Site-great.xyz Virus in Details
Regardless of Site-great.xyz not being an actual malware, this Browser hijacker may still be a portal for high-risk cyber-threats, for example, Trojan Horses or Ransomware if you keep it for long on your PC. This is because, this type of software is usually known for its aggressive online advertising behavior, which involves the generation of intrusive on-screen ads, pop-ups, banners and redirect links, as well as the installation of some potentially unwanted browser changes. One of the main issues that users face with Browser Hijackers such as Site-great.xyz, Robot Captcha Info or www1.ecleneue.com is related to the fact that some of the ads may actually not be real ads at all. In the worst case scenario, by hitting an advert, you might be redirected to some shady and virus-infested website. Now, this does not occur often, however, it won’t hurt if you keep your eyes open for any unsuspected risks. These programs are also known for one more questionable activity – tracking the user’s web surfing activities. By keeping a record on your web browsing, an app like Site-great.xyz is able to determine what adverts are best for your present preferences. Some more intrusive software programs of this type may afterwards sell the acquired information to third parties and different advertisers, interested in placing their sponsored ads directly on your screen. Another good reason to remove this software from your PC is the fact that some Hijackers may exploit a fair share of system resources to be able to run, therefore, people with less powerful computers may be particularly influenced and may start to experience annoying issues like screen freezing, browser unresponsiveness, and sudden crashes. For those of you who need help on how to uninstall Site-great.xyz, our “How to remove” team has prepared a detailed removal guide below, which can assist you with the process.
Site-great.xyz, however, is certainly not the only Browser Hijacker application in existence and if you do not learn to identify these programs and avoid them, there’s a strong possibility you will get infected again. Therefore, before you scroll down, we’ll try to teach you how to identify them before it’s too late. Most Hijacker programs use a method that’s fairly standard – and why not, when it is effective? Any user acquainted with this technique, however, can identify them from a mile away. Since Browser Hijackers like Site-great.xyz are marketing software made to earn a profit, they need to be developed according to the law – this means they should not exhibit any dangerous behavior and they can’t be installed without the user’s agreement. In order to get that permission, however, many of these programs actually bundle along with some desirable (mostly free) software which the users download and install. Understandably, software bundles can be a really unpleasant surprise for the unprepared user. Sometimes a number of Hijacker programs may get installed via this method simultaneously. One easy method to prevent your System from becoming invaded is to simply pay attention during the setup process. The “Quick/Auto” installation option is surely the fastest choice when installing new apps, but when going for it, the user is also giving their consent to use the settings the creator of the software has chosen – including the installation of the added Hijacker programs. The “Custom/Advanced” menu, on the other hand, gives manual control over these settings and is exactly what we advise you to select when setting up new software on your PC.
SUMMARY:
| Name | Site-great.xyz |
| Type | Browser Hijacker |
| Danger Level | Medium (nowhere near threats like Ransomware, but still a security risk) |
| Symptoms | Different intrusive ads may constantly spam your screen during your web browsing sessions. |
| Distribution Method | Software bundles, free program installers, ads, spam messages, free download managers, torrents. |
Remove Site-great.xyz Malware
Site-great.xyz Android Removal guide
Site-great.xyz Mac Removal guide.
The following guide is only for windows users, it will help our readers get rid of the unpleasant Site-great.xyz 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 Site-great.xyz. 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 Site-great.xyz From Windows
Step 1: Checking the Task Manager
Before we start deleting files related to Site-great.xyz 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 Site-great.xyz 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 Site-great.xyz 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 Site-great.xyz 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 Site-great.xyz 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 Site-great.xyz 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 Site-great.xyz 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 Site-great.xyz and click on Find Next. Tell us in the comments if any results came up when you searched for Site-great.xyz 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.
- Open your Start Menu and type System Restore.
- Click on the first result – a setup wizard should open.
- Read the brief description of the process and select Next.
- 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.
- Click on Scan for affected programs to see what programs will get deleted or restored after you use the Restore Point. (optional)
- Click on next and take and then select Finish.
- 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.
