Understanding Alphanovahome.com Virus
Alphanovahome.com virus is malicious software that pretends to be profitable for the users. However, the reality is way different! This software can easily bait the unskilled people in its trap.
It infiltrates your system and modifies the web search engine in the computer. It will change your default search provider to alphanovahome.com New Tab Search. On the top of it, the nasty browser virus will redirect all your search results to ‘search.yahoo.com’.
Apart from the changed settings, this browser hijacker, may collect your information and immediately send them to the third party. The stolen information could be retained by the hackers for as long as they wish to. The gathered information may include your personal or non-personal information. Hence, aim to remove alphanova adware.
Threat Summary
| Name |
Alphanovahome.com |
| Type |
Browser Hijacker |
| Category |
Malware |
| Targeted Browser |
Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox |
Distribution Techniques
Users can easily install the alphanovahome.com adware from its official sites. The malicious browser redirect is caused by ‘AlphaNova’ extension. Usually, such chrome virus is distributed via nasty advertisements or bundling. The developers hide the destructive file extensions within the installation process of other software. With the tendency to rush the installation steps, the user exposes the system to risk of browser hijacker. While downloading other programs, the malicious browser extensions infiltrate your system. Furthermore, the intrusive advertisements redirect the users to suspicious websites, which might download unwanted applications in background without your consent.
The installation of such redirect virus could be with or without your knowledge. Hence, the major reason for this infiltration is the reckless behavior of the user. Once, the alphanovahome.com makes itself comfortable, it might become the reason for privacy issues and identity theft.
Threat Behavior
As the name suggests – Browser Redirect, the common web browsers are targeted by the malicious alphanovahome.com virus. Google Chrome, Internet Explorer & Firefox are a few mentions!
Once the system is infiltrated by the dangerous browser virus, it changes the default settings of the targeted browser. It changes your default search engine, start page and new Tab URL. Your existing home webpage will be redirected to ‘Alphanovahome.comsearch.net’ or ‘Nt.Alphanovahome.comsearch.net’. As a result, your system will fetch the search results from Yahoo search.
Though it is a matter of concern, yet some users usually ignore such changes. It is because of their careless behavior and sometimes, lack of knowledge. If the victim user continues to use the infected browser, it may unexpectedly modify your system settings. In addition, this browser hijacker steals your personal information and might leak it to third-party. The notorious Google redirect virus will pop up ads on your screen, which may slow down your system’s functioning.
Hence, we advise you to immediately remove alphanovahome.com from your system. Install an anti-malware program & scan your system on regular basis. Other than that, you can scroll down for simple and easy removal guidelines.
Privacy Policies
As per the privacy policies defined by the developers of AlphaNova, it may collect your personal & non-personal information. The type of data that is collected includes your personal data, usage data and cookies data.
Here, the personal data refers to the information that reveals your identity. While using the services of alphanovahome.com virus, it may ask you to provide some personal information.
While talking about the usage data, it includes the details about how the service is accessed. It may fetch your IP address, browser type & version, time & date of your visit and many more!
To conclude with, download a good anti-malware program in your system and scan every inch on regular intervals. As soon as you detect this malicious extension in your system, focus at deleting the alphanovahome.com virus from your system.
Removal Guidelines for Alphanovahome.com Virus
STEP A: Remove malicious extension from your Browser
Google Chrome
- Open Google Chrome and click on the three vertical dots (
) i.e.Menu option which are located at the upper right corner of the Chrome Window.
- Find and click on More tools from the drop down menu that is displayed & select Extensions or you can open a Chrome window and type “chrome://extensions” in the address bar.
- Check the developer mode option which is located opposite to extensions heading on the top of the Chrome window. By enabling the developer mode, additional details and option related to all the installed extensions will be displayed. One of the details that will be displayed is the ID. ID is the folder name created by the extension at the location “C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions”.
- Locate the extension you want to uninstall or delete. Copy and paste the folder name opposite to the ID Tag of that extension into a notepad file. In this case the folder name is “XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX”
- Now, uncheck the enabled option next to the extension in question. Make sure you also click the trash icon to delete the extension from the browser. It is important to note that even after uninstalling and deleting the extensions from the browser, the extension might not uninstall properly. Thus, it is a good practice to make sure that we have deleted the folder as mentioned in step 3.
- Make sure that you have made the hidden files and folders visible.
- Open My Computer and go to “C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions”. Now, look for folder with the name as specified in Step 4 i.e. “XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX”. Delete the folder if present.
- Close and reopen the browser. It is also advisable to restart your computer once done.
Mozilla Firefox
- Open Mozilla Firefox, click on three horizontal lines (
) at the top right corner of the Firefox Window and select the Add-ons option.
- On the Add-ons manger page, select and click on the Extensions tab as shown below.
- Find the extensions related to alphanovahome.com virus and click on the remove button.
- In addition, try to remember how the extension got downloaded on your computer system. If this extension was bundled with some other software, then make sure to delete that as well.
Internet Explorer
Apple's Safari
- On your Mac Desktop, click on the option that reads “Safari”.
- A drop down menu will appear as shown below. From this menu chose the option that reads “Preferences”.
- The Preferences window will appear on the screen, where the list of all your safari extensions will be shown.
- On the list displayed at the left side of the screen, select the Extension you want to uninstall.
- Click on the Uninstall button to get rid of the extension.
STEP B: Show hidden Files & Folders
Windows 7
- Left click on the Organize button on the Windows Explorer. A drop down menu will appear.
- On this menu left click on the option that reads “Folder and search options” as shown above. A folder options dialogue box will appear.
- On the View tab under the Advanced settings, Check the option that reads “Show hidden files, folders, and drives” and uncheck the option that reads “Hide protected operating system files“.
- Click on the “OK” button to save your changes. This will make all the hidden files and folders visible to you.
Windows 8 and 10
- On the file explorer toolbar, click on the View
- In the Show/hide section, Click on the “Hidden items” checkbox.
- Click on the options button.
- Under folder options, click on the “View” tab.
- Uncheck the “Hide protected operating system files” option.
- Click the “OK” button to save your changes.
STEP C: Reset your Browser
Mozilla Firefox
- Open Mozilla Firefox and click on the three horizontal lines () which are at the top right corner of the computer screen.
- A Drop down menu will be displayed. On this menu click on the “Help” (
) button as shown in the image below. The Help menu will be displayed on the screen.
- From this menu click the option that reads “Troubleshooting information“. A new tab will open up with the <strong”>Troubleshooting information.
- On the Troubleshooting Information page, click on the button that reads “Refresh Firefox” as shown in the image below.
- The “Refresh Firefox” message box will pop up on the screen. On this message box click on the “Refresh Firefox” button.
- After this Firefox will close itself and a new window will be displayed which will list the information that is imported. Click on the option that reads “Finish” to complete the task.
Google Chrome
- Open Google chrome and click on the three vertical dots ( ) which is at the top right corner of the computer screen. A drop down menu will appear on the screen. From this menu choose the option that reads “Settings”.
- The Chrome’s settings window will be displayed on the screen. On this screen scroll through the bottom of the page and click on the option that reads “Advanced option” as shown below.
- The Advanced setting options will be displayed on the screen. Scroll through the list of options till you find the “ Reset browser settings” section. Click on the icon as shown below.
- The reset dialogue box will pop up on the screen. From this dialogue box click on the button that reads “Reset”.
Internet Explorer
- Open Internet Explorer and click on the gear icon (
) which is at the top right corner of the browser screen. A drop down menu will be displayed on the screen. From this drop down menu, click on the option that reads “Internet options”.
- The “Internet options” dialogue box will be displayed. Click on the “Advanced” tab. In the Advanced tab click on the button that reads “Reset” as shown in the image below. The “Reset Internet Explorer Settings” section will be displayed on the screen. Now click on the button that reads “Reset” .Precautions: In this dialogue box make sure to uncheck the “Delete Personal settings” option to save your passwords and other important data.
- When it’s done, click on the button that reads “Close” to complete the task. Now close and reopen your browser.
Tips to prevent your system from Alphanovahome.com Virus
- Keeping the Operating System Updated- In order to remain protected and avoid such infections, it is recommended to keep your Operating System updated by enabling the automatic update on your system. The systems with outdated or older versions of Operating System become an easy target for the attackers.
- Resist clicking on spam emails – One of the major techniques used for malware distribution is forwarding spam emails to the user. The system gets infected as soon as the user clicks on the attachment. These mails appear to be genuine, so be aware and resist falling for these tricks.
- Keep an eye on third party installations- It is quite important that you take due care while installing any third party applications for they are major source of such infections. Such malware programs come bundled with the free applications thereby requiring the user to remain cautious.
- Regular periodical backup- In order to keep your data and files safe, it is recommended to take regular back up of all your data and files either on an external drive or cloud.
- Use Anti-Virus Protection- We strongly recommend the use of antivirus protection/internet security in your PC like Vipre and Kaspersky so that it remains safe.
- Enable the Ad Blocker/Popup Blocker in your browser- Enabling the popup blocker/ ad blocker in your chosen browser will help you to stay protected from annoying adware.
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