Chrome Security Update Virus – How To Remove

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What Is Chrome Security Update?

Chrome Security Update is a browser page-redirect disguised to look like an authentic updater from Google Chrome. This type of malware that can be described as a browser hijacker for Windows computers. Chrome Security Update gets attached to the main browser similarly to a browser extension and then begins to redirect the user’s online searches to promoted websites.

You can spot on the official google support forum many people complaining about such messages suggesting “critical updates” that are actually scams and can download viruses

Even though Google Chrome has had security issues in the past, it would never serve you such a message.

Chrome Security Update
The Chrome Security Update Virus will try to trick you into clicking Update Now to display pop up ads.

To achieve this, Chrome Security Update will take over the homepage, the toolbar, and the search engine of the browser and use these elements as tools for its advertising agenda. In addition to the page redirects, this unwanted app can also spam the browser with sudden pop-up windows, advertising banners, clickbait links, and other similar forms of unwanted advertisements.

This app is compatible with different browsers, including Chrome, Edge, Explorer, Firefox, Opera, and others. Removing it from the affected browser and from the computer is essential if you wish to keep your online sessions safe and undisturbed. Even though the goal of Chrome Security Update is not related to harming your system or tampering with your personal data, the presence of such an app in your main browser significantly reduces the overall security of the whole system, which is why uninstalling Chrome Security Update is the best solution.

Is Chrome Security Update A Virus?

Absalutly highly reccomend not to download. Despite not being specifically designed to jeopardize the safety of your computer, The Chrome Security Update virus could still potentially put your PC at risk of getting attacked by hackers and infected with dangerous malware programs like Ransomware, Rootkits, or Trojans. This is because the advertised sites, products, and services that the Chrome Security Update virus tend to promote are oftentimes not reliable or legitimate.

In some cases, some of them may even be linked to malware-distributing online locations or to pages that distribute illegal software. Generally, it is in your best interest to keep away from anything that Chrome Security Update may try to advertise on your screen.

Even if it seems like something is a good and interesting offer, there’s no actual guarantee that what awaits you on the other side of the ad is the same as what seems to be getting advertised. For all you know, clicking on a hijacker advert may land you on some illegal website that’s hosted by cybercriminals and used for the distribution of the latest Ransomware threat or Trojan horse infection.

Update Pop Ups

First and foremost, you will need to remove the Chrome Security Update Pop Up. Instructions on how to uninstall the Chrome Security Update Pop Up are available for anyone who may need them in the guide down below.

As far as avoiding browser hijackers in the future, the most important thing is to be careful with the sites you visit, the content you interact with, and the software you download from the Internet. Bear in mind that most browser hijackers are hidden within other free or cheap applications. They are included in those applications as bonus features that users rarely pay attention to when installing the new app. However, in most cases, if you check the Advanced setup settings before actually installing a given software, you should be able to see if there are any added optional components and leave them out of the installation by unchecking them.

One of the more aggressive popups will automatically change your search engine to Search Marquis

Is Chrome Security Update Safe?

Chrome Security Updates are safe only if you manually update from the Google settings window. You should never click on pop ups that force you to update with scare-ware tactics. Such as “If you do not update your system will catch a virus”.

SUMMARY:

NameChrome Security Update
TypeBrowser Hijacker
Danger LevelMedium (nowhere near threats like Ransomware, but still a security risk)
Symptoms The main symptoms are aggressive ads and page-redirects in the browser and changes in the browser’s starting page and search engine settings. 
Distribution MethodHijackers can be distributed with the help of different types of spam messages, misleading online ads, and installation packages.

Chrome Security Update Virus Removal

Chrome Security Update Android Removal guide

Chrome Security Update Mac Removal guide.

The following guide is only for windows users, it will help our readers get rid of the unpleasant Chrome Security Update software. Follow the instructions and complete each step for best results. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them using our comment section down below.

Preparation: Entering Safe Mode and Revealing Hidden Files and Folders

Before you proceed with the actual removal instructions, you will need to take two extra steps in order to ensure that the guide has maximum effect.

For best results, we advise our readers to boot into Safe Mode prior to attempting to remove Chrome Security Update. If you do not know how to do that, here is a separate How to Enter Safe Mode guide.

Also, in order to be able to see any potentially undesirable files, you should reveal any hidden files and folders on your PC – here is how to do that.

Removing From Windows

Step 1: Checking the Task Manager

Before we start deleting files related to Chrome Security Update we want to make sure that all services related to the viruses are killed before we proceed. 

Open your Task Manager by using the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys and go to the Processes tab. Look for any suspicious processes. For example, any unfamiliar process that uses high amounts of RAM and/or CPU. If you aren’t sure if a certain process comes from malware, tell us in the comments.

Right-click on any process that you consider shady and select Open File Location. Delete anything from the file location of the process.

Step 2: Disabling Startup programs

Use the Winkey + R keyboard combination to open the Run search bar and type msconfig. Hit Enter and in the newly opened window, go to the Startup tab. There, look for suspicious entries with unknown manufacturer or ones that have the name Chrome Security Update on them. Right-click on those, and select disable.

Step 3: Uninstalling unwanted programs

Go to Start Menu > Control Panel > Uninstall a Program. Click on Installed On to sort the entries by date from most recent to oldest and look through the programs that come at the top of the list. Right-click on any entries that appear shady and unwanted and then select Uninstall to remove them from your PC. If you see the name Chrome Security Update in the list of programs, be sure to remove the software without hesitation.

Step 4: Checking for shady IP’s

Open your Start Menu and copy-paste notepad %windir%/system32/Drivers/etc/hosts in the search bar. In the notepad file, look below Localhost and see if there are any IP addresses there. If there are some, send them to us in the comments and we will tell you if you should take any action. [add_forth_banner]

Step 5: Cleaning-up the browsers

You will also have to uninstall any undesirable browser extensions from your browser programs. Here’s how to do that for some of the more popular browsers:

Getting rid of Chrome Security Update from Chrome

Open Chrome and open its main menu. Go to More Tools > Extensions. Look through the list of extensions and uninstall any that you think could be suspicious. To remove them – click on the trash can icon next to each extension.

You can also use a specialized Chrome CleanUp tool if you cannot manually remove a certain extension. Here is an article where you can learn more about the CleanUp tool.

Removing Chrome Security Update From Firefox

Open Firefox and go to its Menu. Select the Add-ons button.From the left panel, select Extensions and take a look at the different entries. Remove any of the that might be unwanted.

Removing Chrome Security Update From Windows Internet Explorer

Once you open your IE browser, click on the Tools button at the top-right corner of the program and from the drop-down menu select Manage Add-ons. Check each one of the four different groups of add-ons and search for anything that seems undesirable. If you find anything, click on it and them select Remove.

Removing Chrome Security Update From Windows Edge

Open the main menu of Microsoft Edge and go to Extensions. Find the extensions that you believe could be unwanted and right-click on them. Then, select Uninstall.

Step 6: Checking the Registry Editor

Open the Run search bar again and type regedit in it. Hit Enter and once the Registry Editor opens press Ctrl + F. In the search field type Chrome Security Update and click on Find Next. Tell us in the comments if any results came up when you searched for Chrome Security Update in your PC’s Registry.

Step 7: Deleting recent entries

For this step, you will have to open your Start Menu and copy-paste the following lines, one by one:

  • %AppData%
  • %LocalAppData%
  • %ProgramData%
  • %WinDir%
  • %Temp%

Hit Enter after each one to open a file directory. In the directories, delete the most recent entries that you find there. In the Temp folder, delete all files.

Step 8: System Restore

In order to be fully sure that the unwanted software has been removed from your machine, you can also try using a Restore Point to roll back your system its last stable configuration. However, in order to do that, you would have to previously had had a restore point created. On most systems, such points get created automatically but this isn’t always the case.

  • If you want to learn how to configure System Restore and how to manually create Restore Points, follow this link.
  1. Open your Start Menu and type System Restore.
  2. Click on the first result – a setup wizard should open.
  3. Read the brief description of the process and select Next.
  4. Now, choose a restore from the presented list. You can also check the Show more restore points option in order to reveal any other restore points that might be saved on your PC.
  5. Click on Scan for affected programs to see what programs will get deleted or restored after you use the Restore Point. (optional)
  6. Click on next and take and then select Finish.
  7. A warning window will appear telling you that once the process starts, it shouldn’t be interrupted. Select Yes and be patient as this might take some time. Do not do anything on your PC throughout the duration of the process.

Step 9: Windows Refresh/Reset

Use this method only if nothing else has worked so far as it is a last resort option. If you do not know how to do it, this separate guide will give you the information that you need.

Author:
Daniel Sadakov has a degree in Information Technology and specializes in web and mobile cyber security. He harbors a strong detestation for anything and everything malicious and has committed his resources and time to battling all manners of web and mobile threats. He has founded MobileSecurityZone.com, a website dedicated to covering the top tech stories and providing useful tips for the everyday user, in an effort to reach and help more people.

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