Ads By Counterflix “Virus” Removal Guide (October 2018 Update)

This page aims to help you remove ads by Counterflix. These Counterflix removal instructions work for Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer, as well as every version of Windows.

Having problems with pop-up ads appearing in your Chrome or Firefox browser and being generated by Counterflix? There is a specific category of online advertising tools, which are specially developed to display different types of promotional messages. They come in the forms of banners, pop-ups, links, boxes, blinking messages, notifications, and web pages and appear on the users’ screen every time they open their browser. This category is known as adware. If you are experiencing a flow of undesired and intrusive ads as the ones described above, then most probably you are having an adware application that is operating on your system. In this article, we are going to explain the specifics of one particular program of this type, which is the probable source of your disturbance. The program is called Counterflix and in this guide, you are going to learn how to effectively remove it, in case you wish to save yourself from the ads. A few more words about how exactly it operates would give you a better understanding, so we suggest you read the description before you proceed to the removal instructions.

Software + advertisement = Adware

The idea of creating a special piece of software that can display different advertisements originates from the online marketing industry. Recently, online advertising has turned so big, that it needs some special tools to display its numerous ads. That’s why the advertisers and the software developers have shaken their hands and have created adware. This is an application that is specially developed to display ads whenever users open their browser. Even though the end users may not be really happy by the rather aggressive than helpful nature of the ads-generating software, there is a deal for both the advertisers and the developers. The marketers get good exposure of their ads, while the developers earn from the clicks on the ads through a method called Pay-Per-Click. The goal is simple – to display as many ads as possible and get as many clicks as possible.

To do that, the developers often distribute adware with their software installation packages and bundle it with free applications. Sometimes, spam emails may contain invitations for testing new software or trying free apps, which are “sponsored” through adware that gets along with them. A torrent, open source platforms, direct downloads and download managers may also include such ads-generating applications inside their package. However, while there is nothing wrong with this practice of program bundles, users may not really be aware when they are installing adware. This happens when they run the installation package of the program they want and quickly proceed with the standard installation process instead of checking the advanced options in the bundle. Usually, this is where they can find the adware and manually deselect it from the installation in case they don’t want it to get installed on their system.

Counterflix “Virus”?

Many people would wrongly refer to Counterflix as a virus. When in fact Counterflix is not a virus, legally speaking. Apart from flooding you with annoying ads, Counterflix may perform a few additional activities, which users may find disturbing. While on your system, Counterflix may keep a record of the websites you visit, how often you visit them, what you search for on the web, when you log in to your social accounts, what content you like there, what you share, your browsing history and bookmarks, etc. This information, known as traffic data, is usually collected and transmitted to the developers, who may analyze it and build your personal profile based on that. This way, they may optimize the ads that you see according to your interests and latest searches to improve the chances of you clicking on them or sell this data to other marketers as valuable marketing information. This practice of tracking the user’s Internet surfing habits may be considered as an invasion of their privacy, especially if this data lands in the hands of unknown third parties.

Another activity that causes serious irritation is when banners, pop-ups, boxes and pages start to appear in dozens and closing them becomes an impossible task. Closing one ad may lead to opening a few others and these series may continue until the screen freezes or the computer bugs. In such a huge flow of ads, it is not excluded that you may click on a misleading link or a message that could expose you to some online risks like different types of viruses, Trojans or even Ransomware. Although these risks really exist, it doesn’t mean that Counterflix is a malicious application or a virus. In general, adware is not capable of harming your system and won’t be detected by any antivirus as a threat, because it does not contain malicious scripts. Unlike Ransomware or Trojans, Counterflix is considered a harmless application, which at its best could only bring you some browsing-related disturbance. If you don’t want to tolerate it, however, the removal guide will help you deal with this program in no time. Just make sure you follow the instructions closely and let us know in case you need any help.

SUMMARY:

Name	Counterflix
Type	Adware
Danger Level	Medium (nowhere near threats like Ransomware, but still a security risk)
Symptoms	A huge number of pop-ups, links, boxes, blinking messages, notifications, and web pages appear on the users’ screen every time they open their browser.
Distribution Method	Usually found in software bundles, torrents, open source download websites, email spam messages and links.
Detection Tool	parasite may reinstall itself multiple times if you don't delete its core files. We recommend downloading SpyHunter to scan for malicious programs. This may save you hours and cut down your time to about 15 minutes. Download SpyHunter Anti-Malware More information on SpyHunter, steps to uninstall, EULA, Threat Assessment Criteria, and Privacy Policy. If SpyHunter detects a malware, you will have to purchase a license to remove it.

Keep in mind, SpyHunter’s malware detection tool is free. To remove the infection, you’ll need to purchase the full version.
More information about SpyHunter and steps to uninstall.

Counterflix “Virus” Removal

If you are a Windows user, continue with the guide below.

If you are a Mac user, please use our How to remove Ads on Mac guide.

If you are an Android user, please use our Android Malware Removal guide.

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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:

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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.

1. Right-click on the Network Adapter you are using —> Properties —> Internet Protocol Version 4 (ICP/IP), click  Properties.
2. The DNS line should be set to Obtain DNS server automatically. If it is not, set it yourself.
3. 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 Counterflix “Virus” 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 Counterflix “Virus” from Firefox:

Open Firefox, click    ——-> Add-ons —-> Extensions.

Find the adware/malware —> Remove.
Remove Counterflix “Virus” 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!