Now Captcha Here Virus

Now Captcha Here

Now Captcha Here is an intrusive software app capable of changing the behavior and appearance of your main browser as well as page-redirecting your online searches. If Now Captcha Here is present in your browser, this might lead to certain security weaknesses that could get exploited by malware.

Now Captcha Here

Apps like Now Captcha Here, Fast Captcha, iStart Search Bar aren’t harmful themselves because they aren’t created with the purpose of damaging the computer they are installed on. The main problem that most people have with these apps is that they are quite irritating due to their sudden page redirects and generation of various forms of advertisements inside the browser. In addition, changes such as a replaced starting page address and the addition of a new search engine to the browser could make it more difficult for you to quickly and effectively reach the sites and information that you are looking for online. Chrome, Firefox, and Edge are the browsers that most often have issues with apps like Now Captcha Here but this isn’t because these browsers aren’t safe but because they are the most commonly used ones. In fact, it doesn’t really matter how secure your browser is because Now Captcha Here isn’t really a virus so the built-in safety features of your browser might not flag it as something unwanted and instead allow it to get installed. Of course, once this app is added to the browser, it’s true nature becomes revealed and you quickly realize what its main purpose is, namely, to promote the sites that sponsor it and to advertise different products and services on your screen by placing ads and pop-ups right on top of the areas of the webpage that you are likely trying to look at or interact with (articles, videos, images, menus, etc.).

The NowCaptchaHere Virus

The general term that is typically used to refer to the NowCaptchaHere virus and other apps that show similar behavior is “browser hijackers”. There are different opinions on whether or not the NowCaptchaHere representatives of the browser hijacker family are actual viruses or if they are simply unwanted apps that don’t help you but also do not represent a danger to the computer.

Nowcaptchahere

We cannot give you a definitive answer as to whether or not browser hijackers are real malware, but we can assure you that the Now Captcha Here virus is an app that is far less problematic than Trojans, Spyware, Ransomware, and other highly hazardous computer viruses.

The problem is that the hijackers aren’t completely safe either – their constant spam with ads, their unwelcome changes in the browser, and their automatic page redirects could oftentimes expose your machine to all kinds of danger on the Internet. In some cases, if the user isn’t careful enough and accidentally clicks on some random advert generated by the hijacker, he or she may end up going to some unsafe phishing page or to a page filled with harmful content, including the aforementioned Trojan, Ransomware, and Spyware threats. The one thing that will ensure that none of this happens is uninstalling Now Captcha Here from your computer and the removal guide we have prepared on this page will help you with that.

 

SUMMARY:

 

Name Now Captcha Here
Type Browser Hijacker
Detection Tool

 

Remove Now Captcha Here Virus

 

The 5 steps below explain how to remove the Now Captcha Here extension from your hijacked browser. We suggest you give them a try to see if they can help you resolve the issue quickly. 

  1. In your browser’s main menu, select More Tools (or Add-ons) and open it.
  2. After that, click on the Extensions tab that could be found on the left.
  3. Once the list of extensions gets displayed on the screen, search for the Now Captcha Here extension and remove it by selecting the remove/trash bin button next to it.
  4. Search for other potentially unwanted extensions and remove them if they have been installed without your permission.
  5. Restart the browser and start a new browsing session to check if there are signs of Now Captcha Here.

If the browser hijacking problem is not resolved, please follow the more detailed Now Captcha Here removal guide below to remove any other components related to the potentially unwanted program from your computer.

 


 

Step1

 

First, we would highly recommend you to Bookmark this page with removal instructions because you will need to get back to it after a system restart.

After you do that, reboot the computer in Safe Mode by clicking on the provided link. After the system restats in Safe Mode, get back to this guide and proceed with the instructions in the next step. 

Step2

 

WARNING! READ CAREFULLY BEFORE PROCEEDING!

 

 Press together the CTRL + SHIFT + ESC keyboard keys and, in the Windows Task Manager that opens go to the Processes Tab (on Win 8 and 10 it is called the “Details” Tab). 

Once there, search the list for processes that you believe are related to the activites of the browser hijacker. 

malware-start-taskbar

 

The moment you detect such a process, right-click on it and select Open File Location from the pop-up menu. 

Next, with a drag and drop, use the free online virus scanner provided below to scan the files of the selected process for dangerous code.

 

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    End the processes (right-click>>>End Process) if the scan results show that its files are dangerous. Don’t forget to delete the dangerous files and their folders from their file location too.

     

    Step3

     Use the Windows and R key combination from your keyboard to open a Run dialog box on the scren. 

    In the Run box, type appwiz.cpl and click OK. 

    appwiz

     

    A Control Panel window will open where you will be able to see all apps that have been installed on your machine. Search the list for applications that have been installed somewhere around the time the browser hijacker appeared on the system. If you find a bogus app that you believe is linked to the installation of Now Captcha Here, it is a good idea to uninstall it. 

    Next, go to the Windows search bar and type msconfig. Select the result and this will open System Configuration: 

    msconfig_opt

     

    In the Startup tab, search for Startup Items that might have a relation to Now Captcha Here and its activities. If you find such items, disable them by removing their checkmark. 

    Step4

     

     

    Once again, press and hold the Windows and R keyboard keys to open a new Run dialog box. 

    This time, copy the line below in the Run box and click OK

    notepad %windir%/system32/Drivers/etc/hosts 

    A Notepad file named Hosts will open on the screen. In the text, find Localhost, and check if some suspicious IPs have been added there. 

    hosts_opt (1)

     

    In case you find IP addresses that look questionable, write to us in the comments with a copy of them. We will check them out and tell you if they are dangerous. 

    Step5

     Open the Registry Editor by typing Regedit in the Windows search bar. Select the result and once the Editor opens, press CTRL and F keyboard keys together. Write the name of the browser hijacker in the Find window that pops on the screen and then click on the Find Next button. If any results are found in the Registry with that name, right-click and delete them. When no more results are detected, go manually to each of the directories listed below and delete/uninstall any entries that you strongly believe are part of the browser hijacker in 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

     Feel free to ask us in the comments if you can’t decern what needs to be deleted. 

    Next, find Network Connections in your Start menu and open it. Select the currently used Network Adapter and right-click on it. Then, select Properties. In the new window, find Internet Protocol Version 4 (ICP/IP), select it, and click  Properties. Check if Obtain DNS server automatically is selected and click on Advanced. After that, select the DNS tab. In there, remove all rogue DNS in the field and save your changes by clicking on OK. 

    DNS

     

    Step6

     

    After you have removed all traces of Now Captcha Here from your computer, it is time to clear all your browsers of browser hijacking components and potentially unwanted setting alternations. 

    NOTE: Google Chrome is used for demonstration in the next instructions, but the same could be applied for Firefox and IE (or Edge), or any other browser that you are using and is hijacked. 

    With a right click on the browser’s shortcut icon, select Properties

    browser-hijacker-taskbar-properties

     

    After that, once the Properties window opens, select the Shortcut tab. 

    Go to Target, and if anything has been added after .exe (as shown on the image below) make sure that you remove it and click OK to save your changes. 

    Browser Hijacker Removal Instructions

     Remove Now Captcha Here from Firefox: 

    Firefox users should check the extensions section of their browser for potentially unwanted extensions added by Now Captcha Here. This can be done by clicking on the top-right icon mozilla menu  and then selecting Add-ons. The  Extensions tab should be found on the left. Select it and then remove any extensions that are linked to Now Captcha Here and are responsible for the ad-generation, the redirects, and the browser changes.

     

    pic 6

     

    ie9-10_512x512  Remove Now Captcha Here from Internet Explorer: 

    In IE, users should click the top right  IE GEAR icon and select Manage Add-ons

    pic 3

     Then, they should Disable any add-ons that are linked to Now Captcha Here or look suspicious and aren’t used. 

    Next, they should click on  IE GEAR  once again and select Internet Options. Any change the homepage URL that has been made without approval should be removed. Users can type their own homepage address and click on Apply. 

    Remove Now Captcha Here from Chrome: 

    With Google Chrome closed, manually navigate to: 

     C:/Users/!!!!USER NAME!!!!/AppData/Local/Google/Chrome/User Data.  

    In User Data, find a Folder called “Default” and right-click it. 

    Rename that folder to Backup Default and then restart the browser.

    Rename the Folder to Backup Default

     

    Hopefully, after you complete all the steps from the guide Now Captcha Here should be gone for good. If that is not the case, please note that you can use the professional removal program we recommend and our free online virus scanner to deal with any leftovers of the browser hijacker. Also, we would welcome all your questions in the comments below.


    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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