Status Speak
Status Speak is a browser-infecting malware that “steals” the settings of the browsers that it gets attached to and causes uncontrolled ad-generation inside. As soon as the Status Speak malware gets added to the browser, it will change some of the settings of the latter without asking for permission.
The goal of this malware app is simple – it is designed as an advertising tool that is supposed to constantly flood the affected browser with different forms of promotional content that, when clicked upon or visited by the user, would earn small amounts of income for the people who own Status Speak.
StatusSpeak
When you first encounter StatusSpeak, it may seem like your computer has been attacked by a dangerous virus that can harm your machine in different ways but the truth is that StatusSpeak is not particularly harmful on its own.
The search engine, toolbar, and homepage changes in your Chrome, Firefox, or Edge browser may seem unnerving and make you think that you have been attacked by a malicious Trojan that can download additional viruses, such as Ransomware or Spyware, into your system but, in reality, the only reason why this hijacker is messing with your browser’s settings is to make it more predisposed to the ad-generation that is to follow soon after. Of course, the fact that Gitcdn xyz won’t damage your computer directly doesn’t mean that it should be allowed to stay in it or that it is a perfectly safe application. However, there’s no need to panic at the sight of the changes and the ads in your browser as we can help you quickly get rid of them by uninstalling the software that’s causing them.
SUMMARY:
| Name | Status Speak |
| Type | Browser Hijacker |
| Detection Tool | Some threats reinstall themselves if you don't delete their core files. We recommend downloading SpyHunter to remove harmful programs for you. This may save you hours and ensure you don't harm your system by deleting the wrong files. |
Please follow all the steps below in order to remove Status Speak!
How to remove Status Speak
- First, click the Start Menu on your Windows PC.
- Type Programs and Settings in the Start Menu, click the first item, and find Status Speak in the programs list that would show up.
- Select Status Speak from the list and click on Uninstall.
- Follow the steps in the removal wizard.
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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 Status Speak.
- If you find any of the programs suspicious then uninstall them if they turn out to be linked to Status Speak.
- 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 Status Speak from Chrome
- Click on the three dots in the right upper corner
- Go to more tools
- Now select extensions
- Remove the Status Speak extension
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- 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 Status Speak 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 Status Speak on FF/Edge/etc.
- Open the browser and select the menu icon.
- From the menu, click on the Add-ons button.
- Look for the Status Speak extension
- Get rid of Status Speak by removing it from extensions
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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 “Status Speak” or another unwanted app, change it to an address that you’d want to be the browser’s new-tab page.
How to Delete Status Speak
- Open task manager
- Look for the Status Speak process
- Select it and click on End task
- Open the file location to delete Status Speak
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- 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 “Status Speak” 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 accuracyThis 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.Drag and Drop File Here To ScanAnalyzing 0 sEach file will be scanned with up to 64 antivirus programs to ensure maximum accuracyThis scanner is based on VirusTotal's API. By submitting data to it, you agree to their Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, and to the sharing of your sample submission with the security community. Please do not submit files with personal information if you do not want them to be shared.
- 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 Status Speak
- Click on the home button
- Search for Startup Apps
- Look for Status Speak in there
- Uninstall Status Speak from Startup Apps by turning it off
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- Now you need to carefully search for and uninstall any Status Speak-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 Status Speak 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
What is Status Speak?
The main security problem associated with the Status Speak and Expo Captcha virus stems from the fact that its ads could link to all kinds of sites and pages, not all of which could be deemed safe. It is a general rule of thumb to not interact with questionable and suspicious promotional content on the Internet and this rule applies with full force to anything that the Status Speak malware may put on your screen while you are using your browser.
If you are not careful and click on stuff that Status Speak promotes, you may eventually find yourself on misleading, unsafe, and hazardous sites that could trick you into downloading more unwanted software or even harmful malware that could threaten the safety of your system or data. For example, if you end up on the wrong site after clicking on a given advert, you may be persuaded into downloading a disguised Trojan Horse virus which, in turn, could fill your system with additional threats, including file-encrypting Ransomware threats, Spyware, Rootkits, and more.
What can I do to remove the Status Speak virus?
This question has been answered in detail within the following removal guide where you will also find a specialized tool that can further assist you with the process of eliminating the undesirable app. Just make sure to complete the instructions sooner rather than later to ensure that your computer and browser stay safe and secure.
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