Hostingcloud.racing
Hostingcloud.racing is a type of browser hijacker that targets most popular web browsing programs. Once installed on your PC, Hostingcloud.racing will integrate with your browser and manipulate its settings.
Normally, the first thing that affected users notice are the changes made to the browser’s homepage and/or its default search engine. In addition, some also report seeing a new toolbar added to the browser, and occasionally there are other elements added as well. But what by far all browser hijackers share, and Hostingcloud.racing makes no exception, are the endless popups, banners, links and various other online ads that are generated on every website you visit during your browsing sessions.
In addition, your affected Chrome, Firefox, Edge or other browser will most likely start triggering page redirects at random points during your browsing sessions as well. Hence, you may have already found yourself landing on different sponsored web location without ever having any intention of doing so.
If all of this sounds familiar and it’s very close to driving you insane – you’ve come to the right place. The only way to make all of this disappear is by removing Hostingcloud.racing from your system. And below we have put together a detailed removal guide to show you exactly how you can do so. Browser hijackers like this often don’t come with a designated uninstallation option, which makes it difficult for users to figure out how to get rid of the annoying software on their own.
What you should know about Hostingcloud.racing
Browser hijackers typically serve the interests of their developers – and they stop at that. Meaning, all they really do is line the pockets of their creators by means of displaying paid ads on the screens of the infected computers. And since there’s little in it for the end user, most experts tend to categorize software like Hostingcloud.racing as potentially unwanted programs or PUPs.
This goes to say that browser hijackers can’t be considered malicious either. There’s a common albeit mistaken belief floating around that hijackers are some form of virus programs, but they really aren’t.
Nevertheless, one of the reasons why their removal is actually recommended is that they might expose you to actual viruses and malware. The developers of pieces such as Hostingcloud.racing and Lookaside.fbsbx.com rarely concern themselves with the quality of the content and websites they are paid to promote. And therefore, it’s very possible that amidst all the page redirects and popups that you’re subjected to, you may come across some contaminated ad or a website that distributes Trojans, ransomware and other dangerous and malicious code.
With this in mind, we also like to recommend refraining from any interaction with the displayed ads on your screen. There’s no telling which of them might be genuine and which could end up costing you dearly. Instead, it’s best to uninstall Hostingcloud.racing as soon as possible and save yourself the risk of landing a much more serious infection. In addition, it would be wise to take the necessary measures to avoid installing browser hijackers in the future as well.
SUMMARY:
| Name | Hostingcloud.racing |
| Type | Adware/Browser Hijacker |
| Danger Level | Medium (nowhere near threats like Ransomware, but still a security risk) |
| Symptoms | Usually accompanied by vast number of online ads such as popups, banners, box messages, in-text links and others. |
| Distribution Method | Program bundles obtainable from dubious download sources such as file-sharing platforms, torrent sites and similar. |
| Detection Tool |
Remove Hostingcloud.racing Virus
To try and remove Hostingcloud.racing 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 Hostingcloud.racing extension (as well as any other unfamiliar ones).
- Remove Hostingcloud.racing by clicking on the Thrash Bin icon next to its name.
- Confirm and get rid of Hostingcloud.racing and any other suspicious items.
If this does not work as described please follow our more detailed Hostingcloud.racing 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 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).
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.
Right click on each of them and select Open File Location. Then scan the files with our free online virus scanner:
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.
Hold together the Start Key and R. Type appwiz.cpl –> OK.
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:
Startup —> Uncheck entries that have “Unknown” as Manufacturer or otherwise look suspicious.
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:
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.
- Right-click on the Network Adapter you are using —> Properties —> Internet Protocol Version 4 (ICP/IP), click Properties.
- The DNS line should be set to Obtain DNS server automatically. If it is not, set it yourself.
- Click on Advanced —> the DNS tab. Remove everything here (if there is something) —> OK.
- 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).
Properties —–> Shortcut. In Target, remove everything after .exe.
Remove Hostingcloud.racing from Internet Explorer:
Open IE, click 
—–> Manage Add-ons.
Find the threat —> Disable. Go to —–> Internet Options —> change the URL to whatever you use (if hijacked) —> Apply.
Remove Hostingcloud.racing from Firefox:
Open Firefox, click 
——-> Add-ons —-> Extensions.
Remove Hostingcloud.racing from Chrome:
Close Chrome. Navigate to:
C:/Users/!!!!USER NAME!!!!/AppData/Local/Google/Chrome/User Data. There is a Folder called “Default” inside:
Rename it to Backup Default. Restart Chrome.
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!
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