Hello, I got this Search.smacklek.com as my default homepage on my Internet Explorer after I downloaded a flash player and now I cannot change my homepage back to Yahoo anymore. It seems that my IE has been hijacked. Each time I try to get online, it sends me to this page automatically and sometimes it redirects me to some strange web pages like advertisement or porn. And IE keeps crashing all the time. How do i get rid of this virus?
Search.smacklek.com is a malicious webpage that pretends to be a reliable search engine, also contains a few quick links to reach popular websites like Facebook, Youtube, etc, but in fact this webpage is associated with adware or browser hijacker that can attack different browsers like Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome for its malicious purpose. You should not leave it on your computer. If you make a search using it, you will be displayed numerous sponsored websites instead of regular search results, and also you can see tons of ads among your search results that could redirect you to sponsored pages. Search.smacklek.com only presents a fake search engine to its users. You can not get any reliable search results from it because all results it provides are always filled with various advertisements and sponsored links. In addition, this hijacker can cause all sorts of troubles to destroy your browsing experience and even ruin your computer system.
Once it is installed, it changes your default homepage and search engine. It can make your computer vulnerable to be attacked because it can control your keyword search and then depending on what you are searching for, it shows commercials advertisements and finally slows down your computer. And every time you go to Google to search up something, it lags and then when you click a link, it redirects you to a different site. It also changes your DNS settings and disconnects your Internet frequently. Browser hijacker like this is not something new and malware developers have been using this technique for years to generate traffic to their sites, gather search terms and redirect users to questionable websites against their wills. It usually gets bundled with spam email attachment, freeware downloads, and suspicious websites. The purpose of the program is to advertise various websites and gain money from clicks on affiliate links. It may not really harm your computer, but it uses unfair techniques to infiltrate into systems and it may violate your privacy so you had better remove it from the computer as quickly as possible.
It belongs to browser hijacker virus which can totally mess up your browser setting.
It changes your default DNS configuration and blocks you accessing your favorite sites.
It may install some malware in your computer to make bad influence without your consent.
It degenerates your computer performance gradually.
Browser hijacker infection like Search.smacklek.com may enter your system as an add-on for your browser or bundled-up with some free software. Most of time, it can be downloaded from a website you visited, something you clicked on, or a pop-up that you did not request to view. You may not even know when and how you download this browser hijacker which compromises your internet security until you find your computer is fully messed up. A hijack virus is a type of computer virus known for its ability to disrupt your Internet browsing. It can redirect your Internet searches to random sites, disallow you from visiting certain Web sites, and change your Internet home page. In addition, it is able to slow your computer, decrease your available memory, and flood your computer with popup advertisements. When you detect the presence of such malicious hijacker, a complete removal is needed without any hesitation.
1. You keep getting random pop-ups opening in new browser tabs.
2. When clicking on Google search links you get taken to sites that have nothing to do with the subject you searched for.
3. Anti-virus and firewall software won’t start.
4. Internet stops working.
5. Unknown software has been installed without your authorization.
6. You can’t access reputable sites unless you type the URL into the navigation bar
Search.smacklek.com hijacks your browser to redirect your web search results and changes the homepage and browser settings. To completely uninstall it from an infected system, manual removal is the first choice because sometimes antivirus software cannot pick up the exact computer threat timely or remove it permanently. Now most browser hijackers are quite similar to spyware and adware threats and therefore cannot be removed with the help of popular antivirus products. Users can follow the manual guide here to get rid of this browser hijacker completely.
1. Clear all the cookies of your affected browsers.
Since this tricky hijacker virus has the ability to use cookies for tracing and tracking the internet activity of users, it is suggested users delete all the cookies before a complete removal.
Google Chrome:
Click on the “Tools” menu and click the “Clear browsing data” button.
Select “Delete cookies and other site data” to delete all cookies from the list.
Internet Explorer:
Open Internet explorer window
Click the “Tools” button
Point to “safety” and then click “delete browsing history”
Tick the “cookies” box, then click “delete”
Mozilla Firefox:
Click on Tools, then Options, select Privacy
Click “Remove individual cookies”
In the Cookies panel, click on “Show Cookies”
To remove a single cookie click on the entry in the list and click on the “Remove Cookie”
To remove all cookies click on the “Remove All Cookies” button
2. End the malicious process from Task Manager.
Once Search.smacklek.com Virus Hijacker is installed, computer user may notice that CPU usage randomly jumps to 100 percent. At any time Windows always has many running processes. A process is an individual task that the computer runs. In general, the more processes, the more work the computer has to do and the slower it will run. If your system’s CPU spike is constant and remain at a constant 90-95%, users should check from Task Manager and see if there is a suspicious process occupying the system resources and then end it immediately.
(The name of the virus process can be random.)
Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to quickly bring up Task Manager Window：
3. Show hidden files and folders.
Open Folder Options by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Appearance and Personalization, and then clicking Folder Options.
Click the View tab.
Under Advanced settings, click Show hidden files and folders, uncheck Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) and then click OK.
4. Remove all the malicious files related to Search.smacklek.com hijacker manually.
%AppData%Local[random].exe
C:\Documents and Settings\LocalService\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\*.exe
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main StartPage
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Search.smacklek.com is an ad-supported search engine which can be used to search but users may not get any satisfactory search results. It can hijack all kind of web browsers including Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox as well as Google Chrome and it is always bundled with freeware and Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs) in order to sneak into a vulnerable computer. This application is able to modify the settings of your browser and cause serious problems to your computer. In addition, it is responsible for collecting the terms of your search queries, recording your browsing history and monitoring your online activities so it can be a potential risk for computer security. You are recommended to get rid of Search.smacklek.com as soon as possible.
Note: If you are not a computer expert and have no idea how to perform the removal, please contact experts from YooCare Online Tech Support for further help.
Published by & last updated on April 22, 2016 8:47 am
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