Eliminating the Zakolata Virus from your computer

What is Zakolata and can it do harm?

Zakolata is a software that is considered as potentially unwanted, and falls under the category of browser hijackers. Though it rarely does any harm to the system, this type of software is very intrusive and installs itself into your browser without your direct consent or knowledge. Zakolata’s primary goal is to gather as much information about you as possible in order to bombard your browser with obtrusive adverts, most of which are scams that direct you to irrelevant and potentially dangerous websites.

Why some people call it “the Zakolata Virus”?

When someone is first infected with a browser hijacker, they may call it the “Zakolata virus” and think they have been attacked by a malicious infection. But that is not the case whatsoever. The Zakolata virus does not have any intentions of sensitive data theft or file encryption. Nevertheless, it can severely degrade the quality of your browsing and redirect you to suspicious websites, and you might come across other viruses. It does so by showing intrusive ads to make profit through pay-per-click income, and by replacing your new tab page and your new home page or search engine with a sponsored one.

What is Zakolata?

If you need to get an idea of what Zakolata is, then think of it as an intrusive web advertising tool. We already made it clear that this app will never encrypt your files, take your credit card information or ask you to pay a ransom. However, its actions can still expose your system to a danger. To earn money for their owners or operators, hijackers like Zakolata, Explore Spot or NymphMiniica generally track and sell user information. They also display Pay-Per-Click promotions on your screen at every opportunity. And although none of this is directly hazardous, it is impossible to know when you might click on a false advertisement by mistake, and be directed to a website that spreads real viruses.

Are the Zakolata Pop-ups a problem?

The Zakolata pop-ups are the core issue of browser hijackers like this one, and they arrive in dozens, endangering your security and privacy. If you don’t pay close attention, you might inadvertently click on the incorrect advertisement, leading you to a questionable site that resembles one of your most visited websites. There, you may be prompted to download and install some low-quality “free software” or another browser hijacking application. You may even be requested to submit your some identifiable information like your name, passwords or payment details. 

How to deal with Zakolata on Chrome?

No one wants to see Zakolata on Chrome or any other browser. If you have attempted to get rid of it manually, you are probably quite frustrated by now. Thankfully, hijackers are not malicious on their own, and as long as you can identify them and erase them from your browser’s settings and shortcuts, your computer will be clean of them in no time. The guide provided in this article should explain to you exactly what you must do with the Zakolata on Chrome problem. Alternatively, if the hijacker refuses to be removed for some reason, and you see any symptoms of an adware or malware infection, you can always use the removal tool listed below to get rid of it quickly and easily.

Can you trust the Zakolata.com website?

It is quite likely that Zakolata.com will become your browser’s home page once the Zakolata browser hijacker is allowed to enter the system. In view of all the given issues, it goes without saying that one should avoid utilizing this website. To be more specific, do not follow any instruction that this site may suggest or any pop-up alerts that it might show. Instead, focus on removing the browser hijacker, and the site’s removal will also take place shortly.

Remove Zakolata Virus

 To try and remove Zakolata 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 Zakolata extension (as well as any other unfamiliar ones).
4. Remove Zakolata by clicking on the Trash Bin icon next to its name.
5. Confirm and get rid of Zakolata and any other suspicious items.

If this does not work as described please follow our more detailed Zakolata 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.

Some of the steps may require you to exit the page. Bookmark it for later reference.
Next, Reboot in Safe Mode (use this guide if you don’t know how to do it).

Uninstall the Zakolata app and kill its processes

The first thing you must try to do is look for any sketchy installs on your computer and uninstall anything you think may come from Zakolata. After that, you’ll also need to get rid of any processes that may be related to the unwanted app by searching for them in the Task Manager.

Note that sometimes an app, especially a rogue one, may ask you to install something else or keep some of its data (such as settings files) on your PC – never agree to that when trying to delete a potentially rogue software. You need to make sure that everything is removed from your PC to get rid of the malware. Also, if you aren’t allowed to go through with the uninstallation, proceed with the guide, and try again after you’ve completed everything else.

• Uninstalling the rogue app
• Killing any rogue processes

Type Apps & Features in the Start Menu, open the first result, sort the list of apps by date, and look for suspicious recently installed entries.

Click on anything you think could be linked to Zakolata, then select uninstall, and follow the prompts to delete the app.

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc, click More Details (if it’s not already clicked), and look for suspicious entries that may be linked to Zakolata.

If you come across a questionable process, right-click it, click Open File Location, scan the files with the free online malware scanner shown below, and then delete anything that gets flagged as a threat.

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After that, if the rogue process is still visible in the Task Manager, right-click it again and select End Process.

Undo Zakolata changes made to different system settings

It’s possible that Zakolata has affected various parts of your system, making changes to their settings. This can enable the malware to stay on the computer or automatically reinstall itself after you’ve seemingly deleted it. Therefore, you need to check the following elements by going to the Start Menu, searching for specific system elements that may have been affected, and pressing Enter to open them and see if anything has been changed there without your approval. Then you must undo any unwanted changes made to these settings in the way shown below:

• DNS
• Hosts
• Startup
• Task
  Scheduler
• Services
• Registry

Type in Start Menu: View network connections

Right-click on your primary network, go to Properties, and do this:

Type in Start Menu: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts

Type in the Start Menu: Startup apps

Type in the Start Menu: Task Scheduler

Type in the Start Menu: Services

Type in the Start Menu: Registry Editor

Press Ctrl + F to open the search window

Remove Zakolata from your browsers