Porptogred Virus

Browser Hijacker
by Violet George
February 2, 2023
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Porptogred

Porptogred is a browser hijacker, meaning it can infiltrate you Chrome, Opera, Firefox or any other browser on your PC and then flood it with ads and page redirects. Porptogred can also tinker with the browser’s search engine, homepage and toolbar settings.

Porptogred 1024x540

All of this is, of course, something that most users would not enjoy since the nagging ads and page redirects can make it rather difficult to normally surf the Internet and could also lead to the exposure of the computer to a variety of software threats (such as spyware, ransomware, Trojan horses, worms, etc.). Also, the changes to the browser’s starting page, search engine and toolbar could be quite unpleasant as well, especially considering the fact that a hijacker would normally impose them without asking for a permission from the user.

So, what can one do when faced with such an app on their computer? Well, although removing a software component like Porptogred from your PC and browser wouldn’t be as easy as uninstalling some regular browser add-on or program, it’s still not that difficult and in the guide down below, we will reveal to you how you can quickly and easily take away the nagging Porptogred so as to return your browser and Internet settings to their previous state. The guide that we have prepared for you on this page includes a list of detailed steps with screenshots added for your convenience. Follow the steps and execute them exactly as described in order to fully get rid of the nagging Porptogred.

Note that if you do not think you can complete the manual guide on your own or if for some reason the steps do not work in your case, you can also use the professional removal tool that’s also available in the guide. It can detect all Porptogred-related data on your PC and help you get rid of it.

SUMMARY:

NamePorptogred
Type Browser Hijacker
Danger LevelMedium (nowhere near threats like Ransomware, but still a security risk)
Symptoms Hijackers are known for their irritating behavior with the ads they generate and the changes they make to the browser so it’s rather difficult not to notice the presence of such an app.
Distribution MethodMostly with the help of installation bundles and spam message campaigns. Misleading online offers are also commonly used for hijacker distribution.
Detection Tool

anti-malware offerOFFER Read more details in the first ad on this page, EULA, Privacy Policy, and full terms for Free Remover.

*Source of claim SH can remove it.

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

How to remove Porptogred

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

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

How to Delete Porptogred

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

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

    But why is it so necessary to remove the Porptogred virus?


    Aside from the more obvious reason – the irritation coming from the ads, the page-redirects and the unauthorized browser changes, there’s actually another and arguably more important reason why you might want (and should) eliminate Porptogred and any other browser hijacker that might currently be residing on your computer. What we are referring to is the possibility that an app like Porptogred, Total Recaptcha or Link2captcha might, through its ads, land you on some obscure and sketchy online locations that might be infested with harmful and hazardous software. Of course, this doesn’t mean each and every hijacker advert and redirect would be a link to some malicious and illegal website. Still, the possibility of such a thing happening is quite real and shouldn’t be underestimated which is why we strongly advise you to take immediate action towards getting rid of the undesirable hijacker in order to make your PC clean and secure once again. If you should face any difficulties with completing the guide, know that you can always tell us what the issue is through the comments section down below – we will make sure to answer your request!


    What kind of distribution methods are used by browser hijacker developers?


    We can list a lot of possible ways an app like Porptogred could get onto your PC – through spam messages, via misleading online download requests, with the help of pirated or low-quality software products and so on and so forth. Another very popular and commonly-employed technique that some hijacker creators use to further distribute their products is through the file-bundling technique. This is when given app (in this case, Porptogred) is added to another program’s installation setup under the guise of a bonus element. Of course, one can choose to leave out that bundled bonus app out of the installation but most users do not do that and instead simply install everything from a given installer. We advise you to not do that and instead always use the Advanced or the Custom setup menus so as to be able to choose what to leave out of the installation in case there are any added elements that might be undesirable.


    About the author

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    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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