Remove Swiftviz.net “Virus” (March 2019 Update)

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This page aims to help you remove Swiftviz.net “Virus”. Our removal instructions work for Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer, as well as every version of Windows.

Adverts on your screen, random page-redirects happening once you try to use your browser, replaced search engine tool as well as starting page URL address and unauthorized modifications to your browser’s toolbar buttons are all typical symptoms of the presence of a browser hijacker application on your computer. Usually, such apps are similar to browser extensions and you can usually get them on any browser – Chrome, Edge, IE, Firefox and even Safari. They are not hazardous and dangerous like Trojans or Ransomware or other typical malware infections but they are still mostly regarded as potentially unwanted and fall under the category of PUPs/PUAs (potentially unwanted programs/applications). In this post, you will learn more about what their purpose actually is and what to expect from such an app on your system. We will focus on the so-called Swiftviz.net as this is a recently released piece of software that seems to belong to this software category due to its irritating and unpleasant features. A big number of disgruntled customers have recently been complaining about Swiftviz.net “Virus” and have been desperately seeking ways of removing it from their systems. This is where we should tell you that most hijackers are somewhat tricky to eliminate without the proper knowledge on how to do it. While not being actual malware threats, browser components like Swiftviz.net “Virus” are typically programmed to be difficult to remove from a given computer while still not crossing any legal thresholds. That being said, if you have previously encountered and dealt with similar software or if you have access to the proper instructions on how to remove such apps, you will be able to successfully and quickly uninstall them. For those of you with Swiftviz.net on their machines who are irritated by their ads and would like to get rid of the unpleasant app, you can follow the next removal steps in order to eliminate the pesky software.

Remove Swiftviz.net “Virus”

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

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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 Swiftviz.net 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 Swiftviz.net from Firefox:

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

Find the adware/malware —> Remove.
Remove Swiftviz.net 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

The purpose of Swiftviz.net

Normally, the whole idea behind browser hijackers apps is to earn revenue through aggressive (yet still mostly legal) online advertising campaigns. Through its ads, page-redirects and imposed browser modifications which are supposed to further push and facilitate the advertising agenda of the hijacker, apps like Swiftviz.net are able to generate substantial income for their developers. Now, there’s usually nothing harmful about such activity and having a hijacker on your machine will likely not expose it to any direct harm. However, there is oftentimes little or no control over the type and the quality of the advertisements that get streamed on your screen. Some of them may be legit yet others may actually be scams or fake offers and, in some instances, you may even find yourself on shady sites infested with Ransomware and Trojans should you click on some unreliable link or banner generated by Swiftviz.net. That is the reason we advise against keeping a hijacker on your computer and why we always try to remind our readers to stay away from low-quality software sources and questionable Internet content in general.

SUMMARY:

Name	Swiftviz.net
Type	Browser Hijacker
Danger Level	Medium (nowhere near threats like Ransomware, but still a security risk)
Symptoms	Any app that tries to mess with your browser and spam it with ads and page redirects can be regarded as a hijacker and the intrusive browser activities are its symptoms.
Distribution Method	Software bundles and installers of free programs in addition to sketchy spam messages and unreliable web ads.
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.

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!