I am so frustrated! I have accidentally downloaded something that has hijacked my search engine in Firefox. I tried downloading some antivirus programs but none of them worked. I checked my browser settings, options and they seem to have no problem at all. I checked my extensions and nothing suspicious was listed there. I also checked my installed programs in control panel and the bad application was not listed there either. I’m at a loss. I have an HP laptop running Windows 7. My address line and my searches are hijacked by a weird URL “Search.lunaticake.com”, so how do I get rid of it completely?
Search.lunaticake.com is not a reputable website because it owns the characteristics of a browser hijacker or a redirecting malware. This is another spam search engine that can hijack web browsers such as Safari, IE, FireFox, Chrome, modify the DNS settings and redirect search results in Google, Yahoo and Bing to a multiple undesirable websites. This application is often distributed together with various freeware and it can be installed without asking for user’s permission. Although it looks like other regular search page such as Yahoo, Google or Bing, in reality it just offers fraudulent search results, delivers ads and also forces your web browser to malicious websites constantly. This bogus search provider filters search results and only displays sponsored links and unwanted pop-ups ads to its users. It attempts to offer the user useless services or products and distribute potentially unwanted programs in order to boost affiliate payments.
The purpose of the Search.lunaticake.com hijacker is to promoted various sponsored websites, so it, first, changes your browser settings, replaces your search provider and then does tons of evil actions to interrupt your online activities. Most users find this program really annoying, because it will prevent them from accessing the web site they want and add additional software to their PC without any approval. As a consequence victims always experience slow system performance issues, Internet connectivity problems, and a variety of pop-up messages and advertisements. Browser redirects to Search.lunaticake.com domain often occur when users input specific URLs into address bar or enter search terms on the major search engine like Google or Yahoo. The hijacker redirects your searches and shows unwanted popups with advertisements to you. It also puts your privacy at risk because it has the ability to record certain activities on your computer that is significant to online browsing. Don’t hesitate to get rid of it from your PC.
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.lunaticake.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.lunaticake.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.lunaticake.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.lunaticake.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.lunaticake.com is an ad-supported search engine associated with browser hijacker or redirect malware. It will modify homepage of the default browser and set its domain as the main page without asking for your permission. Additionally, it installs other harmful codes as browser helper objects, which influence some aspects of your browser program. The malware modifies browser settings in order to attack Edge, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari browser. It changes your homepage, new tab, displays pop-up ads and redirects you to unwanted website. Some inexperienced users may take it as a legit search engine and keep it on their computers. As time goes by, they start having serious problems on the computer. Your browser can’t work normally because it keeps freezing all the time. You can’t get information you want when you search information on Google. Every time you open your browser, you will always get error messages telling you that Internet Explorer is not responding. In some cases, you may experience blue screen of death or even system crash. The hijacker could be used to collect your information and then sell it to others for illegal purposes so it is not a good choice to let it stay on your PC. Remove Search.lunaticake.com hijacker manually as quickly as you can.
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 March 24, 2016 7:52 am
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