Relatively recently, a fairly large number of browser hijacking viruses have appeared on the World Wide Web, which also combine the functions of a spammer. And one of them is top-arama. How to remove it will now be considered. We note in advance that this technique is suitable for almost all threats of this type.
What is Search.top-arama.com virus?
In general, an increased activity of viruses of this type has recently been observed. Take at least the same Wajam.
As a rule, such viruses are oriented much further than ordinary user computers. Basically, their ultimate goal is to introduce them into social networks in order to attract a naive user to some website that provides, for example, paid software, through advertising and clicking on the link. This is where the question arises: “How to remove top-arama from a computer?” In principle, this is not difficult. The main thing is to be patient. But first things first.
System Impact
Like many similar viruses, this worm affects the system only in terms of surfing the user on the Internet. By analogy with the same Wajam and many other trojans, it will replace the search engine and pages in browsers that open by default, making it difficult to work on the World Wide Web. With deeper integration, the virus manifests itself in a more active stage and begins to steal confidential user data (logins, passwords, etc.) and can even independently connect to the Internet by going on behalf of the user to the same social networks and sending links with redirection to predefined resources.
The penetration of the virus into the system is not particularly original. Basically, it gets to user computer terminals when installing some applications taken from unreliable sources (and this equally applies to both free and shareware programs), when downloading various screensavers or decorations for Windows.
But the saddest thing is that this virus installs not only its own files, but also several additional programs that the average user may not even be aware of. If they are not removed, even after cleaning the system of the virus, it can be activated again.
First symptoms of infection
So what should you look for first? First of all, if you notice that the start page has changed, this is the first call. As a rule, instead of the default page, the Top-arama.com search engine window is displayed.
How to remove it in the safest way? Here you need to take several steps (note, the usual disabling of add-ons in the browser will not lead to anything). Based on this, one can imagine a certain sequence of actions that must be performed without fail.
Separately, it is worth paying attention that sometimes a virus can affect the disk check system that is available on Windows. Often a false scan result is issued with a subsequent offer to purchase some kind of licensed software to fix crashes and system errors in the hard drive. As already clear, this should not be done in any case.
Search.top-arama.com. How to remove a virus: basic steps
For almost all viruses of this type, standard actions are applied, which include the following aspects:
- completion of the active process;
- disabling startup virus;
- standard removal of the program and related components;
- registry cleaning ;
- removal of the virus body and residual files;
- disable add-ons and change Internet browser settings.
Search.top-arama. How to remove malware: detailed instructions
Now consider the sequence of actions in more detail. So, the computer is infected with the top-arama virus. How to remove it with the simplest method?
To start, we call the standard "Task Manager" either by combining Ctrl + Alt + Del, or by the taskmgr command from the "Run" menu (Win + R). In the tree of processes launched by all users, we find the process we are interested in (in this case, top-arama) and do the forced completion of its work.
Next, you need to extract the virus from startup (believe me, there is a link to top-arama). How to remove it from here? Simple too. We call the setup menu with the msconfig command from the previous Run menu, go to the appropriate tab and uncheck the process.
Now in the “Control Panel” we find the application in the list of installed programs (the menu of programs and components or the section for installing and uninstalling programs, depending on the version of Windows). We perform the standard uninstall procedure.
After that, we sort the installed programs by the installation date. Here you need to pay attention to recently installed applications. As a rule, their date is the same. If you see something dubious, and one that you obviously didn’t install, remove it all immediately (these are the accompanying components of the virus).
In the next step, again look at the top-arama virus. How to remove its keys from the system registry? We use the entrance to the editor. It is produced using the regedit command all in the same Run menu. Engaging in manual searches is a thankless task, but it will take a lot of time, especially if you don’t know where to look. Search will help here. We call it either from the main menu or by Ctrl + F and enter the string top-arama in the search field. All items found are subject to deletion.
But that is not all. If you understand how to remove the top-arama search engine, in the end you need to get rid of the virus body by deleting its files on the hard drive. Basically, a key file of the same name is located in the Windows root directory on the system drive. Although there are exceptions.
We have another aspect related to the top-arama virus. How to remove it from the hard drive? Again - use the search system in any file manager with the top-arama line entered in the field. Please note: the virus can hide its files. To display them, use the view menu in which the display options for hidden files and folders are selected. At the same time, you should not use the line of hiding systemically important files of the system itself, who knows, maybe it was disguised there. On this, in fact, the first stage ends.
Additional tools
As for additional tools, some recommend using the special Search.top-arama.com Removal Tool. Frankly, it causes a rather strong distrust, as well as packages like Spyhunter, which will then be much more difficult to get rid of than the virus itself.
At the stage of uninstalling the program, it is better to use professional packages like iObit Uninstaller or Revo Uninstaller Pro. Such programs not only allow you to delete the main virus files, but also find the residual files and registry keys remaining after the removal of the main content.
Disable add-ons in browsers
Now it remains only to disable (delete) the add-in in Internet browsers, and not only from the default one used by the system, but from all installed ones, since the virus is able to recognize them and implements its settings everywhere, as well as change the start page of the download when applications start.
How to remove (http) search.top-arama.com? It all depends on the browser. For example, in Internet Explorer, add-ons can be accessed from the main menu, called by Alt + X, and change the page in the browser properties section .
In Mozilla Firefox, the start page is changed from the general settings tab, and the add-in is disabled in the add-ons section. In Google Chrome, you can use the Startup section to change the home page, disable the add-on - the add-ons (plugins) menu. By the way, it is advisable to change the search client through the corresponding section of search engine management. In general, such actions should not cause difficulties.
Instead of an afterword
In conclusion, users should give a little advice. First, do not ignore antivirus warnings about an unwanted transition to a resource. Secondly, if some program is downloaded as an archive or an executable file, for starters it is better to check it with a standard scanner. Thirdly, still at the stage of the standard removal of the virus program, it is better not to resort to the help of the built-in Windows uninstaller, but to run more powerful utilities. By the way, their use can help save time by skipping the steps to delete registry keys and residual files on disk.