This page aims to help you remove Crypto-Loot. Our removal instructions work for Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer, as well as every version of Windows.
In the event of an infection with a browser hijacker, it’s important not to lose your cool and remain on top of the situation. Many people, once faced with the odd changes to their Chrome, Firefox or other browser, such as the new homepage and search engine, often panic and jump to radical conclusions, such as that they’ve been attacked by a virus of some sorts. The continuous redirections to various sponsored webpages don’t help the situation either. We’d like to begin this article about Crypto-Loot by saying that it is not a virus, in fact it’s very far from it. But there are still a number of reasons why you’d best removed it from your system anyway. That is what we’re about to cover here, before we provide you with a step-by-step removal guide, which will walk you through the process of removing Crypto-Loot from your system. After that you will be able to restore your previous browser settings and return back to your undisturbed web surfing.
Browser hijackers are considered PUPs – here’s why
In continuation of a statement we made in the opening of this article, we’d like to point out that there are significant differences between PUPs and viruses or malware. The latter, such as Trojans, ransomware, spyware, worms, etc., are capable of self-installing on your computer and fulfilling an extensive list of harmful and illegal activities. In fact your system resources might have been used to mine the Monero cryptocurrency. These include but aren’t limited to data theft, data corruption, spying, extortion and this list goes on and on. A browser hijacker like Crypto-Loot can never do any of this. However, it’s not fully in the clear either, because for one – it doesn’t offer any kind of functionality that would be helpful or beneficial to the end user. In addition to that, its actions (as described above) are more often than not seen as annoying, irritating and completely uncalled for.
That is because browser hijackers are developed with the sole purpose of serving their creators. Their aim is to be distributed to as many computers as possible, where they can generate large quantities of online ads like popups and banners that promote a variety of products and services. The developers are often paid per click or per view on these ads, and that really all there is to it. Therefore it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they will try to do everything in their power to accomplish their mission. And oftentimes this includes things like monitoring the browsing patterns of users and gathering so-called traffic data. This, in turn, helps with optimizing the ads that are on display and customizing them to each individual user, which is assumed to make the whole process more profitable and therefore more productive.
But there are also more serious consequences of keeping software like Crypto-Loot on your computer that you should be aware of. For example, hijackers like this are known to alter system registry files to make advertising that much easier. And in doing so, they often lower the defenses of the computer, so as to make the redirection process and such possible. But it’s as a result of those very same redirections that you could end up on various insecure web locations that may potentially have malware on them. And with a weakened defense, your system can easily become infected. So this should be a huge red flag for anyone still considering whether they should even bother removing the hijacker from their computer.
One last thing we need to mention here is how you most likely ended up with Crypto-Loot in the first place. This could happen in a number of ways, including interacting with spam emails and online ads. But most often it happens when you download some free program off an open source download platform or similar site and install that program using its default, predetermined settings. Very often programmers will bundle different less than desirable applications with other programs and hope that the user will simply rush through the installation and not pay enough attention to opt out of these added programs. So, if you would like to have more control over what is integrated with your system from now on, always go for the more detailed Custom, Advanced or Manual settings of the installation wizard. That way you will at some point reach a step that shows you a list of bundled-in programs that you will have the chance to simply leave out of the whole process.
SUMMARY:
| Name | Crypto-Loot |
| Type | Browser Hijacker |
| Detection Tool | Some threats reinstall themselves if you don't delete their core files. We recommend downloading SpyHunter to remove harmful programs for you. This may save you hours and ensure you don't harm your system by deleting the wrong files. |
Crypto-Loot Virus Removal
Search Marquis is a high-profile hijacker – you might want to see if you’re not infected with it as well.
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