*Source of claim SH can remove it.
MinePass
MinePass is an ad-generating piece of software that endlessly spams the users’s screens with obstructive pop-ups and banners until it gets completely uninstalled. MinePass belongs to the Adware category and it is strongly advisable to remove it before it links you to some unsafe site.
Pretty much every PC user comes to experience some kind of browsing disruption at a certain point. In most cases, the disruption is caused by a stream of irritating adverts that flood the screen and hinder the customer’s regular online experience. In most cases, the online ads you might come across would actually be coming from some website that heavily uses the generation of advertising materials as means of profiting its developers and owners. In most cases, you are advised to keep away from such websites as they could potentially expose you to hazardous contents.
However, in some instances, it might not be any particular site that’s causing the ads irritation but rather a special piece of software that has attached itself to your browser (Chrome, Opera, IE, Firefox and so on) and is currently spamming it with nagging banners, page-redirects, box messages, pop-ups and other similar kinds of obstructive and invasive advertising materials that try their hardest to make you click on them. Of course, it is advisable that you do not do that as the ads might be fake and misleading and might land you on questionable and sketchy web-pages that you aren’t supposed to visit if you want to keep your PC safe. Anyway, the main cause for such ads when they aren’t coming from any of the sites you are visiting at the moment is a form of software known as adware. As the name suggests, this type of software apps are mainly used for advertising purposes so if you have one such application on your computer and browser, then it is understandable if the browser is constantly getting filled to the brim with obnoxious and unpleasant advertisements and flashy commercials. In some cases, the advertising messages coming from a piece of adware would be more subtle and might tell you that your PC needs to have some kind of software installed because there are issues that need to get fixed and only that specific software piece could fix them. Naturally, this is nothing but a ruse and you shouldn’t fall for any such online message requests.
Just like a lot of adware apps out there, MinePass and Brainy Choose Captcha absolutely has the ability to get on your nerves and ruin your day or maybe even your week by simply placing nagging ads on your screen and preventing you from effectively using your browsing be it in your work or during your free time. Note, however, that the ads are only that – ads. And an adware program is not a virus, it is not some sneaky and highly-harmful cyber infection. Unlike Ransomware threats, Trojan Horse viruses, Rootkits and other similar forms of malware, adware apps tend to be rather harmless since they don’t really seek to mess with your PC’s system. Sure, they might sometimes make some minor changes to your Internet settings in order to make their advertising campaigns more effective but their purpose is mainly related to the generation of ads meaning that your machine would usually remain unharmed by their presence on it. That said, it’s never a good sign if you see a lot of ads inside your browser every time you start a new online session. A lot of these adverts might be deceitful and might try to mislead you with regards to the true nature of the offer that they present you with. You surely wouldn’t want to click on some advert generated by MinePass only to end up visiting some questionable and maybe even hazardous site which could eventually lead to the infection of your PC with some nasty piece of Ransomware or with a noxious Trojan Horse. Therefore, removing MinePass is, understandably, the best option if you want to clean your PC and put an end to the stream of adverts.
Adware apps do no infect you…
In fact, it’s usually the users themselves that make it so that software components like MinePass could get installed on their PCs and reach their browsers. For instance, opening the attachment of some obscure spam e-mail or clicking on some seemingly too-good-to-be-true online offer always hides the risk of getting some unwanted piece of software installed on your machine. The same can also be said for when a user ignores the custom settings in a given setup installer and rushes through the different stages of the installation manager instead of checking the Advanced setup options for added (and potentially unwanted) apps that have been bundled with the main program. All in all, the best way to keep away from adware apps like MinePass in the future is to use your common sense and to always be watchful and vigilant both when surfing the Internet and when downloading and installing new software on your computer.
SUMMARY:
Name | MinePass |
Type | Adware |
Danger Level | Medium (nowhere near threats like Ransomware, but still a security risk) |
Symptoms | Adware apps normally tend to spam the user’s browser with obnoxious adverts which makes it rather easy to spot their presence. |
Distribution Method | Anything from spam messaging and malvertising campaigns to low-quality downloads and file-bundles can be used as a distribution method. |
Detection Tool |
*Source of claim SH can remove it.
Remove MinePass Virus
To try and remove MinePass 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 MinePass extension (as well as any other unfamiliar ones).
- Remove MinePass by clicking on the Trash Bin icon next to its name.
- Confirm and get rid of MinePass and any other suspicious items.
If this does not work as described please follow our more detailed MinePass 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!
*Source of claim SH can remove it.
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.
*Source of claim SH can remove it.
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 MinePass 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 MinePass from Firefox:
Open Firefox, click ——-> Add-ons —-> Extensions.
Remove MinePass 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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