Hi there. Every time I use Firefox, it opens up a “search engine” type site called Kilo Search rather than my default search provider Google. I believe there must be a browser hijacker that takes control of my browser and keeps redirecting me to Kilo-Search.com again and again. I downloaded Ad-Aware and Malwarebytes to scan my system but it didn’t find anything suspicious. I don’t know what to do now. Is there any other way to get rid of this spam search engine? I just want Google back. Thanks in advance.
Kilo-Search.com is another spam search site that closely associated with adware, browser hijacker or potentially unwanted programs. Although the webpage looks like other reliable search providers Bing, Yahoo and Google, providing multiple search services such as web, images, videos and etc for its users, in fact it can not provide any reliable search results. The search results are usually altered and they are filled with suspicious links and pop-up ads. If you click on them, you will help creators of this hijacker to make affiliate profit. This program uses dishonest methods to infiltrate to system and then it can take over user’s web browser (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer). It replaces your homepage and default search engine without asking your permission and also displays annoying ads on your browser to interrupt your browsing activities. Furthermore, the hijacker can redirect you to malicious websites where you can get your system infected. It helps install malicious extensions which take up a plenty of system resources and slow down Internet speed.
Kilo-Search.com hijacker can automatically install on your computer system right after you downloaded and installed certain free program from the Internet. Once access, it presents you pop-up advertisements including in-text, pop-up, pop-under, contextual and banner advertisements everywhere. Those ads give you misleading information, take up large portion of the system resource and sometimes could lead to browser crash. Though Kilo Search claims to help users with better online experience, especially with more cost-effective coupons, prices and discounts, what it really does is to find its way to display banners, sponsored links and other commercial promoting ads to disturb your surfing experience. By forcing users to visit Kilo-Search.com constantly and use Kilo Search as the default search engine, the hackers can get more clicks, create artificial traffic and earn money. To sum up, Kilo-Search.com is a questionable website that poses a risk for your computer safety, you should delete it once upon detection.
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 Kilo-Search.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
Kilo-Search.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 Kilo-Search.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 Ads by Kilo-Search.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
Kilo-Search.com is a browser hijacker that always comes as an add-on for your browser or bundled-up with some free software. Once installed, it performs tons of malicious activities on your machine especially for interrupting your browsing sessions. It takes over Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and even Safari and changes your default homepage to Kilo-Search.com or other malicious website without your permission. In addition, the hijacker can change your DNS settings, flood your browsers with various advertisements, alter your search results and collect your browsing history. You will not be able to use your favorite website as the homepage and you cannot search for information successfully. Suspicious re-directions, slow down problem and similar activities could happen after browser is hijacked. The only goal of such redirect virus is to use the artificial traffic to boost affiliate payments. Although in some cases we still can search information from Kilo Search, there is no chance of knowing what kind of websites it redirects you to and whether the website is safe or not. If you accidentally visit a corrupted site unwittingly, your system can be seriously infected and you will get more and more PC problems. To save the computer and protect your privacy, it is necessary to remove Kilo-Search.com redirect from the computer at once.
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 October 31, 2015 4:11 am
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