Uninstall Counterflix ads (Virus Removal Instructions) - Jul 2017 updated
Counterflix ads Removal Guide
Description of Counterflix adware
Counterflix might change DNS settings and display lots of ads on the browser
Counterflix is a potentially unwanted program (PUP) that is presented as simple and reliable DNS service that operates as a phone book. This tool might seem useful for those who want to bypass geographical restrictions and access unavailable sites in their countries. However, if you decide to use it, you will need to deal with features of the adware.
So-called Counterflix virus works as an adware program. Just like the developer’s FAQ page says, they do not provide ads-free service yet. Thus, your browser might be flooded with tons of ads that help authors to make revenue from your clicks.
Counterflix adware might use a virtual layer that allows displaying ads, banners, pop-ups and other commercial content on each website you visit. They might be eye-catching and even misleading. However, the majority of them promote paid version of this suspicious DNS service.
Apart from causing chaos on the browser, Counterflix might also alter Windows DNS settings. As a result, you might be redirected to numerous websites. According to the data of the analysis, this cyber parasite might redirect to potentially dangerous websites, such as technical support scam or phishing.
The same Counterflix redirect issue has been noticed with ads as well. If you decide to click on an interesting ad, you might end up on an unknown domain that has nothing in common with promoted content. Thus, you can easily become a victim of cyber crime.
Another negative feature of this infection is that it might get inside the device without asking your permission. Indeed, this application has been noticed spreading with various freeware and shareware. Once it sneaks in the computer, it starts showing advertisements labeled as “Ads by Counterflix” or similarly.
However, such suspicious activities should not be tolerated. Once your Chrome, Firefox or Explorer starts acting oddly, you should scan the computer with reputable security software. FortectIntego or another credible anti-malware can quickly detect and remove Counterflix from the PC.
Of course, you can uninstall adware without security software. If you are interested in manual Counterflix removal method, you should scroll down to the end of the article. There you will find an illustrated step-by-step guide.
A sneaky way to infiltrate the system
Despite the fact that this application has an official website, it’s not the only way how users can learn about this DNS utility. Developers also use another sneaky distribution method that allows stepping inside the device secretly.
The Counterflix hijack might occur during the installation of various free programs that you can download from the Internet. Therefore, freeware and shareware that you can easily download from torrents or file-sharing networks might bring this annoying PUP (and many others) to your PC.
Fortunately, you can stop undesired apps by performing freeware’s installation properly:
- Opt for Advanced or Custom settings.
- Read Privacy Policy, EULA, and other provided documents attentively.
- Monitor the installation process by reading all notifications.
- Unmark pre-selected “additional downloads.”
Removal of the Counterflix virus
First of all, this program is not the real virus. Technically, it’s a potentially unwanted program that should not be hard to remove. Nevertheless, this cyber infection cannot cause direct damage to the system or files; you should still get rid of it ASAP.
Counterflix removal can be performed either manually or automatically. Manual elimination guidelines are prepared below. Thus, if you would like to terminate this pest on your own, you should not hesitate and check what tasks are waiting for you.
However, if you want quicker and easier elimination solution, you should obtain a reputable anti-malware program. You will be able to remove Counterflix within several minutes by running a system scan with an updated security tool.
You may remove virus damage with a help of FortectIntego. SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner and Malwarebytes are recommended to detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.
Getting rid of Counterflix ads. Follow these steps
Uninstall Counterflix in Windows systems
After the attack, you should not only get rid of the Counterflix, but reset DNS settings too. In order to do that, follow these steps:
- Access Network Connections (Windows 7 users should go to Network and Sharing Center) via Control Panel.
- Here you will see your current connection. Right-click it and choose Properties.
- Click Properties and select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).
- Then select Properties.
- Choose Obtain IP address automatically and Obtain DNS Server Automatically options.
- Now you have to launch Command Prompt (you can find it using Windows search feature). Right-click the program appeared in the search results list and choose Run as Administrator.
- Type these commands to the Command Prompt. Enter them one by one, clicking Enter after each of them:
- ipconfig /flushdns
- ipconfig /release
- ipconfig /renew
Terminate suspicious programs from Windows 10/8 machines by following these instructions:
- Type Control Panel into Windows search and once the result shows up hit Enter.
- Under Programs, choose Uninstall a program.
- Find components related to suspicious programs.
- Right-click on the application and select Uninstall.
- Click Yes when User Account Control shows up.
- Wait for the process of uninstallation to be done and click OK.
Windows 7/XP instructions:
- Click on Windows Start and go to Control Panel on the right pane.
- Choose Add/Remove Programs.
- Select Uninstall a program under Programs in Control Panel.
- Click once on the unwanted application.
- Click Uninstall/Change at the top.
- Confirm with Yes.
- Click OK and finish the removal.
Uninstall Counterflix in Mac OS X system
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Users who use OS X should click on Go button, which can be found at the top left corner of the screen and select Applications.
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Wait until you see Applications folder and look for Counterflix or any other suspicious programs on it. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash.
Delete Counterflix ads from Microsoft Edge browser
After the hijack, you should make sure that you can continue using Microsoft Edge safely:
Delete suspicious extensions from MS Edge:
- Go to the Menu by clicking on the three horizontal dots at the top-right.
- Then pick Extensions.
- Choose the unwanted add-ons on the list and click on the Gear icon.
- Click on Uninstall at the bottom.
Clear cookies and other data:
- Click on the Menu and from the context menu select Privacy & security.
- Under Clear browsing data, select Choose what to clear.
- Choose everything except passwords, and click on Clear.
Alter new tab and homepage settings:
- Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
- Then find On startup section.
- Click Disable if you found any suspicious domain.
Reset MS Edge fully:
- Click on the keyboard Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
- Choose More details arrow at the bottom.
- Go to Details tab.
- Now scroll down and locate every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it.
- Right-click on each of them and select End Task to stop MS Edge from running.
When none of the above solves the issue, you might need an advanced Edge reset method, but you need to backup your data before proceeding.
- Find the following folder on the PC: C:\\Users\\%username%\\AppData\\Local\\Packages\\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe.
- Press Ctrl + A on your keyboard to select all folders.
- Right-click on the selection and choose Delete
- Right-click on the Start button and pick Windows PowerShell (Admin).
- Copy and paste the following command, and then press Enter:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\\AppXManifest.xml” -Verbose
Instructions for Chromium-based Edge
Delete extensions:
- Open Edge and click Settings.
- Then find Extensions.
- Delete unwanted extensions with the Remove.
Clear cache and site data:
- Click on Menu and then Settings.
- Find Privacy and services.
- Locate Clear browsing data, then click Choose what to clear.
- Time range.
- Click All time.
- Select Clear now.
Reset Chromium-based MS Edge browser fully:
- Go to Settings.
- On the left side, choose Reset settings.
- Select Restore settings to their default values.
- Click Reset.
Delete Counterflix from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
These instructions will help you to delete Counterflix virus from the Mozilla Firefox:
Remove suspicious Firefox extensions:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the three horizontal lines at the top-right to open the menu.
- Select Add-ons in the context menu.
- Choose plugins that are creating issues and select Remove.
Reset the homepage on the browser:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner.
- This time select Options.
- Under Home section, enter your preferred site for the homepage that will open every time you launch Mozilla Firefox.
Clear cookies and site data:
- Click Menu and pick Options.
- Find the Privacy & Security section.
- Scroll down to choose Cookies and Site Data.
- Click on Clear Data… option.
- Click Cookies and Site Data, Cached Web Content and press Clear.
Reset Mozilla Firefox:
If none of the steps above helped you, reset Mozilla Firefox as follows:
- Open Mozilla Firefox and go to the menu.
- Click Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.
- Locate Give Firefox a tune-up section, click on Refresh Firefox…
- Confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox on the pop-up.
Chrome browser reset
If Counterflix adware sneaked to your PC, you should check Google Chrome as well. There you might find some virus-related components.
Find and remove suspicious extensions from Google Chrome:
- In Google Chrome, open the Menu by clicking three vertical dots at the top-right corner.
- Select More tools > Extensions.
- Once the window opens, you will see all the installed extensions.
- Find any suspicious add-ons related to any PUP.
- Uninstall them by clicking Remove.
Clear cache and web data from Chrome:
- Click the Menu and select Settings.
- Find Privacy and security section.
- Choose Clear browsing data.
- Select Browsing history.
- Cookies and other site data, also Cached images and files.
- Click Clear data.
Alter settings of the homepage:
- Go to the menu and choose Settings.
- Find odd entries in the On startup section.
- Click on Open a specific or set of pages.
- Then click on three dots and look for the Remove option.
Reset Google Chrome fully:
You might need to reset Google Chrome and properly eliminate all the unwanted components:
- Go to Chrome Settings.
- Once there, scroll down to expand Advanced section.
- Scroll down to choose Reset and clean up.
- Click Restore settings to their original defaults.
- Click Reset settings again.
Delete Counterflix from Safari
Get rid of questionable extensions from Safari:
- Click Safari.
- Then go to Preferences…
- Choose Extensions on the menu.
- Select the unwanted extension and then pick Uninstall.
Clear cookies from Safari:
- Click Safari.
- Choose Clear History…
- From the drop-down menu under Clear, find and pick all history.
- Confirm with Clear History.
Reset Safari fully:
- Click Safari and then Preferences…
- Choose the Advanced tab.
- Tick the Show Develop menu in the menu bar.
- From the menu bar, click Develop.
- Then select Empty Caches.
Even if you have completed all the steps above, we still strongly recommend you to scan your computer system with a powerful anti-malware software. It is advisable to do that because an automatic malware removal tool can detect and delete all remains of Counterflix, for instance, its registry keys. The anti-malware program can help you to easily detect and eliminate possibly dangerous software and malicious viruses in an easy way. You can use any of our top-rated malware removal programs: FortectIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes.
How to prevent from getting adware
Securely connect to your website wherever you are
Sometimes you may need to log in to a content management system or server more often, especially if you are actively working on a blog, website, or different project that needs constant maintenance or that requires frequent content updates or other changes. Avoiding this problem can be easy if you choose a dedicated/fixed IP address. It's a static IP address that only belongs to a specific device and does not change when you are in different locations.
VPN service providers such as Private Internet Access can help you with these settings. This tool can help you control your online reputation and successfully manage your projects wherever you are. It is important to prevent different IP addresses from connecting to your website. With a dedicated/fixed IP address, VPN service, and secure access to a content management system, your project will remain secure.
Recover files damaged by a dangerous malware attack
Despite the fact that there are various circumstances that can cause data to be lost on a system, including accidental deletion, the most common reason people lose photos, documents, videos, and other important data is the infection of malware.
Some malicious programs can delete files and prevent the software from running smoothly. However, there is a greater threat from the dangerous viruses that can encrypt documents, system files, and images. Ransomware-type viruses focus on encrypting data and restricting users’ access to files, so you can permanently lose personal data when you download such a virus to your computer.
The ability to unlock encrypted files is very limited, but some programs have a data recovery feature. In some cases, the Data Recovery Pro program can help recover at least some of the data that has been locked by a virus or other cyber infection.
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