I use Firefox and every time I open a new tab the Search.zebrouss.com page appears in the new tab and I want to get rid of it! I can’t find it in Control Panel, neither in Firefox –> Add-ons –> Extensions or Plugins. I downloaded Malwarebytes and it detected a few PUPs, but after removal the page was still in Firefox! How can I completely get rid of this bogus search engine?
I use Windows 7 by the way. Thanks for any assistance!
Search.zebrouss.com is considered to be browser hijackers that changes your Internet browser default search engine, homepage, new tab and displays deceptive ads. It can hijack all major browsers including Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, and Mozilla Firefox. Browser hijacker aims to interfere with the proper operation of the Internet browser itself and it is designed for generating revenue from deceptive ads or sponsored Internet search results presented within the websites they promote. Despite the page looks like a normal search engine, it has no ability to show you any reliable search results. Instead, it will display many erroneous results with little or no relevance to the original search terms because it always puts sponsored links on the top of search results to trick users into clicking on them. People who mistakenly clicked on those sponsored links only find them download many other potentially unwanted programs and get system infected further. Besides, this hijacker is known to track users’ Internet surfing habits by recording various personal information (IP addresses, web sites visited, search terms entered, etc.), therefore you should remove it as quickly as you can.
Search.zebrouss.com hijacker mainly penetrates into the compromised computers unknowingly accompanied with freeware downloads, junk email attachments, various video players etc. It forces browser to show one particular webpage, inserts advertisements in other web pages, messes up search results or shows various popups in the browser. It also has the ability to reduce your computer performance and crash down your current web browser. In the end, user might not be able to use browser at all. The program replaces your default search engine and start page to Search.zebrouss.com without your permission and it can display various coupons and deals ads on your browser to interrupt browsing activities. It installs a number of malicious browser add-ons and apps called ‘helper objects’ designed to prevent users from reverting changes they made so the removal will be much more difficult. It is highly recommended users delete Search.zebrouss.com hijacker from the system in case of further damages it caused.
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.zebrouss.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.zebrouss.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.zebrouss.com 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.zebrouss.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.zebrouss.com is another fake search website associated with browser hijacker and adware that usually gets bundled to freeware or shareware applications. It can change web browser’s default search page to a predetermined web site without user’s consent and prevent you from viewing the Web pages that you want to see on your browser. Your homepage or search engine can be suddenly changed to this site without your permission. Besides, advertising banners keep popping up on the web pages that you are visiting. It is really annoying but you have no way to get rid of them. Your browser like Safari, Firefox or Chrome may keep crashing all the time. Besides, the hijacker can track user’s web browsing habits, record addresses of visited sites and send collected data to a remote server so it is necessary to remove Search.zebrouss.com redirect from the system once it is found.
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 on November 30, 2015 9:56 am, last updated on November 30, 2015 9:56 am
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