Bit.ly Virus

Browser Hijacker
by Brandon Skies
April 25, 2023

This page aims to help you remove Bit.ly Virus. Our removal instructions work for Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer, as well as every version of Windows.

Bit.ly Virus
Criminals and malware developers frequently use Bit.ly to conceal the actual URL destination

Bit.ly is a renowned service that shortens URLs for various purposes like advertising campaigns, social media posts, and promoting online content. Despite its usefulness, it can also be exploited by malevolent software for nefarious intentions.

Criminals and malware developers frequently use Bit.ly to conceal the actual URL destination and deceive victims into accessing a malicious website. The abbreviated link makes it challenging for users to assess whether the link is secure, heightening the likelihood of a successful attack. This can lead to the installation of malware, unauthorized data access, and identity theft.

Additionally, malware can exploit Bit.ly by proliferating malware through shortened links. Malware programs can automatically generate and distribute abbreviated links on social media or other websites. These links could include malware or redirect users to phishing scams, resulting in the pilfering of sensitive data.

If a hijacker app is messing with your browser and making changes in it that you do not approve, the correct way to respond to this irritation is to remove the invasive software. Unless the hijacker goes away, it wouldn’t matter if you restore the preferred browser settings, the next time you start the browser, the changes imposed by the hijacker would be back – your starting page will once again be replaced, your search engine wouldn’t be the one you prefer but the one imposed by the hijacker and you will still probably be getting randomly page-redirected to obscure sites and promotional pages with lots of ads, banners and pop-up boxes in them.

SUMMARY:

NameBit.ly Virus
TypeBrowser Hijacker
Detection Tool

Please follow all the steps below in order to remove Bit.ly Virus!

How to remove Bit.ly Virus

  1. First, click the Start Menu on your Windows PC.
  2. Type Programs and Settings in the Start Menu, click the first item, and find Bit.ly Virus in the programs list that would show up.
  3. Select Bit.ly Virus from the list and click on Uninstall.
  4. Follow the steps in the removal wizard.

If you have a Mac virus, please use our How to remove Ads on Mac guide.

If you have an Android virus, please use our Android Malware Removal guide.

If you have an iPhone virus, please use our iPhone Virus Removal guide.

What we suggest you do first is, check the list of programs that are presently installed on the infected device and uninstall any rogue software that you find there:

  • From the Start Menu, navigate to Control Panel ->>> Programs and Features ->>> Uninstall a Program.
  • Next, carefully search for unfamiliar programs or programs that have been installed recently and could be related to Bit.ly Virus.
  • If you find any of the programs suspicious then uninstall them if they turn out to be linked to Bit.ly Virus.
  • If a notification appears on your screen when you try to uninstall a specific questionable program prompting you to just alter it or repair it, make sure you choose NO and complete the steps from the removal wizard.

Remove Bit.ly Virus from Chrome

  1. Click on the three dots in the right upper corner
  2. Go to more tools
  3. Now select extensions
  4. Remove the Bit.ly Virus extension
  • Once you open Chrome, click on the three-dots icon to open the browser’s menu, go to More Tools/ More Options, and then to Extensions.
  • Again, find the items on that page that could be linked to Bit.ly Virus and/or that might be causing problems in the browser and delete them.
  • Afterwards, go to this folder: Computer > C: > Users > *Your User Account* > App Data > Local > Google > Chrome > User Data. In there, you will find a folder named Default – you should change its name to Backup Default and restart the PC.
  • Note that the App Data folder is normally hidden so you’d have to first make the hidden files and folders on your PC visible before you can access it.

How to get rid of Bit.ly Virus on FF/Edge/etc.

  1. Open the browser and select the menu icon.
  2. From the menu, click on the Add-ons button.
  3. Look for the Bit.ly Virus extension
  4. Get rid of Bit.ly Virus by removing it from extensions

If using Firefox:

  • Open Firefox
  • Select the three parallel lines menu and go to Add-ons.
  • Find the unwanted add-on and delete it from the browser – if there is more than one unwanted extension, remove all of them.
  • Go to the browser menu again, select Options, and then click on Home from the sidebar to the left.
  • Check the current addresses for the browser’s homepage and new-tab page and change them if they are currently set to address(es) you don’t know or trust.

If using MS Edge/IE:

  • Start Edge
  • Select the browser menu and go to Extensions.
  • Find and uninstall any Edge extensions that look undesirable and unwanted.
  • Select Settings from the browser menu and click on Appearance.
  • Check the new-tab page address of the browser and if it has been modified by “Bit.ly Virus” or another unwanted app, change it to an address that you’d want to be the browser’s new-tab page.

How to Delete Bit.ly Virus

  1. Open task manager
  2. Look for the Bit.ly Virus process
  3. Select it and click on End task
  4. Open the file location to delete Bit.ly Virus
  • Access the Task Manager by pressing together the Ctrl + Alt + Del keys and then selecting Task Manager.
  • Open Processes and there try to find a process with the name of the unwanted software. If you find it, select it with the right button of the mouse and click on the Open File Location option.
  • If you don’t see a “Bit.ly Virus” process in the Task Manager, look for another suspicious process with an unusual name. It is likely that the unwanted process would be using lots of RAM and CPU so pay attention to the number of resources each process is using.
  • Tip: If you think you have singled out the unwanted process but are not sure, it’s always a good idea to search for information about it on the Internet – this should give you a general idea if the process is a legitimate one from a regular program or from your OS or if it is indeed likely linked to the adware.
  • If you find another suspicious process, open its File Location too.
  • Once in the File Location folder for the suspicious process, start testing all of the files that are stored there by dragging them to our free online scanner available below.
  • Each file will be scanned with up to 64 antivirus programs to ensure maximum accuracy
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    • If the scanner finds malware in any of the files, return to the Processes tab in the Task Manager, select the suspected process, and then select the End Process option to quit it.
    • Go back to the folder where the files of that process are located and delete all of the files that you are allowed to delete. If all files get deleted normally, exit the folder and delete that folder too. If one or more of the files showed an error message when you tried to delete them, leave them for now and return to try to delete them again once you’ve completed the rest of the guide.

    How to Uninstall Bit.ly Virus

    1. Click on the home button
    2. Search for Startup Apps
    3. Look for Bit.ly Virus in there
    4. Uninstall Bit.ly Virus from Startup Apps by turning it off
    • Now you need to carefully search for and uninstall any Bit.ly Virus-related entries from the Registry. The easiest way to do this is to open the Registry Editor app (type Regedit in the windows search field and press Enter) and then open a Find dialog (CTRL+F key combination) where you have to type the name of the threat. 
    • Perform a search by clicking on the Find Next button and delete any detected results. Do this as many times as needed until no more results are found. 
    • After that, to ensure that there are no remaining entries lined to Bit.ly Virus in the Registry, go manually to the following directories and delete them:
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Random Directory. 
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Run/Random
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Internet Explorer/Main/Random

    How dangerous could the Bit.ly virus be and what are the potential risks?

    In and of themselves, the browser hijackers are not very dangerous. In fact, more often than not, they are legal pieces of software and, at times, some of them are even created by well-known and respected software companies. The main problem with the hijackers, aside from the annoyance that they bring, is that their random page-redirects and imposed browser changes may make your browser more vulnerable to different online attacks, which could, in turn, make it more likely for your computer to get invaded by various forms of malware. Some of the scariest computer threats right now – Trojans, Spyware, and the infamous Ransomware, are well-known for getting distributed through malvertising, with the help of sketchy pages that have too many invasive ads in them. Needless to say, even if a hijacker, such as the one promoting the Bit.ly Virus page, isn’t an inherently harmful tool, it’s mere presence in your computer is a security issue and needs to be addressed accordingly.


    How to remove the Bit.ly virus and keeping at bay in the future

    It may not be all that easy to remove a hijacker such as the Bit.ly Virus, Sensiblemoth.com or GoSearches.gg one from your browser (which is likely the reason why you have come to this post). However, with the help of our guide and/or that of the recommended professional anti-malware tool linked in this post, you should have no issue eliminating the invasive app.
     The removal of the hijacker is not enough – you also need to make sure you don’t get any more such annoyances in the future. In order to avoid future hijacker invasions, always check the setup settings of any given software installer. Many program installers have some form of bonus software included in them and a lot of this software is hijackers. Keep a sharp eye out for any optional clauses that allow changes in your browser or the installation of apps that you may not really want or need and uncheck those clauses before installing anything on your computer


    About the author

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    Brandon Skies

    Brandon is a researcher and content creator in the fields of cyber-security and virtual privacy. Years of experience enable him to provide readers with important information and adequate solutions for the latest software and malware problems.

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