Isearch.fantastigames.com/463 Redirect Removal

My homepage is hijacked by Isearch.fantastigames.com/463. Is it a virus?  I cannot change it back to Google and also my antivirus program detects nothing about it. Is there any way to get rid of this hijacker permanently?

What is Isearch.fantastigames.com/463 Redirect? Is it dangerous?

Isearch.fantastigames.com/463 is classified as a harmful redirect virus that mainly attacks browsers like Google Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explore and Safari. Generally, this type of virus is installed together with some freeware that you can download from the Internet. Once it enters your machine, it changes you homepage and your default search as well as some other settings of your browser to lead your computer working in a dangerous network environment.

This website provides a fake search engine which has the same appearance like Isearch.fantastigames.com/465. In fact, the site doesn’t have any real search engine features. All it can do is to bring annoyance to computer users. After being infected, you will be forced to go to this page without your approval. Perhaps, a search toolbar may appear at the top of your browser and it won’t allow you to uninstall it. Each time when you open a new tab, Isearch.fantastigames.com/463 appears somehow. Moreover, you will see that your homepage is changed and default search altered. Apart form that, you will suffer from receiving tons of ads that contain messages promoting certain websites or services. In a word, once the redirect virus is installed, it prevents you from going to any website you really want. Therefore, it is suggested users to get rid of Isearch.fantastigames.com/463 virus as soon as possible to avoid such convenience.

Screen shot of this hijacker:

Other symptoms that prove the presence of this redirect virus include:

Homepage is changed without any permission.
Desktop background is gone somehow.
Browser setting is modified.
Browsers like IE and Firefox works slowly.
Registry files are corrupted.

Isearch.fantastigames.com/463 Redirect Is Dangerous:

Isearch.fantastigames.com redirect may be installed if a computer user has ever visited illegal or malicious websites or downloaded freeware or shareware from untrustworthy sources. It can cause annoying redirection to disturb users. This problem happen when you use Internet explorer, Mozilla Firefox, even Google Chrome to browse online. Being as a redirect virus, it keeps tracking of computer users’ online activity and causing web browser to display unwanted advertisements and pop-up windows. It poses huge risk for all the computer systems. If you have been forced to visit those unwanted websites against your authorization, particularly for this domain, you must immediately remove Isearch.fantastigames.com as soon as possible in order to secure your computer.

Malicious Browser Hijacker Manual Removal Guides:

Considering this malware can’t be fixed by any security tools, uses can use the manual guide below to fix this issue without any risk.

1. Clear all the cookies of your affected browsers.

Since tricky hijacker virus has the ability to use cookies for tracing and tracking the internet activity of users, it is suggested users to delete all the cookies before a complete removal.

Google Chrome:

Click on the “Tools” menu and select “Options”.
Click the “Under the Bonnet” tab, locate the “Privacy” section 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 button”
To remove all cookies click on the “Remove All Cookies button”

2. Remove all add-ons and extensions

Google Chrome: Wrench Icon > Tools > Extensions
Mozilla Firefox: Tools > Add-ons (Ctrl+Shift+A)
Internet Explorer: Tools > Manage Add-ons

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 manually.

%AppData%\Local\[random].exe
%AllUsersProfile%\{ Akkreditivsearch.net\*.lnk
HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\{random}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current\Winlogon\”Shell” = “{random}.exe”

Video Shows You How to Safely Modify Windows Registry Editor:

Isearch.fantastigames.com can hijack Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome browsers. It can be installed together with some other software that you downloaded form the Internet. It is categorized as a harmful redirect virus which cannot be detected or removed by security tools. Isearch.fantastigames.com virus can perform tons of malicious activities on your computer to make it unstable. For example: 1. It can change web browser’s default home page to a particular web site without your permission. 2. It redirects a web browser to a predefined site whenever the user enters invalid address or performs an Internet search. 3. It degrades overall web browser stability and performance. 4. It may constantly use your internet connection to send your private information to remote servers. In a word, Isearch.fantastigames.com/463 redirect should be eliminated as soon as possible and then users should keep in good habits when surfing on the internet to avoid hijacking by this redirect thing again.

If you have no idea how to do about that, please contact experts from YooCare Online Tech Support for further help.

Published by & last updated on February 25, 2013 4:31 am