Proud Browser
Proud Browser is a computer virus that can spy on you, steal sensitive data from your computer, and potentially result in Ransomware infections. Threats like Proud Browser are known as Trojan Horses and they are the most widespread form of malware at the moment.
The Proud Browser virus can be disguised as almost anything
Recently, a new Trojan Horse infection has been threatening the internet users. This new piece of malware goes under the name of Proud Browser and lurks in various internet places. The infection uses sneaky transmitters to contaminate as many computers as possible, but on this page, we will provide you with some tips on protection and prevention, as well as instructions on how to remove Proud Browser. The damage this Trojan can cause to your machine can unpredictable, so we recommend that you read the information that follows very carefully and take the necessary actions to eliminate the harmful scripts. What may Proud Browser do? Trojans, in general, may have many different malicious purposes. Sadly, these infections may not be noticeable on the system since they rarely show visible symptoms and try to run in the background without giving themselves away. Still, if you’ve already noticed some unusual activity, or you have a suspicion that Proud Browser may have compromised your computer, but you can’t detect it or have trouble removing it, we recommend that you remain with us to learn the techniques you can use to cope properly with this difficult virus. Moreover, you will discover a comprehensive removal guide below that can assist you a lot with this task, if correctly followed. There’s also a professional removal software that can handle Proud Browser effectively and clean your system without any risk. The quick and prompt removal can help you avoid any serious harm such as irreparable corruption of the system or even the introduction of a Ransomware cryptovirus into the computer.
Trojans are complicated pieces of malware.
The Trojan Horses are very powerful computer threats that the hackers use for different purposes. They are much more complicated than a basic virus and generally contain sophisticated code that can be programmed to accomplish various kinds of criminal activities. For example, an infection such as Proud Browser, Affairs Speedup or Walliant can quickly corrupt the system in such a manner that subsequent repair may not be possible. However, the malicious features of such an advanced computer infection are not limited to just that.
There can be many other types of criminal activities that could be done using a malicious piece of software like Proud Browser. For instance, the hackers who control the Trojan could use it to steal some personal information from your computer. They can get their hands on your online banking details and do a banking fraud in this way, or they can secretly monitor your keystrokes and access your online accounts by copying all of your passwords and login information. In some cases, the Trojan’s presence on the system may lead to the insertion of other viruses and malware such as Ransomware or Spyware. This is because an infection like Proud Browser may run in the background and may create system vulnerabilities in your PC’s security such as blocking your firewall or the existing security software.
Unfortunately, no noticeable symptoms can show the contamination. This is precisely what helps this type of malware to carry out its criminal duties for lengthy periods of time without being detected and removed
That’s why it’s really important to arm yourself with trusted antivirus software if you want to protect your computer adequately. Another important thing is you should not forget to update your virus and malware definitions to the latest ones and run periodic scans of the entire system for optimal security.
SUMMARY:
| Name | Proud Browser |
| Type | Trojan |
| Detection Tool |
How to Uninstall the Proud Browser Virus
A lot of people that get infected with Trojans don’t know where to start in order to remove these threats. Indeed, dealing with an infection like Proud Browser could be challenging, but below we have created a step-by-step removal guide that can hopefully ease the removal process. So, if you are looking for a way to remove Proud Browser, we suggest you start with searching for the malware (and other suspicious-looking programs) in your list of installed programs. For more details on how to do that, please check the quick instructions here:
- With the infected computer started, click on the Start menu button in the bottom left corner of your screen.
- Then, open Control Panel >>>> Programs and Features >>>> Uninstall a Program.
- In the new window, you should see a list of all programs that are presently installed on your computer.
- Carefully search for Proud Browser and other programs with random names that look suspicious.
- If you believe that a given program is dangerous, Uninstall it along with any other components that it might have installed on your computer.
- If during the uninstallation of the suspicious program, a pop-up window like the one below appears on your screen, make sure you select NO and continue with the removal process.
After you do that, the main part of the Trojan may be gone. However, to clean the computer completely, we highly recommend you to use the detailed steps in the guide below. They will help you find and remove any traces that Proud Browser might have left in different system locations such as the Registry, the Startup list, and a few more key locations.
Before you do anything else, we recommend you click on the Bookmark icon in your browser to save this page with Proud Browser removal instructions. In this way, you won’t have to search the removal instructions again after you restart the computer.
The next thing that you need to do is a system restart in Safe Mode (click the link for instructions on that). Safe Mode will run only the basic system processes and apps, eventually allowing you to easily spot any unusual processes and programs that may be messing with your computer.
WARNING! READ CAREFULLY BEFORE PROCEEDING!
Speaking about malicious processes, Trojan threats like Proud Browser can use a lot of tricks to hide theirs. Therefore, the first thing that you need to do after you restart the computer in Safe Mode is to open the Task Manager (press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC together) and check out what processes are running there.
To do that, go to the Processes Tab and carefully search for processes that have unusual name, use a lot of CPU or Memory, or simply look suspicious and cannot be related to any of the programs that you normally have on your computer.
If a specific process grabs your attention, here is a way to check it for malicious code:
Right-click on the questionable process and select the Open File Location option, just as shown on the image below:
This will open a folder with files that you need to scan. Drag and drop these files in our free online virus scanner and check them for danger:
After you see the results from the scan, end the process whose files are infected, and don’t forget to delete their folders.
Note: Feel free to use the scanner here to check the files of any process that you believe is dangerous.
Once that you have stopped any malicious processes from the Task Manager, it is time to check the Startup settings for any malicious Startup Items that Proud Browser might have added without your knowledge.
The easiest way to do that is to type msconfig in the Start menu search field and press enter from the keyboard. Next, click on the Startup tab:
If you see a Startup item that has “Unknown” as Manufacturer, has an odd name or, just looks suspicious, you should best research it online and disable it by removing its checkmark if you decide that it is related to the Trojan infection.
Another place where we suggest you to check for unauthorized changes is the Hosts file of your computer.
To open it, copy the line below in the Start menu search bar and press enter:
notepad %windir%/system32/Drivers/etc/hosts
When you see the Hosts file open, find Localhost in the text. A possible sign of hacking is the presence of dozens of strange-looking IP addresses under Localhost, just as in the example image below:
If you detect suspicious IPs below “Localhost” in your Hosts file, please leave us a comment with a copy of these IPs below this article. A member of our team will check them out and advise you on what to do.
Last, but not least, you need to check the system’s registry for malicious entries related to Proud Browser and if you find any, to carefully remove them.
To do that, type Regedit in the Start menu search field and press Enter.
When the Registry Editor opens, use the CTRL and F key combination to open a Find box. In it, write the name of the Trojan, which in your case is Proud Browser, and press the Find Next button. If any files and folders matching that name appear in the results, they most likely need to be deleted as they may be part of the infection.
If nothing appears in the search, use the left panel of the Registry Editor to manually navigate to these directories:
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER—-Software—–Random Directory.
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER—-Software—Microsoft—-Windows—CurrentVersion—Run– Random
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER—-Software—Microsoft—Internet Explorer—-Main—- Random
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