Topadvastudio Virus

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*Source of claim SH can remove it.

Topadvastudio

Topadvastudio is a browser-redirecting app that installs in the browser through file-bundles and hijacks important elements such as the starting page or the search engine. Topadvastudio will constantly try to reroute your browsing traffic to different sites, some of which may be unsafe.

Topadvastudio

If you have noticed that this potentially unwanted app has recently found its way into your browser (Chrome, Firefox, or any other), then you are probably eager to have it uninstalled ASAP in order to stop its constant page-redirects and to return your browser to its normal state. We will help you with the removal process but before we get to that, we must tell you several important things about the software you are currently dealing with.

The Topadvastudio virus

The Topadvastudio virus is a domain used by a malicious payload to spy on Google/Bing/Yahoo search results and modify them. It has the ability to redirect arbitrary search results through Servproc.de.

SUMMARY:

NameTopadvastudio
Type Browser Hijacker
Danger LevelMedium (nowhere near threats like Ransomware, but still a security risk)
Symptoms Different symptoms such as changes in your browser’s search engine and toolbar as well as the sudden redirection of your traffic to unknown sites can be noticed when there’s a hijacker in the system.
Distribution MethodHijacker developers typically rely on spam and file-bundles to get their hijackers installed onto more computers.
Detection Tool

*Source of claim SH can remove it.

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

How to remove Topadvastudio

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

How to Delete Topadvastudio

  1. Open task manager
  2. Look for the Topadvastudio process
  3. Select it and click on End task
  4. Open the file location to delete Topadvastudio
  • 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 “Topadvastudio” 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
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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 Topadvastudio

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

    Is Topadvastudio a virus?

    For starters, we need to address one of the most common questions that users have when they get such an app added to their browsers. So, is Topadvastudio a virus (or any other type of malware that can damage your system and compromise your virtual privacy)? Well, technically, apps like Topadvastudio cannot be defined as viruses – they are usually deprived of any harmful abilities and their purpose is different from the typical goal of a malicious program such as a Ransomware cryptovirus, a Spyware program, or a Trojan Horse. Besides, many apps that can be regarded as browser hijackers are actually legitimate and even have official sites from where one could download them.
    All of this said, however, we believe that you should still not trust Topadvastudio or other similar apps like Cool Captcha Now nor should you allow them to reside in your browser. The reason we say this is linked to the content typically advertised by applications of the browser hijacker category. The main goal of the people behind such apps is to maximize the advertising profit that is generated by their apps. To do this, they tend to allow all kinds of ads into the advertising stream of the hijackers. However, this means that some of the site-redirects and the different types of pop-ups and ads spammed by browser hijackers could be directly linked to questionable and outright unsafe websites. In the worst case scenarios, you may even get redirected to disguised hacker and/or scammer pages that may trick you into downloading Trojans, Spyware, and other threats onto your computer. If you are not careful, you may even get all of your data encrypted by a stealthy Ransomware threat.


    How to protect your computer?


    Obviously, the first step is to uninstall Topadvastudio. We have covered this in our guide that you will find below and that you can use for free. However, after you’ve removed the hijacker, it is still important to make sure that another similar app doesn’t get added to your browser in the future. Since most apps like Topadvastudio are distributed as components added to low quality apps, it is essential that you download new software in the future only from sources that are verified as being reliable and safe. Do not download apps and programs from sketchy or pirate sits or you could easily end up with another hijacker on your computer in no time.


    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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