We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device. Virus Removal

Browser Hijacker
by Violet George
April 26, 2023

We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device

“We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device” represents the infamous software category of browser hijackers. “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device” integrates with most popular web browsers and causes them to behave in a predetermined way.

We Have Detected Abnormal Network Traffic On This Device
The “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device” Pop up scam

Namely, software of this kind will typically install ad-generating components in the affected Chrome, Firefox, Edge or whatever other browser you’re using. As a result, a direct consequence of having a program like “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.” in your system will be systematic (if not constant) exposure to numerous online advertising materials like Sensiblemoth.com, New Captcha Here. In other words, you can expect to see a dramatic increase in the amounts of popups, box messages, in-text links and banners that you come across during browsing sessions.

The scam message reads:

"We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device. To protect your safety, we have disconnected the network of this device, to restore the network of this device, please scan the QR code below to verify your identity and enter the confirmation code to confirm your identity and restore the network.

So, in order to save you the trouble of having to figure things out for yourself, we compiled a removal guide for “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.” just below this post.

The “Abnormal network traffic on this device.” virus

Browser hijackers such as the “Abnormal network traffic on this device.” virus exist for the sole purpose of generating profit for their creators. And usually, this is done through PPC and PPV (or similar) remuneration systems. Hence, the more ads you click on, the more revenue is earned by the developers of “Abnormal network traffic on this device.”.

And there’s nothing wrong with this practice as it is. However, the means by which these ad-generating programs enforce it are often very aggressive and intrusive. And this has contributed to browser hijackers like “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.” typically being seen as potentially unwanted programs or PUPs.

SUMMARY:

NameWe have detected abnormal network traffic on this device
Type Browser Hijacker
Detection Tool

Please follow all the steps below in order to remove “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.”!

How to remove “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.”

  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 “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.” in the programs list that would show up.
  3. Select “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.” from the list and click on Uninstall.
  4. Follow the steps in the removal wizard.

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.

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 “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.”.
  • If you find any of the programs suspicious then uninstall them if they turn out to be linked to “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.”.
  • 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 “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.” 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 “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.” 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 “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.” 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 “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.” 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 “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.” extension
  4. Get rid of “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.” 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 “”We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.”” or another unwanted app, change it to an address that you’d want to be the browser’s new-tab page.

How to Delete “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.”

  1. Open task manager
  2. Look for the “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.” process
  3. Select it and click on End task
  4. Open the file location to delete “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.”
  • 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 “”We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.”” 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
    This scanner is free and will always remain free for our website's users.
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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 “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.”

    1. Click on the home button
    2. Search for Startup Apps
    3. Look for “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.” in there
    4. Uninstall “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.” from Startup Apps by turning it off
    • Now you need to carefully search for and uninstall any “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.”-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 “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.” 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 “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.”?

    “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.” may also be responsible for the sudden page redirects you begin to experience. And as if that weren’t enough, browser hijackers have a strong tendency to change other browser settings like those having to do with the homepage and/or default search engine. What’s more, if you were to try and change those settings back to what they used to be before “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.”, you will find that it can’t be done.
    And, unfortunately, as long as “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.” is present in your system, this is how it will continue to be. Browser hijackers are notoriously ‘sticky’ and stubborn. This can be derived from the unwanted browser changes, as well as from the fact that removing them from the infected system can be fairly tricky as well. The developers of this type of software aren’t exactly eager to have users uninstalling it. Therefore, they try and make it difficult and if you try to go about this on your own, you will likely keep missing some residual components that keep getting left behind.


    Is “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.” dangerous?

    Another reason for this is the type of content that software like “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.” advertises and promotes. Suffice to say that the developers are rarely if ever concerned with how safe the pages that they redirect you to are or where the sponsored ads lead. Therefore, there is always the risk of running into a compromised web location, an infected ad or some other dangerous piece of content that could hide viruses and malware. With that said, if you’d rather not have your device infected by ransomware, Trojan horse viruses or other malicious code, we would recommend not interacting with any of the advertising materials displayed by “We have detected abnormal network traffic on this device.”.


    About the author

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    Violet George

    Violet is an active writer with a passion for all things cyber security. She enjoys helping victims of computer virus infections remove them and successfully deal with the aftermath of the attacks. But most importantly, Violet makes it her priority to spend time educating people on privacy issues and maintaining the safety of their computers. It is her firm belief that by spreading this information, she can empower web users to effectively protect their personal data and their devices from hackers and cybercriminals.

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