninstall Movie Quest extension as well as other suspicious add-ons[3] that may have been installed without your knowledge as well.
Themovie-hub.net removal also requires investigating the system and uninstalling suspicious apps from the computer as well. The guide below will explain to you how to delete all hijacker-related entries correctly.
However, if you leave some of the entries and the hijacker re-appears on the screen again, you should opt for the automatic removal method. After scanning the system with anti-malware/anti-spyware tool, you should still reset your web browser.
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 Themovie-hub.net. Follow these steps
Uninstall from Windows
In order to uninstall hijacker-related components from the computer, follow this guide:
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)
Uninstall Movie Quest extension as well as other unknown add-ons to get rid of the hijacker.
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
Removing suspicious add-ons and resetting Google Chrome is necessary for hijacker's removal:
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 Themovie-hub.net 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
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.
- ^ Browser hijacking. Wikipedia. The free encyclopedia.
- ^ Les Virus. Les Virus. Cyber security news.
- ^ Michael Mimoso. Malicious Chrome Extension Steals Data Posted to Any Website. Threat Post. IT and security news.