Winmoreprize. How to remove? (Uninstall guide)
Winmoreprize is yet another browser hijacker that uses persistent moves to drive users' traffic to predetermined websites
Winmoreprize is a potentially unwanted program which has been spread via bundling. Once installed, it starts working each time the victim starts browsing the web.
Winmoreprize is a browser hijacker that delivers the fake messages about valuable prizes to redirect its victims to sponsored sites. Unfortunately, there is no prize at the end of this redirect cycle and the only thing you get is a danger of being infected with adware,[1] other hijacker or similar infection. Winmoreprize.com typically promotes iPhone and Samsung smartphones, gift cards and similar prizes that can be achieved after answering the given questionnaire. However, this scheme is rather used to swindle users' personal information than collect answers to specific questions. Besides, it can seriously affect the performance and speed of your IE, Firefox, and Chrome web browsers, so there is no need to postpone a full system scan and virus removal from the system.
| Name | Winmoreprize |
|---|---|
| Type | Adware |
| Category | Potentially unwanted program |
| Symptoms | Delivers intrusive advertisements, causes redirects to sponsored sites, tricks people into taking the part into fake surveys |
| Distribution | Software bundles, deceptive ads, suspicious websites |
| Possible danger | Can lure people into revealing their personal information; can redirect to infected sites |
| Elimination | Use Reimage to get rid of any potential threats and clean the system |
Winmoreprize virus has already been mentioned in numerous security forums by users complaining about its intrusive behavior, never-ending redirects, advertisements, and similar adware-related symptoms. According to them, this threat is persistent and remains on the system when you try to change various browser settings. Additionally, it makes your system slow and keeps redirecting to various insecure sites.[2]
From first sight, the alert displayed by Winmoreprize.com pop-ups may look legitimate because it includes logos from well-known companies and eye-catching titles. It states that the user only needs to answer three questions within one minute or so to get the wanted prize and there are only ten people who got this opportunity to win. Unfortunately, there are many scams related to this one, including Account.confirmprize.com or Google Prize scam. None of them has even helped victims to receive the desired prize.
Additionally, keep in mind that such PUPs tend to alter system settings without user's approval. Typical symptoms include:
- changed appearance of your browser;
- added bookmarks, extensions or toolbars;
- advertisements injected on commonly visited sites;
- ads promoting rogue software or tools appear out of nowhere;
- each click on the browser or pop-up window redirects to commercial content filled websites.
As you can see, there is no need to ignore the threat hiding on your system. To remove Winmoreprize for good and prevent more serious issues, researchers[3] advise downloading Reimage or another PC repair tool that will also fix your Registry after unauthorized changes. Unfortunately, but in most cases, it is not enough to reset your affected browsers to get rid of this threat completely.
Scan the system entirely using your reliable anti-malware or one of our suggestions provided below to perform a full Winmoreprize removal. Later on, change your passwords if you have already provided your personal details in the questionnaire. Finally, note that cybercriminals can send you more spam than previously. Be very careful with every email you receive to your inbox.
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'.
Right click on each of suspicious entries and select 'Uninstall'
Right click on browsers' icon and select 'Properties'
Select 'Shortcut' tab and delete 'http://isearch.babylon.com...' or other suspicious URL
Cick 'Go' and select 'Applications'
Click on every malicious entry and select 'Move to Trash'
Click on menu icon and select 'Manage add-ons'
Right click on each of malicious entries and select 'Disable'
Delete malicious URL, enter your desired domain name and click 'Apply' to save changes
Go to 'Advanced' tab and click on 'Reset' button. Now select 'Delete personal settings' and click on 'Reset' button again
Go to Settings and select 'Choose what to clear'
Select 'Clear' button
Open the start menu and select 'Task Manager'
Right-click 'Microsoft Edge' and select 'Go to details'
Select 'More details' if 'Go to details' option fails to show up
Find Microsoft Edge entries and select 'End Task'
Go to Microsoft Edge folder on your computer, right-click every entry and click 'Delete'
Find Windows PowerShell, right-click it and select 'Run as administrator'
Copy and paste a required command and press 'Enter'
Click on menu icon and select 'Add-ons'
Select 'Extensions' and look for malicious entries. Click 'Remove' to get rid of each of them
When in 'General' tab, delete malicious URL from 'Home Page' section or click on 'Restore to Default' button. Click 'OK' to save changes
Click on menu icon and then on '?'. Select 'Troubleshooting Information'
Click on 'Reset Firefox' button for a couple of times
Click on menu icon. Select 'Tools' and 'Extensions'
Look for malicious entries and delete each of them by clicking on the Trash bin icon
After clicking on menu and 'Settings', select 'Set pages'
Click 'X' to remove malicious URLs
When in 'Settings', select 'Manage search engines...'
Click 'X' to remove malicious URLs
When in 'Settings', scroll down to 'Reset browser settings' button and click on it
Click on 'Reset' button to complete your removal
Click on 'Safari' and select 'Preferences'
Go to 'Extensions' and uninstall malicious add-ons
When in 'General', delete malicious URL and enter your desired domain name
Click on 'Safari' and select 'Reset Safari...'
Select all options and click on 'Reset' button
Software bundles and deceptive websites have been actively used to distribute questionable programs
Anything on the internet can be possibly malicious and dangerous;[4] you need to pay more attention to every activity online. Clicking on redirects, visiting online gambling sites or even getting your software from questionable sources may lead to cyber threats on the system.
You shouldn't click on the random advertisement or get optimization tools from non-legitimate websites. P2p services also are not recommended to use. Always choose Advanced or Custom options to avoid additional installations and de-select unwanted programs from the list when you get the opportunity to do so.
Keep your applications up-to-date so no deceptive advertisement or fake updater can to lure you into purchasing dubious tools. Download and use anti-malware tools more frequently, so you can keep your device safe.
Terminate Winmoreprize.com virus. Use anti-malware tools for the job
There are no signs that Winmoreprize virus runs on the system when you check background processes in the Task Manager, but this PUP can seriously affect your browsing online and the overall use of the PC. To determine if there are any malicious programs on the system, pay attention to browser changes and redirects to questionable sites.
While dealing with Winmoreprize removal, you may need to reboot your computer system to Safe mode before a full scan. For that, perform these steps:
- Click start and enter msconfig.exe into the command line and click on it;
- Select Boot, and put ticks under Safe boot and then under Network;
- Click OK and Restart buttons.
Now you should remove Winmoreprize and all suspicious entries from Task Manager. Finally, disable any questionable extensions, toolbars and similar add-ons on the affected web browser. A full guide explaining how to do that is provided below the article.
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 Winmoreprize, follow these steps:
Eliminate Winmoreprize from Windows systems
Get rid of Winmoreprize and other questionable applications to move further:
-
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 Winmoreprize and related programs
Here, look for Winmoreprize or any other recently installed suspicious programs. -
Uninstall them and click OK to save these changes.
- Remove Winmoreprize 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.
WindowsInternet ExplorerFirefoxGoogle ChromeRemove Winmoreprize from Internet Explorer (IE)
Make sure there are no additional adware pieces on the device by following these steps:
-
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 Winmoreprize 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 Winmoreprize removal.
Uninstall Winmoreprize 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 Winmoreprize 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 Winmoreprize removal.
Get rid of Winmoreprize from Google Chrome
Follow the guide and clean the browser thoroughly:
-
Delete malicious plugins
Open Google Chrome, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Tools → Extensions. -
Here, select Winmoreprize 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 Winmoreprize removal.
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References
- ^ Adware. Wikipedia. The free encyclopedia.
- ^ How to remove winmoreprize.com in Chrome. Google Chrome Help Forum.
- ^ Virukset. Virukset. Spyware related news.
- ^ Tim Collins. EU study reveals users face THOUSANDS of malware threats when visiting sites that offer pirated digital content. Dailymail. Tabloid newspaper.