Totalwownews
It is increasingly common to find some Browser Hijacker like Totalwownews or similar ad-generating component that appears without your permission in the main Internet browsers (Google Chrome, Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox) when we download a free program.

When you get this type of elements installed in your browser, they completely change the settings configuration you had and set a new default homepage and search engine that are associated with some sponsored third-party domains. Due to this, those type of elements are generally considered as potentially unwanted. If you are reading this text, the chances are you already have a Browser Hijacker in your computer, more precisely, one recently that can change the homepage to Totalwownews. This hijacker can also constantly display different ads, pop-ups, banners, and similar promotional materials that have nothing to do with the page you are currently visiting, and automatically page-redirect your web searches to some third-party sites. In addition to this, on the Internet you can find many cases of web users referring to Totalwownews as a source of annoyance while some people even call it a virus.
Our technicians, however, have informed us this hijacker is not a virus or malware and has little in common with real security threats such as Ransomware or Trojans. This is simply an advertising tool that modifies the configuration of you browsers with the goal to promote certain products, services, and pages on the screen during web browsing. Yet, despite not being malicious, it is highly recommended to remove Totalwownews correctly and there are a number of reasons for that.
This Browser Hijacker isn’t supposed to steal sensitive personal data but it may redirect to pages that do. For instance, the hijacker may prompt you to click on ads that may land on you sketchy and/or phishing websites. The Totalwownews homepage may also display different offers of products and services with questionable quality and reputation. The ultimate goal is to get a greater number of clicks on the advertising pages. It is not excluded that such pages may be compromised and may contain security hazards or carriers of real viruses (including Trojans, Ransomware and Spyware), apart from being very intrusive. That’s why taking precautions, or better yet, uninstalling the page-redirecting component can save you from an accidental encounter with hazardous content.
Most Browser Hijackers like Good Captcha Top, iStart Search Bar however, are a bit tough to uninstall if you are new to this. This is because usually, these annoying browser components may have the ability to modify the Windows registry so that the imposed browser configuration is restored each time the computer is restarted, even if you have just brought back your old settings. That’s why, in order to deal with this annoyance effectively, you may need to either use a specialized removal tool or a manual removal guide. Fortunately, below this article, there is exactly what you need. All you have to do is carefully follow the instructions or run a scan with the professional Totalwownews removal tool and you will be able to quickly eliminate the unwanted browser changes and restore your browser settings.
SUMMARY:
Name | Totalwownews |
Type | Browser Hijacker |
Danger Level | Medium (nowhere near threats like Ransomware, but still a security risk) |
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. |
Remove Totalwownews 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

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!
*Read more details in the first ad on this page, EULA, Privacy Policy, and full terms for Free Remover.
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:
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.

*Read more details in the first ad on this page, EULA, Privacy Policy, and full terms for Free Remover.
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.
- Right-click on the Network Adapter you are using —> Properties —> Internet Protocol Version 4 (ICP/IP), click Properties.
- The DNS line should be set to Obtain DNS server automatically. If it is not, set it yourself.
- 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 Totalwownews 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 Totalwownews from Firefox:
Open Firefox, click ——-> Add-ons —-> Extensions.

Remove Totalwownews 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!
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