Remove GoogleFix.exe virus from Chrome, Firefox, IE and Safari

Whereas it takes some complex troubleshooting to get rid of GoogleFix.exe virus, this walkthrough will help address the issue and repair the affected browser.

Although browser hijackers and adware are small fish in a big pond of malicious software, these culprits beat the majority of counterparts in terms of the irritation caused to victims. They are crafty enough to alter one’s browser settings without permission, and the subsequent traffic redirects or pop ups drive users nuts. The virus referred to as GoogleFix.exe fits the mold. It deteriorates the way the victims surf the Internet, forwarding their online navigation to malicious sites and generating obnoxious splash dialogs. The problem makes itself felt particularly when the plagued person is trying to access various search engines and services by Google, something the average user tends to leverage every single day. The infection reroutes the traffic to a page that offers fixing Internet issues and thus pushes the harmful GoogleFix.exe binary.

The architects of this malware campaign resort to a deceptive tactic to spread their dangerous payload. The infection is camouflaged as some legit entity, with the setup client often passing the intruder off as Amazon AMS. The acronym stands for “Amazon Marketing Services” and denotes a toolkit for vendors to promote their products more effectively via the ramified advertising network. This solution enjoys popularity with numerous webmasters and merchants, so the number of daily installs must be high. The crooks, though, have tailored a booby-trapped setup wizard for the AMS service, which is available on a number of sites with controversial reputation. Ultimately, people catch the virus while thinking they are installing a program that will help boost their sales and improve online presence.

In case of a trespass described above, the GoogleFix.exe virus starts deploying a multipronged attack. It tweaks the Windows hosts file so that the process of mapping hostnames to IP addresses goes broken. This way, the victim is likely to visit the wrong websites when routinely browsing around. The baddie typically also embeds a misbehaving extension in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Internet Explorer, which randomly launches nag screens and pop ups. Sometimes these are components of a drive-by download workflow propping another variant of the GoogleFix.exe virus. In some cases, the misleading page will recommend that the victim download a fix for some unclear Internet issues. Either way, this activity is a nuisance that makes the whole user experience go down the drain and may even cause the browser to freeze and crash off and on.

One more adverse facet of this malware is that it may collect sensitive information, including Internet history, passwords entered on sites, as well as system details such as the IP address, OS build, installed software and the like. The combo of pesky pop ups, browser redirects, and potential risk to the user’s privacy is a strong reason to get down to GoogleFix.exe virus removal right away. The following steps will explain the cleanup done right.

Automated removal of GoogleFix.exe virus

Owing to an up-to-date database of malware signatures and intelligent behavioral detection, the recommended software can quickly locate the infection, eradicate it and remediate all harmful changes. So go ahead and do the following:

1. Download and install the antimalware tool. Open the solution and have it check your PC for PUPs and other types of malicious software by clicking the Start Computer Scan button

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2. Rest assured the scan report will list all items that may harm your operating system. Select the detected entries and click Fix Threats to get the troubleshooting completed.

Use Control Panel to get rid of GoogleFix.exe

• Open up the Control Panel from your Start menu in Windows and select Uninstall a program

• To facilitate the process of locating the threat, sort the programs list by date to get the latest ones displayed at the very top. Find a suspicious or clearly malicious entry under the Name column, click Uninstall and follow further directions to get the removal done.

Restore web browser settings to their original defaults

In the circumstances of a complex browser hijack like this, executing a reset makes the most sense despite a few obvious downsides. Customizations such as saved passwords, bookmarked pages etc. will be gone, but so will all the changes made by the potentially unwanted program. The instructions below address the workflow for the web browsers most targeted by the GoogleFix.exe virus.

Reset Google Chrome

• Open Chrome, expand the Customize and control Google Chrome menu and choose Settings

• Scroll down the settings screen and click Advanced down at the bottom

• Move on to the Reset and clean up sub-section and select the option that says Restore settings to their original defaults

• Finally, confirm the restoration by clicking Reset settings on the warning message

• Restart Chrome.

Reset Mozilla Firefox

• Open Firefox, type about:support in the URL area and press Enter. Alternatively, you can click on the Open menu icon in the top right-hand part of the browser window, then select the Help option and proceed to Troubleshooting Information

• On the Troubleshooting Information screen, spot the Refresh Firefox button and click on it

• Follow subsequent directions to reset Firefox to its original settings

• Restart the browser.

Reset Internet Explorer

• Select Internet options under IE’s Tools (Alt+X)

• Proceed by clicking on Advanced tab, then select Reset

• To confirm the intended changes, click Reset on the Reset Internet Explorer Settings screen after ascertaining that the Delete personal settings checkbox is enabled

• Reboot the machine to fully implement the fix.

Reset Safari

• Go to the Safari menu and select Preferences

• When on the Preferences screen, select the Privacy tab and hit the Remove All Website Data button if you are up to erasing all website data stored on your Mac. Otherwise, you can use a site-specific removal option described below

• A dialog will appear, asking you to validate your choice. Click the Remove Now button if you are sure. Be advised this will log you out of online services and undo personalized web browser settings such as saved passwords, etc.

• Safari also allows deleting data for specific sites rather than all sites in general. To use this option, click the Details button under Privacy tab

• Select the websites for which you would like to erase data and click the Remove button

• Click the Done button to confirm and exit. You can also select the Remove All option to remove all data stored by the listed websites.

Revise your security status

Post-factum assessment of the accuracy component in malware removal scenarios is a great habit that prevents the comeback of harmful code or replication of its unattended fractions. Make sure you are good to go by running an additional safety checkup.

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