About the “Custom Internet” Virus
Welcome to our article on a recently released hijacker app that has lately been messing with the browsing experience of a big number of users. This is the right place to be if a browser hijacker like “Custom Internet”, Results Value, Structured Service has invaded your machine. Facing such a software is certainly not the nicest of experiences. Moreover, struggling to browse the web with a changed homepage or a search engine while trying to navigate through dozens of annoying ads, pop-ups, banners and undesirable page-redirects can be a real nuisance. However, you don’t need to deal with all that anymore. If your Safari, Chrome, Firefox or Opera browsers have recently been forced to generate an unstoppable stream of ads and some new toolbars, search engine tools or homepage domains have been installed on it without your approval, stick around to learn more about how you can handle this unpleasant issue. We will give you a better understanding about to the root of your browsing disturbance and we will show you how to regain the control over your Internet settings. Our team has prepared a special set of instructions, neatly organized in a Removal guide, to help you uninstall “Custom Internet” and get rid of its annoying activities. Before you move right to it, however, make sure you read the specifics of this browser hijacker first, in order to handle the removal process more efficiently.
What kind of software is “Custom Internet” and what is it after?
The web space is full of various programs – some are helpful, some are harmful and some are a source of incredible annoyance. The Browser hijackers belong to the latter group. They usually operate as online advertising tools, which serve the needs of different marketers and oftentimes employ online advertising methods such as Pay-Per-Click, sponsored page-redirects and paid ads positioning on the users’ screen. In order to advertise more effectively, these tools tend to set some modifications in the users’ browsers. These modifications may include the change of the homepage or of the search engine or the installation of some new toolbars, which every time the browser is opened, start to generate certain sponsored commercial messages or links and prompt the users to click on them. The result is normally much wider exposure to the products, services and web pages, which get displayed on the screen, as well as increase traffic and pay-per-click revenue for their vendors and distributors.
The “Custom Internet” Virus is a new application that operates on the exact same principle. Therefore, we can consider it as a part of the Browser hijackers family. It basically generates revenue for its creators by displaying third-party promotional content during each browsing session. The advertising tactic that this app and the other hijackers usually employ, however, often becomes a source of unbearable browsing disturbance. Some users complain about being unable to deal with the constant page-redirects and the ad interruptions on their screen. Others find it risky to be forced to click on links and pages with unfamiliar content every time they decide to use their browser. That’s why, recently, there have been a lot of requests from users that need help with uninstalling the annoying software and removing all of its components and pop-ups from their system.
The “Custom Internet” Virus attacks Mac
The browser hijackers, normally, are seen as harmless or at least non-malicious. They are typically seen as nothing more than aggressive online advertising tools which try to promote certain things on your screen. Therefore, referring to them as viruses and putting them next to malware such as Ransomware or Spyware is more or less incorrect. Still, their practice to alter your browser’s settings, to install new homepage domains and search engines without your approval or to initiate automatic page-redirects to third-party sites should not be taken lightly. For one, these activities are more or less invasive and may disturb your normal browsing to a significant extent, especially if you are using your web browser for work, studies or even for simple entertainment. However you look at it, if some undesired software is aggressively prompting you to click on certain sketchy ads and visit some unverified web locations, it is a matter of time before you to bump into something malicious. It may be a fake add, a misleading link or a page which has already been infected with some nasty Ransomware virus or a Trojan horse. That’s why, if you ask us for our advice, we would recommend that you stay on the safer side by avoiding the content that the hijacker may display. That is also valid for its search engines and homepages, the reliability of which can also not be proven.
Another unpleasant feature of the hijackers is that, oftentimes, such intrusive apps may try to collect information about their users and their interests by keeping a track of their search queries, browsing history, likes, shares, location, language, bookmarks, and IP addresses. The creators of such hijackers claim that this is just a part of the software’s attempt to promote more relevant advertisements on your screen but the collected data may oftentimes be sold to third parties and different online advertising agencies for profits. To avoid anything like this, it is best to refer to the Removal Guide below and follow its steps. This will help you safely uninstall “Custom Internet” and get rid of all the unwanted invasion.
SUMMARY:
| Name | “Custom Internet” |
| Type | Browser Hijacker |
| Danger Level | Medium (nowhere near threats like Ransomware, but still a security risk) |
| Symptoms | Nagging ads, unexpected page-redirects and intrusive pop-ups may disturb your while browsing the web. |
| Distribution Method | Software bundles, torrents, spam, ads, free download links, automatic installation managers, ad-supported websites. |
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Remove “Custom Internet” Virus
Step 1: Closing Safari (or any other browser that you may be using at the moment)
First, you will need to close your browser if it is still open. If you can’t do that normally, you will need to Force Quit it:
Open the Apple Menu and select Force Quit to do that. You can also use the ⌘ key + Option Key combination to open the Force Quit Applications dialog box. In this box, select the Safari browser (or whatever browser you are using) and then click on the Quit button. Confirm the action by selecting Force Quit again.
Step 2: Killing suspicious processes
Open Finder and go to Applications > Utilities and then open Activity Monitor. Now take a careful look at the processes there – look for any that seem suspicious, unknown and questionable. If you think that a given process may be the culprit behind the issue or may at least be related to it, highlight it with the mouse and select the i option at its top.
In the box that opens, click on Sample.
Scan the sample files with the online scanner we have on this page and if any of them get flagged as malicious, delete them and then kill their processes.
Step 3: Safely launching the browser
Hold the Shift from your keyboard and then launch Safari – holding Shift will prevent any previously opened pages to load again, just in case any of them were related to the problem.
If any problematic pages still load after you safe-launch the browser, then do the following:
Force-Quit the browser (Safari) again and then turn off your Wi-Fi connection by clicking on the Wi-Fi off option from the Mac Menu. If you are using cable Internet, simply disconnect the cable from your Mac.
Step 4: Uninstalling suspicious extensions
After you safe-launch Safari and are sure none of the previously opened pages load now, go to Preferences > Extensions.
Select and uninstall (by clicking on the Uninstall button) all extensions there that are unfamiliar to you or that you think may be suspicious. If you are not sure about a certain extension, it’s better to uninstall it – no extension is required for the normal functioning of the browser.
Step 5: Cleaning Safari
If you have other browsers aside from Safari, do the following:
In Safari, open Preferences from the browser’s menu and go to Privacy.
Select Remove All Website Data and then Remove Now. Note that this will delete all stored site data including any saved passwords and usernames. In other words, you will have to manually log-in to every site where you have a registration so make sure you remember your usernames and passwords.
Back in Preferences, click on General and see what your Safari’s homepage is. If it has been changed without your permission, change it back to what it used to be or to whatever you like it to be now.
Now go to the History menu and select the Clear History option.
Do the same to all other browsers you may have in your computer – here are examples with Chrome and Firefox.
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Cleaning Chrome
Open Chrome and open its main menu, then go to More Tools > Extensions. Click on the Remove button next to all of the extensions that you do not trust.
Next, from the main menu, go to Settings and type Manage Search Engines in the search bar. Open the result that shows up and then delete all search engines other than the one you normally use by clicking on the three-dot icon next to the other ones and selecting Remove from list.
Back in Settings, type Reset and clean up and open the option that shows up (Restore settings to their original defaults). Confirm by selecting Reset Settings.
Cleaning Firefox
Open Firefox and then open its main menu. Go to Add-ons and open the Extensions menu from the left. Look at the extensions and Remove the ones you do not trust.
Next, open the menu again, go to Help > Troubleshooting information and in the page that opens, select Refresh Firefox and then confirm the action in the window that opens.
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