Virus and Spyware Removal Guides, uninstall instructions

What is search.hogwarin.com?

search.hogwarin.com is one of many fake search engines that supposedly provide more accurate results and an improved overall browsing experience.

Judging on appearance, this may seem to be a legitimate search engine, similar to Google, Yahoo, and other well-known sites, however, search.hogwarin.com is promoted through rogue download/installation set-ups that modify affected browser settings and record/track information relating to browsing habits.

What is FilesLocker v2.0?

FilesLocker v2.0 (also known as FilesLocker RANSOMWARE v2.0) is a computer infection designed to render data unusable by encryption. Discovered by MalwareHunterTeam, this ransomware-type virus is a new (updated) version of FilesLocker. Once files are encrypted, they are renamed by adding the ".[fileslocker@pm.me]" extension.

For example, "sample.jpg" is renamed to "sample.jpg.[fileslocker@pm.me]", and so on. FilesLocker v2.0 also changes the desktop wallpaper and places two ransom-demand messages (text files called "#DECRYPT MY FILES#.txt" and "#解密我的文件#.txt") on the desktop itself. It also displays a ransom-demand pop-up window.

What is GandCrab 5.0.9?

Discovered by Marcelo Rivero, GandCrab 5.0.9 is a variant of a high-risk ransomware-type infection called GandCrab. Like most viruses of this type, it is designed to encrypt data, rendering affected files unusable. It renames each encrypted file by appending the victim's ID to the file extension (e.g. ".wwzaf").

For example, it renames "1.jpg" to "1.jpg.wwzaf", and so on. GandCrab 5.0.9 also generates a ransom note within a text file named "WWZAF-DECRYPT.txt". As with the appended extension, this filename is associated with the victim's ID. GandCrab 5.0.9 places the text file in each folder containing encrypted files and changes the desktop wallpaper.

What is "Correspondence Email Virus"?

"Correspondence Email Virus" is a spam email campaign that cyber criminals (scammers) use to distribute a high-risk virus called LokiBot (a computer infection that steals data). In this case, scammers proliferate the virus by sending a banking-related email message that contains a malicious attachment.

The main purpose of this spam campaign is to trick people into opening the attachment and infecting computers with the aforementioned virus.

What is defpush.com?

The internet is full of untrustworthy, rogue websites. An example is defpush.com, which is very similar to many other websites of this type such as sociatemethio.club, special-promotion.online, and nuclearlytu.info.

People do not generally visit websites such as defpush.com intentionally - they are redirected to them by potentially unwanted applications (PUAs) that are installed without users' knowledge. Once installed, PUAs record browsing-related data and deliver intrusive advertisements.

What is search-me.club?

Many fake search engines are promoted to make them seem legitimate. For example, developers present search-me.club as a useful search engine that offers an enhanced browsing experience, however, it is promoted using rogue download/installation set-ups that modify browser settings. Furthermore, search-me.club gathers various browsing-related (and other) data.

What is mysearchency.com?

mysearchency.com is one of many fake search engines (virtually identical to weknow.ac, search.porterice.com, and nextoptim.com) promoted as a search engine that provides users with an enhanced browsing experience, accurate results, and so on.

As with most fake search engines, however, this site is promoted using rogue (download/installation) set-ups that modify browser settings without direct user permission. Furthermore, mysearchency.com is categorized as data-tracking website that collects browsing-related data.

What is "Programmer known in darkweb"?

"Programmer known in darkweb" is a spam email campaign that scammers use to trick people into believing that their computers have been infiltrated with a virus that has allowed cyber criminals to monitor their activities.

Generally, scammers behind these emails claim that they have obtained compromising material (photos or videos) and will use it against users if their demands are not met. Note that this is a common scam and should not be taken seriously or trusted.

What is "Activate your Windows now"?

"Activate your Windows now" is just one of many fake messages displayed on various deceptive websites. In this case, it is a fake Windows Security alert message.

Generally, people do not visit these deceptive and untrustworthy websites intentionally - they are redirected to them by potentially unwanted applications (PUAs). Typically, PUAs deliver intrusive ads and record data. Most users install these unwanted apps inadvertently.

What is sociatemethio.club?

sociatemethio.club is another rogue website designed to redirect visitors to other dubious sites. Generally, users arrive at this site inadvertently - potentially unwanted applications (PUAs) redirect them to it.

PUAs are often installed unintentionally, since they feed users with advertisements and record data (mostly browsing-related). Some examples of other websites similar to sociatemethio.club include special-promotion.online, nuclearlytu.info, and filezog.com.