The Positive Impact Now Virus

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*Source of claim SH can remove it.

The Positive Impact Now

The Positive Impact Now is an unwanted site-promoting app of the browser-hijacker category that modifies the browser and causes it to automatically page-redirect the user. The presence of The Positive Impact Now in the computer could potentially result in the exposure of the system to security threats due to the uncontrolled generation of page-redirects.

Thepositiveimpactnow

If you are experiencing issues with your browser where the browser has started to flood your screen with obnoxious and highly invasive advertisements, page-redirects, banners and other irritating content, then you should consider the possibility of having a browser hijacker inside of it. Browser hijackers are pieces of software that usually resemble extensions for different browsers – Chrome, Edge, Firefox, sometimes even Safari. The idea is that once the hijacker gets installed on the computer and added to its default browser, it would make changes to the browsing program effectively turning it into an ad-broadcasting platform. Changes may be imposed on the search engine of the browser, to its starting page address and the address of its new-tab page as well as to the toolbar. Again, the idea behind all the potential modifications is to make the stream of ads more consistent and effective. Needless to say, all of this is done for money – after all, the online advertising industry is huge and the profits can get quite sizable as long as enough users get exposed to the ads.

ThePositiveImpactNow.com

One recently discovered app called ThePositiveImpactNow.com is yet another example of a hijacker that tries to make money off the backs of the regular users. The ThePositiveImpactNow.com virus is also likely the reason why the majority of this article’s visitors are actually here.

If you have come to the current page because The Positive Impact Now has managed to nest itself inside your browser and is now constantly bothering you with its ads, know that we may be able to help you with this issue. Anybody who has issues with The Positive Impact Now can use the following removal guide that will show you what the necessary steps for the uninstallation of the invasive software piece are. Also, remember that there is a reliable removal tool for different types of unwanted software included in the guide that can also come in handy in your situation.

Remember not to touch any of the ads!

This may sound a bit excessive, after all, these are just online ads and actually some of them may be interesting to you, but you need to understand that not everything may be as it seems. This also applies to the ads that The Positive Impact Now or Head Captcha Live is probably going to try to spam you with. Not all of them can be trusted and some may actually be hazardous and linked with all sorts of sketchy sites and pages. You probably know that scary malware infections such as Trojans, Viruses, Ransomware and Spyware oftentimes get distributed via misleading online prompts and requests. Well, what is to say that some of the ads shown to you by the hijacker aren’t going to land you on such web locations if you click on them. Understandably, it is better to not risk your computer’s safety by randomly clicking on questionable online content. This again brings us to the importance of eliminating the unwanted app – this will put an end to the ads and allow you to bring your browser’s settings back to normal.

SUMMARY:

NameThe Positive Impact Now
TypeBrowser Hijacker
Detection Tool

*Source of claim SH can remove it.

Remove The Positive Impact Now Pop up Virus

To try and remove The Positive Impact Now quickly you can try this:

  1. Go to your browser’s settings and select More Tools (or Add-ons, depending on your browser).
  2. Then click on the Extensions tab.
  3. Look for the The Positive Impact Now extension (as well as any other unfamiliar ones).
  4. Remove The Positive Impact Now by clicking on the Trash Bin icon next to its name.
  5. Confirm and get rid of The Positive Impact Now and any other suspicious items.

If this does not work as described please follow our more detailed The Positive Impact Now removal guide below.

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


Step1

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).

Step2

WARNING! READ CAREFULLY BEFORE PROCEEDING!

*Source of claim SH can remove it.

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. 

malware-start-taskbar

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. 

    Step3

    Hold together the Start Key and R. Type appwiz.cpl –> OK.

    appwiz

    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:

    msconfig_opt

    Startup —> Uncheck entries that have “Unknown” as Manufacturer or otherwise look suspicious.

    Step4

    *Source of claim SH can remove it.

    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:

    hosts_opt (1)

    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.
    DNS

    Step5
    • 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).

    browser-hijacker-taskbar-properties

    Properties —–> Shortcut. In Target, remove everything after .exe.

    Browser Hijacker Removal Instructions

    ie9-10_512x512  Remove The Positive Impact Now from Internet Explorer:

    Open IE, click  IE GEAR —–> Manage Add-ons.

    pic 3

    Find the threat —> Disable. Go to IE GEAR —–> Internet Options —> change the URL to whatever you use (if hijacked) —> Apply.

    firefox-512 Remove The Positive Impact Now from Firefox:

    Open Firefoxclick  mozilla menu  ——-> Add-ons —-> Extensions.

    pic 6


    chrome-logo-transparent-backgroundRemove The Positive Impact Now from Chrome:

    Close Chrome. Navigate to:

     C:/Users/!!!!USER NAME!!!!/AppData/Local/Google/Chrome/User Data. There is a Folder called “Default” inside:

    Rename the Folder to Backup Default

    Rename it to Backup Default. Restart Chrome.

    Step6

    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!


    About the author

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    Brandon Skies

    Brandon is a researcher and content creator in the fields of cyber-security and virtual privacy. Years of experience enable him to provide readers with important information and adequate solutions for the latest software and malware problems.

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