Get rid of redirects to/from crouchserf.com

What is crouchserf[.]com?

Akin to pushmehoney.com, datsadstrack.com, check-out-this.site and innumerous others, crouchserf[.]com is a rogue website. Designed to redirect visitors to unreliable/compromised sites, as well as force-feed them highly questionable and/or malicious content.

Intentional visits to this website are rare, as most visitors access it unwillingly - by getting redirected. These redirects are caused by entry to untrustworthy sites and clicking on intrusive advertisements hosted there, or by PUAs (potentially unwanted applications) present in their system.

It should be noted that unwanted applications do not need express user permission to infiltrate devices. Once successfully installed, PUAs cause unauthorized redirects, run invasive ad campaigns and gather sensitive information.

Intrusive advertisements and potentially unwanted applications are the main promoters of crouchserf[.]com. The latter furthers this rogue site (and many others) by opening new browser tabs/windows and redirecting users to it. Crouchserf[.]com begins its course of action by checking visitors' IP (Internet Protocol) addresses, in order to learn their geolocation.

This information dictates how the website acts. It either redirects users elsewhere and/or presents dubious content for their consumption. Additionally this site misemploys browser notifications, by hiding the allow option under click-bait tactics (e.g. "click here to confirm you're not a robot", "page is loading, click here to continue" and etc.).

If users consent to these notifications, they are subjected to aggressive, invasive ad campaigns (pop-ups, banners, coupons and similar). Intrusive advertisements can not only redirect to untrustworthy and possibly malignant websites, some of them can also execute scripts designed to autonomously download/install PUAs.

As mentioned previously, undesired applications can cause redirects and deliver intrusive ads. By employing a variety of tools, PUAs can enable third party graphical content. Therefore, the advertisements they deliver can severely diminish the browsing experience, affecting browsing speed and site visibility (by overlaying original content).

Another heinous ability that these apps have is data-tracking. By monitoring users' browsing activity, they can learn their personal information.

What is vital to understand is that this vulnerable data is then passed onto third parties (possibly, cyber criminals), seeking to misuse it in order to generate revenue. Precisely because of these reasons, all PUAs should be eliminated immediately from one's system.

Threat Summary:

Name	crouchserf.com pop-up
Threat Type	Push notifications ads, Unwanted ads, Pop-up ads
Serving IP Address	172.64.129.36
Observed Domains	14.crouchserf[.]com, 48.crouchserf[.]com, 54.crouchserf[.]com, 56.crouchserf[.]com, 59.crouchserf[.]com, 60.crouchserf[.]com, 72.crouchserf[.]com, 76.crouchserf[.]com, 96.crouchserf[.]com, 97.crouchserf[.]com
Symptoms	Seeing advertisements not originating from the sites you are browsing. Intrusive pop-up ads. Decreased Internet browsing speed.
Distribution Methods	Deceptive pop-up ads, potentially unwanted applications (adware)
Damage	Decreased computer performance, browser tracking - privacy issues, possible additional malware infections.
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Rogue application developers can use a variety of tricks to fool users into downloading/installing their malignant product. Most apps of this kind are designed to appear legitimate and offer "useful" and "advantageous" features. However, it should be known that the only purpose PUAs serve is to generate profit for their designers.

Therefore, instead of having any functional features, they cause rampant redirects, deliver invasive advertisement campaigns and track data.

How did adware install on my computer?

Most PUA invasions occur through installation packs/bundles. "Bundling" is a false marketing method, when regular software is packed together with rogue applications. Inattentive and inexperienced users may not notice these apps present within the installation process, especially if they tend to ignore terms and possible options, skip steps and use pre-set settings.

PUAs can also spread through intrusive adverts, when careless users click them. In general, PUA invasions happen due to user negligence.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Download recommendations include using official and verified sources (ideally, via direct download links). Using P2P (peer-to-peer) sharing networks and other third party downloaders is strongly advised against. Software downloaded from untrustworthy sources is much more likely to be bundled with PUAs.

Install recommendations include: exploring terms and possible options, using "Custom/Advanced" settings, opting-out/declining any additional applications/features. Browsing recommendations include being extra-cautious with advertisements, as intrusive ads tend to appear legitimate and harmless.

However, the websites they often redirect to are much more suspect (e.g. pornography, adult-dating, gambling sites and so on). Should users encounter such ads/redirects, they should inspect their systems and remove any dubious applications and/or browser extensions/plug-ins.

If your computer is already infected with rogue applications, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate them.

Appearance of crouchserf[.]com website (GIF):

IMPORTANT NOTE! This deceptive site asks to enable web browser notifications.

Therefore, before commencing, perform these steps:

Google Chrome (PC):

• Click the Menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the screen
• Select "Settings", scroll down to the bottom and click "Advanced"
• Scroll down to the "Privacy and security" section, select "Content settings" and then "Notifications"
• Click three dots on the right hand side of each suspicious URL and click "Block" or "Remove" (if you click "Remove" and visit the malicious site once more, it will ask to enable notifications again)

Google Chrome (Android):

• Click on the Menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the screen and click "Settings"
• Scroll down, click on "Site settings" and then "Notifications"
• In the opened window, locate all suspicious URLs and click on them one-by-one
• Select "Notifications" in the "Permissions" section and set the toggle button to "OFF"

Mozilla Firefox:

• Click the Menu button (three bars) on the right upper corner of the screen
• Select "Options" and click on "Privacy & Security" in the toolbar on the left hand side of the screen
• Scroll down to the "Permissions" section and click the "Settings" button next to "Notifications"
• In the opened window, locate all suspicious URLs, click the drop-down menu and select "Block"

Internet Explorer:

• Click the Gear button on the right upper corner of the IE window
• Select "Internet options"
• Select the "Privacy" tab and click "Settings" under "Pop-up Blocker" section
• Select suspicious URLs under and remove them one by one by clicking the "Remove" button

Microsoft Edge:

• Click the menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the Edge window
• Scroll down, find and click "Settings"
• Scroll down again and click "View advanced settings"
• Click "Manage" under "Website permissions"
• Click the switch under each suspicious website

Safari (Mac):

• Click "Safari" button on the left upper corner of the screen and select "Preferences..."
• Select the "Websites" tab and then select "Notifications" section on the left pane
• Check for suspicious URLs and apply the "Deny" option for each

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Quick menu:

• What is crouchserf[.]com?
• STEP 1. Uninstall adware applications using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove adware from Internet Explorer.
• STEP 3. Remove rogue plug-ins from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove adware-type extensions from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 5. Remove malicious extensions from Safari.
• STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.

Adware removal:

Windows 11 users:

Right-click on the Start icon, select Apps and Features. In the opened window search for the application you want to uninstall, after locating it, click on the three vertical dots and select Uninstall.

Windows 10 users:

Right-click in the lower left corner of the screen, in the Quick Access Menu select Control Panel. In the opened window choose Programs and Features.

Windows 7 users:

Click Start (Windows Logo at the bottom left corner of your desktop), choose Control Panel. Locate Programs and click Uninstall a program.

macOS (OSX) users:

Click Finder, in the opened screen select Applications. Drag the app from the Applications folder to the Trash (located in your Dock), then right click the Trash icon and select Empty Trash.

In the uninstall programs window, look for any potentially unwanted applications, select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

After uninstalling the potentially unwanted application that causes crouchserf[.]com redirects, scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components or possible malware infections. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.

Remove adware from Internet browsers:

Video showing how to remove potentially unwanted browser add-ons:

Remove malicious add-ons from Internet Explorer:

Click the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Manage Add-ons". Look for any recently-installed suspicious browser extensions, select these entries and click "Remove".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the crouchserf.com pop-up, reset your Internet Explorer settings to default.

Windows XP users: Click Start, click Run, in the opened window type inetcpl.cpl In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 users: Click the Windows logo, in the start search box type inetcpl.cpl and click enter. In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows 8 users: Open Internet Explorer and click the gear icon. Select Internet Options.

In the opened window, select the Advanced tab.

Click the Reset button.

Confirm that you wish to reset Internet Explorer settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "More tools" and click "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons and remove them.

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the crouchserf.com pop-up, reset your Google Chrome browser settings. Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome) and select Settings. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen. Click the Advanced… link.

After scrolling to the bottom of the screen, click the Reset (Restore settings to their original defaults) button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Google Chrome settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Remove malicious plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox:

Click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), select "Add-ons". Click "Extensions", in the opened window, remove all recently-installed suspicious browser plug-ins.

Optional method:

Computer users who have problems with crouchserf.com pop-up removal can reset their Mozilla Firefox settings.

Open Mozilla Firefox, at the top right corner of the main window, click the Firefox menu, in the opened menu, click Help.

Select Troubleshooting Information.

In the opened window, click the Refresh Firefox button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Mozilla Firefox settings to default by clicking the Refresh Firefox button.

Remove malicious extensions from Safari:

Make sure your Safari browser is active, click Safari menu, and select Preferences....

In the opened window click Extensions, locate any recently installed suspicious extension, select it and click Uninstall.

Optional method:

Make sure your Safari browser is active and click on Safari menu. From the drop down menu select Clear History and Website Data...

In the opened window select all history and click the Clear History button.

Remove malicious extensions from Microsoft Edge:

Click the Edge menu icon  (at the upper-right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons and click "Remove" below their names.

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the crouchserf.com pop-up, reset your Microsoft Edge browser settings. Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge) and select Settings.

In the opened settings menu select Reset settings.

Select Restore settings to their default values. In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Microsoft Edge settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

• If this did not help, follow these alternative instructions explaining how to reset the Microsoft Edge browser.

Summary:

Commonly, adware or potentially unwanted applications infiltrate Internet browsers through free software downloads. Note that the safest source for downloading free software is via developers' websites only. To avoid installation of adware, be very attentive when downloading and installing free software. When installing previously-downloaded free programs, choose the custom or advanced installation options – this step will reveal any potentially unwanted applications listed for installation together with your chosen free program.

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