Device Variety Xyz Virus

Device Variety Xyz

Device Variety Xyz is commonly seen as a browser hijacker application. Device Variety Xyz is compatible with most Windows browsers such as Chrome, Firefox and Edge. This means that Device Variety Xyz can integrate with any of these browsing programs in order to fulfill its agenda.

Device Variety Xyz

And the agenda, in turn, is to generate sponsored advertising messages directly on the screens of the affected users during their browsing sessions. Hence, with the appearance of Device Variety Xyz in your OS, you will start noticing a dramatic rise in the number of popups, banners, in-text links and other forms of online ads every time you try to browse the web. This will be regardless of the websites you visit, mind you.

Furthermore, software of this type also has an affinity for page redirects, so you will likely begin to experience plenty of those, as well. But it doesn’t end there. Browser hijackers like to impose their own homepage on your browser and they can often even replace the default search engine with some custom version of Google, Bing or other mainstream search engine. This helps the hijacker boos the traffic of these websites, on the one hand. And on the other, it also enables it to more effectively push sponsored search results on the affected users.

What most people find very annoying, however, is that once these changes have been made, there’s no way you will be able to reverse them. This is how browser hijackers get their name actually – they literally take control over your Chrome, Firefox, etc. right from underneath you and you get no say in the process.

The only possible way you will be able to restore your settings and rid yourself of all the pesky ads is by removing Device Variety Xyz from your system. However, this may require a little more sophisticated approach comparing to the removal of regular software, because obviously the developers of Device Variety Xyz and Vip Captcha Live want their application to stay rooted in your OS for as long as possible. But not to worry – we have created a special removal guide right on this page that will walk you through the process.

Does Device Variety Xyz pose a threat to my computer?

Browser hijackers like Device Variety Xyz are often mistaken for viruses and malicious programs because oftentimes users have no idea where they came from. In truth, though, you are not dealing with a virus at the moment. At the very worst, Device Variety Xyz can be categorized as a potentially unwanted program, but that’s about it.

Nevertheless, we don’t recommend interacting with any of the content that is being pushed on you by this program. And this is because there’s no telling whether any of these popups or banners won’t lead you to an unsafe web location that, in turn, may be a hub for actual malware such as ransomware, spyware, Trojans and others. This is simply a risk you don’t want to take. Therefore, removing the source of these ads and page redirects would certainly be the optimal course of action if you would like to reduce your chances of an infection.

SUMMARY:

NameDevice Variety Xyz
TypeBrowser Hijacker
Detection Tool

Remove Device Variety Xyz

To try and remove Device Variety Xyz quickly you can try this:

  1. Go to your browser’s settings and select More Tools (or Add-ons, depending on your browser).
  2. Then click on the Extensions tab.
  3. Look for the Device Variety Xyz extension (as well as any other unfamiliar ones).
  4. Remove Device Variety Xyz by clicking on the Thrash Bin icon next to its name.
  5. Confirm and get rid of Device Variety Xyz and any other suspicious items.

If this does not work as described please follow our more detailed Device Variety Xyz 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


Step1

Some of the steps will likely require you to exit the page. Bookmark it for later reference.

Reboot in Safe Mode (use this guide if you don’t know how to do it).

Step2

WARNING! READ CAREFULLY BEFORE PROCEEDING!

Press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC at the same time and go to the Processes Tab (the “Details” Tab on Win 8 and 10). Try to determine which processes are dangerous. 

malware-start-taskbar

Right click on each of them and select Open File Location. Then scan the files with our free online virus scanner:

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    After you open their folder, end the processes that are infected, then delete their folders. 

    Note: If you are sure something is part of the infection – delete it, even if the scanner doesn’t flag it. No anti-virus program can detect all infections. 

    Step3

    Hold together the Start Key and R. Type appwiz.cpl –> OK.

    appwiz

    You are now in the Control Panel. Look for suspicious entries. Uninstall it/them.

    Type msconfig in the search field and hit enter. A window will pop-up:

    msconfig_opt

    Startup —> Uncheck entries that have “Unknown” as Manufacturer or otherwise look suspicious.

    Step4

    Hold the Start Key and R –  copy + paste the following and click OK:

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

    A new file will open. If you are hacked, there will be a bunch of other IPs connected to you at the bottom. Look at the image below:

    hosts_opt (1)

    If there are suspicious IPs below “Localhost” – write to us in the comments.

    Open the start menu and search for Network Connections (On Windows 10 you just write it after clicking the Windows button), press enter.

    1. Right-click on the Network Adapter you are using —> Properties —> Internet Protocol Version 4 (ICP/IP), click  Properties.
    2. The DNS line should be set to Obtain DNS server automatically. If it is not, set it yourself.
    3. Click on Advanced —> the DNS tab. Remove everything here (if there is something) —> OK.
    DNS

    Step5
    • After you complete this step, the threat will be gone from your browsers. Finish the next step as well or it may reappear on a system reboot.

    Right click on the browser’s shortcut —> Properties.

    NOTE: We are showing Google Chrome, but you can do this for Firefox and IE (or Edge).

    browser-hijacker-taskbar-properties

    Properties —–> Shortcut. In Target, remove everything after .exe.

    Browser Hijacker Removal Instructions

    ie9-10_512x512  Remove Device Variety Xyz from Internet Explorer:

    Open IE, click  IE GEAR —–> Manage Add-ons.

    pic 3

    Find the threat —> Disable. Go to IE GEAR —–> Internet Options —> change the URL to whatever you use (if hijacked) —> Apply.

    firefox-512 Remove Device Variety Xyz from Firefox:

    Open Firefoxclick  mozilla menu  ——-> Add-ons —-> Extensions.

    pic 6


    chrome-logo-transparent-backgroundRemove Device Variety Xyz from Chrome:

    Close Chrome. Navigate to:

     C:/Users/!!!!USER NAME!!!!/AppData/Local/Google/Chrome/User Data. There is a Folder called “Default” inside:

    Rename the Folder to Backup Default

    Rename it to Backup Default. Restart Chrome.

    Step6

    Type Regedit in the windows search field and press Enter.

    Inside, press CTRL and F together and type the threat’s Name. Right click and delete any entries you find with a similar name. If they don’t show up this way, go manually to these directories and delete/uninstall them:

    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER—-Software—–Random Directory. It could be any one of them – ask us if you can’t discern which ones are malicious.
      HKEY_CURRENT_USER—-Software—Microsoft—-Windows—CurrentVersion—Run– Random
      HKEY_CURRENT_USER—-Software—Microsoft—Internet Explorer—-Main—- Random

    If the guide doesn’t help, download the anti-virus program we recommended or try our free online virus scanner. Also, you can always ask us in the comments for help!


    About the author

    Violet George

    Violet is an active writer with a passion for all things cyber security. She enjoys helping victims of computer virus infections remove them and successfully deal with the aftermath of the attacks. But most importantly, Violet makes it her priority to spend time educating people on privacy issues and maintaining the safety of their computers. It is her firm belief that by spreading this information, she can empower web users to effectively protect their personal data and their devices from hackers and cybercriminals.

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