Infected By ‘Fake Plugin Activity 2’ Virus? – How to Fix it?

I have a Toshiba laptop with Windows 8.1 OS. A few hours ago Norton Security Suite started alerting me “System Infected: Fake Plugin Activity 2” and i can’t get rid of it. I have tried to clean my computer by running Norton full scan but it did not stop it from happening. The message also came up with Chrome whenever I tried to open my web browser. What should I do to get rid of this virus?

‘Fake Plugin Activity 2’ Virus Description:

Fake Plugin Activity 2 is an annoying alert that can pop up on your web browser without your approval or from your antivirus program. This message is related to potentially unwanted programs, adware, browser hijacker or other types of threats that have installed on your machine but you haven’t recognized yet. It aims to download Fake Browser extensions on the user’s machine, install unwanted toolbar, change system settings and also steal sensitive information from the innocent users. The virus can target various web browsers including Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome or even Safari. Most users complaint that Fake Plugin Activity 2 is persistent and it keeps appearing on their windows with annoying notifications. Therefore, if you got this virus in your PC, you must experience a hard time while you are surfing Internet.

Although ‘Fake Plugin Activity 2’ pop-up message is not harmful as other computer viruses, it can be very annoying and could probably redirect computer users to corrupted website and lure them into downloading fake plug-in. How did the virus find it’s way onto the user’s machine? Usually the virus can be distributed via spam emails, pornographic websites and various freeware programs. As mentioned above, ‘Fake Plugin Activity 2’ message refers PUPs and adware programs which are something found all too frequently on the Internet. If you found it on your computer, you also get other computer problems that stop you from using your PC properly. They are a real pain as they will change your default browser settings, display ads and double underline certain words on web pages, even replace your default home page and search page. Whenever you go online, it displays numerous advertisements as boxes filled with coupons, pop-ups, sound or video advertisements and similar contents. Once you click the ads that are aimed to promote the installation of additional questionable content including web browser toolbars, optimization utilities and other products, your computer may get infected with other viruses at the same time. Unfortunately Norton or other anti-viruses are unable to remove the virus automatically, therefore we suggest users get rid of it manually instead.

Potential Dangers Caused by A Hijacker Virus:

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.

How Can ‘Fake Plugin Activity 2’ Pop-up Get On Your PC?

Browser hijacker infection like ‘Fake Plugin Activity 2’ Pop-up 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.

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 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
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “[RANDOM]”
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun [random]agnz.exe”
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionInternet Settings “ProxyEnable” = “1”

Video Shows You How to Safely Modify Windows Registry Editor:

‘Fake Plugin Activity 2’ pop-up is generated by a malicious browser add-on that can change browser setting and affect the proper functioning on Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome or Safari. Once your system is infected, it can bombard you with a proliferation of pop up and pop under windows, as well as garish banner ads. It may even steal your vital and confidential information, such as websites visited, entered search queries, credit card details, IP address, phone number and so on. The virus also can modify your system settings and add junk files to your system that can cause your computer to run much more slowly than usual. It is very difficult to get rid of this virus by using traditional anti-virus product. You’d better get rid of it manually instead if your browser or security tool keeps showing you “System Infected: Fake Plugin Activity 2” message.

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

Published by & last updated on May 15, 2015 7:29 am