Nexus.ensighten.com
Nexus.ensighten.com is a newly-discovered browser hijacker that targets the Windows versions of Firefox, Chrome, Opera, and other popular browsing programs. The goal of Nexus.ensighten.com is to reroute the user’s traffic to sites that it is trying to promote in order to generate Pay-Per-View revenue.
Naturally, nobody would be happy to have their browser tinkered with in such annoying ways, especially if all of the aforementioned activities occur without the user’s actual approval. This is, however, what is most likely to happen if Nexus.ensighten.com or any other similar hijacker like CaptchaModern manages to find its way into your browser. Of course, if you are currently struggling with the presence of Nexus.ensighten.com on your machine, you are likely to be interested in ways of handling this issue and here we can offer you exactly that.
Just have a look at the removal guide below and follow the steps in it and you should be able to quickly and effectively uninstall the pesky software component from your browser. Note that we have also added a suggested security software tool to our guide which you could also employ in the removal of the hijacker. Last but not least, do not forget that you can always contact us via the comment section in case you need any further assistance or if you have any questions related to this browser hijacker.
One other thing to point out is that we advise you to finish the rest of this article as a way to get better acquainted with the specifics of the hijacker as this is also really important if you want to keep such apps away from your PC in the future.
The Nexus.ensighten.com malware
Despite the fact that many hijackers like the Nexus.ensighten.com malware might initially appear like scary virus threats the likes of ransomware, Trojans and other similar forms of malware, the truth is that the majority of hijackers are actually quite harmless on their own. Their primary goal of the Nexus.ensighten.com malware is to advertise things on the user’s screen through the many banners, pop-ups, page redirects and imposed browser modifications they tend to introduce to the user’s browsing programs.
However, aside from the aggressive and thus unpleasant advertising, there’s hardly anything else to be concerned about if you have a hijacker on your PC. That said, it’s still crucial that you keep your distance from the various advertising materials streamed to your screen while the hijacker is inside your browser. Not all online ads you see can be verified as safe and it is well known that a lot of cyber criminals tend to use different fake web offers, misleading banners and sketchy pop-ups to spread virus programs like Trojan horses, spyware, rootkits and ransomware. It’s perfectly possible that some of the ads a hijacker might generate on your screen could have unreliable origins so it’s simply better if you avoid any interaction with the adverts until the unwanted software piece is removed and uninstalled from your machine.
How you might get a hijacker on your computer
There are many ways in which you could unknowingly land such an app on your machine, especially if you aren’t careful with your online activities. Anything from clicking on some unreliable advert coming from some shady site to opening a spam e-mail attachment or downloading a pirated program could land you a hijacker like Nexus.ensighten.com. One particularly effective method for distributing these invasive applications is when they are bundled with other pieces of software thus forming an installation package. That is why it is really important that you always make sure that you are well acquainted with the details of a given installer and also that you uncheck any boxes and optional clauses from the setup menu that might allow something to get installed on your PC that you do not really want.
SUMMARY:
Name | Nexus.ensighten.com |
Type | Adware/Browser Hijacker |
Danger Level | Medium (nowhere near threats like Ransomware, but still a security risk) |
Symptoms | Irritating ads and unpleasant changes to your browser are the usual indicators or a hijacker “infections”. |
Distribution Method | Some of the usual methods used for distributing this type of software are malvertising, spam messaging and bundling the hijacker with other programs. |
Detection Tool |
Remove Nexus.ensighten.com Malware
To try and remove Nexus.ensighten.com 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 Nexus.ensighten.com extension (as well as any other unfamiliar ones).
- Remove Nexus.ensighten.com by clicking on the Trash Bin icon next to its name.
- Confirm and get rid of Nexus.ensighten.com and any other suspicious items.
If this does not work as described please follow our more detailed Nexus.ensighten.com 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 Nexus.ensighten.com 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 Nexus.ensighten.com from Firefox:
Open Firefox, click ——-> Add-ons —-> Extensions.
Remove Nexus.ensighten.com 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!
Leave a Comment