CrystalCraft
If your web browsing experience has been severely hampered by a mysterious program called CrystalCraft, then the information that follows is for you. This software belongs to the Browser Hijackers family, notorious for taking over your web browser and exploiting it for aggressive ad generation and redirection to sponsored websites. Detecting CrystalCraft is quite straightforward, as it rapidly alters your browser settings, sets a new homepage, and bombards you with intrusive ads. Consequently, your browser’s performance may deteriorate, its speed may decrease, and data consumption may rise, leaving no doubt that the hijacker must be swiftly removed to restore a smooth browsing experience.
CrystalCraft is a Browser Hijacker program that has the potential to be a real headache for users. It does this by seizing control of your browser settings, initiating frequent redirects, and inundating your screen with various unwanted ads. While these activities may not seem overtly harmful, they carry hidden risks. Your online privacy could be compromised, and you might be redirected to questionable websites, all while your overall browsing speed takes a hit.
CrystalCraft Virus
The confusion surrounding CrystalCraft often leads users to mistake it for a virus due to the difficulty in reversing its imposed browser changes. However, it’s crucial to clarify that the “CrystalCraft virus” (as many people call it) is not a virus but a Browser Hijacker with different intentions and behaviors. Unlike viruses that replicate themselves and directly damage system files, Browser Hijackers, like the CrystalCraft “virus”, Status Speak, iStart Search bar focus on taking control of your browser. They redirect your web traffic to specific sites, bombard you with unwanted ads, and create continuous pop-up interruptions. While not traditional viruses, Browser Hijackers can still pose significant risks to security and privacy, exposing your system to harmful content and potential data breaches.
What is CrystalCraft?
To truly understand what is CrystalCraft, we must delve into the methods used by such intrusive programs. Browser Hijackers typically lurk within free software downloads, strategically hidden within the software agreements. Unsuspecting users often inadvertently approve their installation without realizing the impending intrusion. Once inside your system, CrystalCraft seizes control of your primary web browser by making unauthorized changes to your default search engine and preferred homepage settings. Additionally, the program may manipulate your search results, often directing you to dubious websites with sponsored content. All these actions serve one purpose: to generate profits for the program’s developers by exposing you to more ads, increasing website traffic, and encouraging more clicks, all at the expense of your browsing experience.
CrystalCraft Pop-ups
The constant deluge of CrystalCraft pop-up ads during your internet activities serves as a clear indicator of a Browser Hijacker’s presence. Although these pop-ups may appear as mere nuisances initially, they carry risks due to the possibility of displaying deceptive notifications mimicking genuine alerts or enticing offers. For safety’s sake, it’s advisable to avoid interacting with these CrystalCraft pop-ups, as a single misguided click could introduce unwanted software or redirect you to harmful websites. To stay on the safer side, exercising caution and refraining from engaging with content generated by the browser hijacker is essential.
CrystalCraft on Chrome
Google Chrome’s widespread popularity makes it an attractive target for many Browser Hijackers, and CrystalCraft is no exception. Once CrystalCraft on Chrome gets installed, it makes unauthorized alterations to the browser’s settings and operations. This intrusive program can set up its own search engine, change the homepage to redirect you to unintended websites, clutter the browser with unwanted extensions, and manipulate search results to promote its own pages. Fortunately, you don’t have to tolerate these unwanted changes. The comprehensive removal guide below will help you eliminate CrystalCraft on Chrome and restore the browser to its original state.
CrystalCraft.top
CrystalCraft.top is a web page linked to the CrystalCraft browser hijacker, operating as a lucrative revenue source. By persistently redirecting users’ online searches to this specific site, the hijacker significantly boosts CrystalCraft.top’s web traffic, ad impressions, and click rates, ultimately generating substantial earnings for its developers. While redirection itself may not cause direct harm, it can disrupt the browsing experience and expose users to content they may prefer to avoid, such as misleading ads and questionable links. However, there is a way for users to regain control, which involves conducting a thorough system scan using a reliable antivirus program and following a detailed manual removal guide like the one provided below.
SUMMARY:
How to Remove CrystalCraft
To try and remove CrystalCraft quickly you can try this:
- Go to your browser’s settings and select More Tools (or Add-ons, depending on your browser).
- Then click on the Extensions tab.
- Look for the CrystalCraft extension (as well as any other unfamiliar ones).
- Remove CrystalCraft by clicking on the Trash Bin icon next to its name.
- Confirm and get rid of CrystalCraft and any other suspicious items.
If this does not work as described please follow our more detailed CrystalCraft removal guide below.
If you have a Windows virus, continue with the guide below.
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.
Some of the steps may require you to exit the page. Bookmark it for later reference.
Next, Reboot in Safe Mode (use this guide if you don’t know how to do it).
Uninstall the CrystalCraft app and kill its processes
The first thing you must try to do is look for any sketchy installs on your computer and uninstall anything you think may come from CrystalCraft. After that, you’ll also need to get rid of any processes that may be related to the unwanted app by searching for them in the Task Manager.
Note that sometimes an app, especially a rogue one, may ask you to install something else or keep some of its data (such as settings files) on your PC – never agree to that when trying to delete a potentially rogue software. You need to make sure that everything is removed from your PC to get rid of the malware. Also, if you aren’t allowed to go through with the uninstallation, proceed with the guide, and try again after you’ve completed everything else.
- Uninstalling the rogue app
- Killing any rogue processes
Type Apps & Features in the Start Menu, open the first result, sort the list of apps by date, and look for suspicious recently installed entries.
Click on anything you think could be linked to CrystalCraft, then select uninstall, and follow the prompts to delete the app.
Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc, click More Details (if it’s not already clicked), and look for suspicious entries that may be linked to CrystalCraft.
If you come across a questionable process, right-click it, click Open File Location, scan the files with the free online malware scanner shown below, and then delete anything that gets flagged as a threat.
After that, if the rogue process is still visible in the Task Manager, right-click it again and select End Process.
Undo CrystalCraft changes made to different system settings
It’s possible that CrystalCraft has affected various parts of your system, making changes to their settings. This can enable the malware to stay on the computer or automatically reinstall itself after you’ve seemingly deleted it. Therefore, you need to check the following elements by going to the Start Menu, searching for specific system elements that may have been affected, and pressing Enter to open them and see if anything has been changed there without your approval. Then you must undo any unwanted changes made to these settings in the way shown below:
- DNS
- Hosts
- Startup
- Task
Scheduler - Services
- Registry
Type in Start Menu: View network connections
Right-click on your primary network, go to Properties, and do this:
Type in Start Menu: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
Type in the Start Menu: Startup apps
Type in the Start Menu: Task Scheduler
Type in the Start Menu: Services
Type in the Start Menu: Registry Editor
Press Ctrl + F to open the search window
Remove CrystalCraft from your browsers
- Delete CrystalCraft from Chrome
- Delete CrystalCraft from Firefox
- Delete CrystalCraft from Edge
- Go to the Chrome menu > More tools > Extensions, and toggle off and Remove any unwanted extensions.
- Next, in the Chrome Menu, go to Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data > Advanced. Tick everything except Passwords and click OK.
- Go to Privacy & Security > Site Settings > Notifications and delete any suspicious sites that are allowed to send you notifications. Do the same in Site Settings > Pop-ups and redirects.
- Go to Appearance and if there’s a suspicious URL in the Custom web address field, delete it.
- Firefox menu, go to Add-ons and themes > Extensions, toggle off any questionable extensions, click their three-dots menu, and click Remove.
- Open Settings from the Firefox menu, go to Privacy & Security > Clear Data, and click Clear.
- Scroll down to Permissions, click Settings on each permission, and delete from it any questionable sites.
- Go to the Home tab, see if there’s a suspicious URL in the Homepage and new windows field, and delete it.
- Open the browser menu, go to Extensions, click Manage Extensions, and Disable and Remove any rogue items.
- From the browser menu, click Settings > Privacy, searches, and services > Choose what to clear, check all boxes except Passwords, and click Clear now.
- Go to the Cookies and site permissions tab, check each type of permission for permitted rogue sites, and delete them.
- Open the Start, home, and new tabs section, and if there’s a rogue URL under Home button, delete it.
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