Chrome_customize Virus

Chrome_customize

Chrome_customize is a malware attachment that can be installed in different browsers with the aim to redirect the searches of their users to sites that it is programmed to promote. Chrome_customize is known for making browser changes that facilitate its redirecting activities.

Chrome Customize

The presence of the annoying Chrome_customize app in your browser won’t directly harm the computer but it will make your browsing difficult due to the frequent page-redirects and pop-ups on your screen. In addition, you are likely to find that your browser’s starting page address has been replaced and now every time the site you want to have as your homepage isn’t there. Also, the default search engine that handles your online searches may now be different and the new one may not present you with the most relevant results – instead, it might be showing you search results of sites that it tries to promote.

SUMMARY:

NameChrome_customize
Type Browser Hijacker
Detection Tool

Please follow all the steps below in order to remove Chrome_customize!

How to remove Chrome_customize

  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 Chrome_customize in the programs list that would show up.
  3. Select Chrome_customize from the list and click on Uninstall.
  4. Follow the steps in the removal wizard.

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 Chrome_customize.
  • If you find any of the programs suspicious then uninstall them if they turn out to be linked to Chrome_customize.
  • 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 Chrome_customize 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 Chrome_customize 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 Chrome_customize 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 Chrome_customize 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 Chrome_customize extension
  4. Get rid of Chrome_customize 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 “Chrome_customize” or another unwanted app, change it to an address that you’d want to be the browser’s new-tab page.

How to Delete Chrome_customize

  1. Open task manager
  2. Look for the Chrome_customize process
  3. Select it and click on End task
  4. Open the file location to delete Chrome_customize
  • 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 “Chrome_customize” 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 Chrome_customize

    1. Click on the home button
    2. Search for Startup Apps
    3. Look for Chrome_customize in there
    4. Uninstall Chrome_customize from Startup Apps by turning it off
    • Now you need to carefully search for and uninstall any Hostingcloud. racing-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 Chrome_customize 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

    Is Chrome_customize virus?

    The hijackers like Chrome_customize and Captcha Reverse aren’t pretentious travelers and you can get them installed inside pretty much any commonly used browser. Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge are, understandably, the browsers that get hijackers inside them the most frequently because they are the ones used by the biggest number of people. If you have Chrome_customize inside your main browser, don’t bother switching to a new browsing program – this is only half a solution and the chances are that the unwanted hijacker app would invade your new main browser as well. A much better way to end all the irritating activities of the Chrome_customize app is to uninstall it. However, to achieve a full uninstallation of the hijacker you will likely need some assistance. These apps are oftentimes tricky to effectively eliminate as they tend to p make changes in the system and install helper components that allows them to return to your browser even after you may have temporarily removed them from it. No need to worry, though – the guide you will find below has all the info you may need in order to ensure Chrome_customize will no longer bother you. Just go there and follow the presented steps after you finish reading this article.

    Is Chrome_customize dangerous?

    Unlike Ransomware, Worms, or Trojans, the Chrome_customize virus don’t normally cause damage to the system or carry out any other malicious activities. However, the Chrome_customize virus advertising usually cannot be controlled by the user in any way and this means that you may land on some shady page or a phishing site if an advert that gets shown on your screen is misleading and you get tricked into interacting with it.
    The hijackers aren’t designed to endanger your computer per se, but this could still be a by-product of their overly aggressive advertising activities. And, needless to say, hazards like Trojans and Ransomware are out there waiting for someone like you to click on the wrong link or ad. That is why the safest solution would be to take care of the hijacker by uninstalling it and by removing its changes from your browser.


    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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