Prowimoniser

Browser Hijacker
by Violet George
April 11, 2023

Prowimoniser is a bothersome add-on that attaches itself to the primary browser (such as Firefox and Chrome) without user consent, converting it into an ad-displaying platform. File-bundling is the most common method employed to distribute Prowimoniser to more computers.

Prowimoniser
The Prowimoniser virus pop up

The Prowimoniser virus

The Prowimoniser virus is an ad-supported application whose primary function is to display pay-per-click ads and sponsored page redirects on your screen. At first glance, the application appears to be a regular browser add-on, promising to deliver free functionality. However, once installed in the system, this browser hijacker alters your main browser and imposes new search engine and/or homepage settings.

Consequently, Chrome, Firefox, Explorer, or any other browser you might be using may begin to inundate your screen with various pop-ups, banners, blinking boxes, ads, and page-redirect links like Wigglewurm or Just Cool Captcha . These sponsored promotional messages generated by the browser hijacker may interfere with your normal browsing experience. Fortunately, there is a way to swiftly remove the unwanted ads and uninstall the irritating software for good. The instructions below outline the steps needed to effectively uninstall the Prowimoniser virus.

What is Prowimoniser.com?

Prowimoniser.com is not a malware infection and it cannot infiltrate your system as stealthily as a Trojan or ransomware virus. However, various methods can help such an annoying piece of software become part of your system. Software bundling is one of the most common distribution methods for browser hijackers. This method enables the developers of apps like Prowimoniser.com to group and bundle different additional applications into a single installer and distribute them as one. Therefore, it is highly likely that Prowimoniser.com was downloaded and installed on your system alongside free third-party applications from unreliable websites, torrent platforms, shareware pages, spam messages, and ads.

Prowimoniser.com may also be attached to pirated software and application updates or spread via spam or junk email attachments. To keep your computer clean, always closely monitor the setup process of every new application you install and pay particular attention to any Advanced/Custom options that allow another application to modify your browser and system settings.

Prowimoniser.com virus

The Prowimoniser.com virus is not a malicious virus, Trojan, or ransomware-based infection. While it may exhibit aggressive behavior with its ads and page redirects, its primary purpose is not to harm your computer or files. Security experts categorize this software as a browser hijacker.

If you are seeking an effective method to remove the Prowimoniser.com virus from Chrome, Firefox, or another browser and uninstall the new homepage or search engine it has likely added, we are here to help. Our “How to remove” team has prepared a comprehensive removal guide to help you eliminate the troublesome app and a trusted removal tool for automatic assistance. Before scrolling down, let us explain exactly what you are dealing with.

SUMMARY:

NameProwimoniser
Type Browser Hijacker
Danger LevelMedium (nowhere near threats like Ransomware, but still a security risk)
SymptomsDifferent pop-ups, banners and automatic page redirects may disturb your web surfing. 
Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, torrents, free download links, ad-supported sites, spam, freeware. 
Detection Tool

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

How to remove Prowimoniser

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

How to Delete Prowimoniser

  1. Open task manager
  2. Look for the Prowimoniser process
  3. Select it and click on End task
  4. Open the file location to delete Prowimoniser
  • 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 “Prowimoniser” 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.
  • Each file will be scanned with up to 64 antivirus programs to ensure maximum accuracy
    This scanner is free and will always remain free for our website's users.
    This file is not matched with any known malware in the database. You can either do a full real-time scan of the file or skip it to upload a new file. Doing a full scan with 64 antivirus programs can take up to 3-4 minutes per file.
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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 Prowimoniser

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

    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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