Gokoayz Scam

Browser Hijacker
by Lidia Howler
April 3, 2023

Gokoayz

Gokoayz is a potentially unwanted program that alters the settings of a web browser without user approval. Usually, Gokoayz modifies the default search engine or the homepage and introduces some unwanted browser tools that redirect users’ searches to sites full of commercials.

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The Gokoayz.online Scam website

Gokoayz online

Our article is aimed at clarifying some things about one of the latest browser hijackers called Gokoayz. If you have been affected by Gokoayz, stick around, as the information provided here will help you deal with it.

The Gokoayz online scam

Browser hijackers such as the Gokoayz online scam are generally categorized as potentially unwanted programs due to their aggressive ad-generating and page-redirecting behavior. Yet, they are not viruses or malware and when compared to a Trojan Horse or a Ransomware, for instance, it becomes apparent that the browser hijackers like the Gokoayz online scam are pretty harmless since they are not able to perform any malicious processes on your machine.

In the world of online shopping, it’s important to be vigilant and avoid scam websites like Gokoayz Online, Mirouz, Pioneer Flame Mini Trike located at gokoayz.online. This fraudulent store is posing as a legitimate seller of goods, but it’s nothing more than a fake and deceptive website.

Online shoppers who make purchases from Gokoayz are putting themselves at risk of receiving counterfeit goods or not receiving anything at all. This is why it’s crucial for consumers to do their research and only shop with reputable retailers.

If you’ve already made a purchase from Gokoayz and suspect that you’ve been scammed, it’s important to act quickly. Contacting your bank or financial institution to cancel any transactions and request a refund is a crucial first step in recovering any lost funds.

It’s also important to report fraudulent websites like Gokoayz to the appropriate authorities. By doing so, you can help to prevent others from falling victim to the same scam.

In conclusion, the rise of online shopping has made it easier for consumers to shop from the comfort of their own homes. However, it’s important to be aware of the potential risks involved, and to only shop with reputable retailers. If you do encounter a fraudulent website like Gokoayz, don’t hesitate to take action to protect yourself and others.

SUMMARY:

NameGokoayz
TypeBrowser Hijacker
Danger LevelMedium (nowhere near threats like Ransomware, but still a security risk)
Detection Tool

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

How to remove Gokoayz Scam

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

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

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

How to Delete Gokoayz

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

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

    What is a Browser hijacker?

    The browser hijackers are some of the web’s most annoying types of software. Getting one installed in your system will mess with your browser in no time as the uninvited program may star to change its settings. Whether you’re using Chrome, Firefox, or another browser, you may notice a new homepage and a new default search engine that will start page-redirecting your searches to specific ad-supported sites. You may also experience a flow of aggressive pop-up ads, banners, and box messages on literally every webpage you visit. And what makes matters worse is the fact that no matter what you do, it will usually be be impossible to remove those ads or uninstall the imposed search engine or homepage changes as long as Gokoayz is on your computer.


    The purpose of browser hijackers

    These programs are responsible for the generation of hundreds of pop-ups, banners, plain text hyperlinks, box messages, and other intrusive ads that keep your browser’s screen busy. Their goal is to make you click on the displayed ads, as this is how their developers make money. Thanks to a common online advertising scheme known as PPC or Pay Per Click, every pop-up that gets clicked on translates into cents for the people behind programs like Gokoayz, which explains why the ads don’t won’t go away from the screen unless you click on them. Sometimes, in their attempts to land more of your clicks, the commercials may stretch to cover half of the screen, or just place themselves over the navigation button on a page so that you have no way to avoid them.


    How to protect from browser hijackers

    While this practice won’t damage your computer or compromise your data and software by itself, we need to point out that clicking on random adverts may hide some risks. We are mainly referring to the increased popularity of malvertisements as means of virus and malware distribution – the chances of clicking on one such malvertisement among the various commercials that can pop-up on your screen is increased due to the hijacker’s presence. Of course, we need to point out that it is unlikely for a program like Gokoayz to deliberately make you click on malicious ads. But we have to mention that fake ads may accidentally sneak inside the stream of regular ones and you may happen to click on them without knowing it. In the worst case, those ads may be configured to guide you to a malicious website loaded with Ransomware, Trojans, and other viruses that could immediately detect a weak spot in your system. That’s why, for your system’s safety, we recommend that you keep away from all the pop-ups and ads and use the removal guide below to permanently uninstall the software that generates them.


    About the author

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    Lidia Howler

    Lidia is a web content creator with years of experience in the cyber-security sector. She helps readers with articles on malware removal and online security. Her strive for simplicity and well-researched information provides users with easy-to-follow It-related tips and step-by-step tutorials.

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