Welcome to our how to remove Trusted Surf instructions. This article intends to help you remove Trusted Surf from your system and is designed to work for Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer and all Windows versions.
Before you start the process of removal, it is good to have an idea of what Trusted Surf is about.
What is Trusted Surf?
Contrary to popular beliefs, Trusted Surf is not to be considered a computer virus. A virus is a piece of programming code that seeks to do harm to your computer. According to security experts, Trusted Surf is being classified as a Browser Hijacker. It is a piece of programming code that is non-malicious and does not cause any direct harm to the computer.
However, even though Trusted Surf is relatively harmless, you are still encouraged to go about with the removal process. Perhaps, you may have already encountered the side-effects of this Browser Hijacker: the countless ads that may appear which, at times, becomes something of a nuisance and may cause feelings of irritation, frustration and annoyance to arise in you. Therefore, to eliminate this potential source of stress, you are encouraged to uninstall it.
What does it do?
Sometimes, if you do not know the entirety of the program, you might be reserved about removing it as there is a possibility of you losing a certain benefit that it might provide. However, you could rest assured that this is not very likely with this Browser Hijacker.
Any Browser Hijacker may be programmed in such a way as to be able to track your browsing patterns and history, favourites and bookmarks. From the information that it has collected, it may be then able to generate convincing ads that may be tailored to your preferences. These ads may appear in the form of banners, pop-up ads or boxes or even as a separate window. They may feature anything from a lottery/lucky draw win to coupons and deals of items that you frequently browse through online.
We strongly encourage you not to click on the ads. However, on the off chance that you did, you may be directed to a webpage that may range from being totally harmless but useless, to being a security threat to your computer. So, if you are lucky, you may just be redirected to a page that you have previously visited where the “deal” could be found. However, unfortunately, that is often not the case. Most of the times, you may be directed to a pay-per-click site that helps its creators to generate some income. If you are unlucky, the page that you are directed to may double up as a portal. A portal for other Browser Hijackers that may invade your computer without your knowing. Sometimes, the page may even be promoting the download of a certain program. In such a case, do not download the program in question regardless of its accolades. These programs are often full of security loopholes that may make it easier for other Browser Hijackers and even viruses to invade your computer in the future.
Thus, it may be seen that, in the case of Trusted Surf, no practical benefits could be obtained from it and it could be argued that you would be better off removing it.
How did my computer get infected in the first place?
As per what was stated in the previous section, you may have gotten infected from one of the redirect websites that may serve as a Browser Hijacker portal.
According to our expert findings though, most of the infected cases happened through downloading of the free and, often illegal, programs that are readily available online. Some of these free programs may be bundled together with Trusted Surf and thus, when downloading, this Browser Hijacker may be downloaded together with the program in question as a set.
However, not all hope is lost! The most critical step to avoid is not the downloading per se but more of the installation. The Browser Hijacker would not be able to function if it has not been installed onto your computer. Therefore, when going through the installation process, go for the custom option as to be able to have a look at the names of the files. Uncheck any names that you find unfamiliar and you should be good to go!
Threat | Trusted Surf |
Classification | Browser Hijacker |
Security Alert |
Medium |
Negative Effects | Potentially intrusive ads and irritating browser redirects. |
How To Remove Trusted Surf
Step 1
Reveal Hidden Files. If you don’t know how to do this, ask us in the comments.
Step 2
Press and hold the button on your keyboard and R. Type appwiz.cpl and click on Ok.
Look for suspicious programs and uninstall them.
In the search field type => msconfig => hit Enter.
Go to Startup and disable all entries with Unknown as Manufacturer.
Step 3
=> Search=> Copy/Paste “notepad %windir%/system32/Drivers/etc/hosts” => Enter.
If you notice other IPs different from the localhost IPs – you might be in danger!
Ask for additional help in the comments.
Step 4
Remove Trusted Surf from Chrome
Click => More Tools => Extensions.
Locate the Browser Hijacker and remove it.
Remove Trusted Surf from Firefox
Click => Add-ons=> Extensions.
Locate the Browser Hijacker and delete it.
Malware Removal from Internet Explorer
Press on => Manage Add-ons =>
Find the Browser Hijacker and remove it.
Step 5
Right click on the Taskbar => Start Task Manager.
Navigate to Processes.
Locate any suspicious processes associated with Trusted Surf. Right click on the process = > Open File Location => End Process = > Delete the directories with the suspicious files.
Step 6
=> Search => Type:
- %AppData%
- %LocalAppData%
- %ProgramData%
- %WinDir%
- %Temp%
Hit Enter after each new search. Check each Folder and delete recent entries.
If you run into any trouble – ask us for help in the comments section!