Welcome to our Gpfree0097 Android “Virus” removal instructions. They should work on most Android devices.

If you have come face to face with Gpfree0097, you know how unpleasant it can be and just how much it can get in your way. The staggering amount of ads displayed on nearly every website can get downright aggressive in the manner they are distributed. For sure you have already experienced the irritating page redirects and many popups that make you lose precious times, and you have no doubt been hindered by the multitude of banners and just random hyperlinks in the middle of an article you were reading. These are the all-too-well known symptoms of being infected by Browser Hijacker, which as you can tell by the name is software that produces advertisements. Whether it’s offers on incredibly good deals, coupons or some other ‘attractive’ bonuses, you’re sick of it and want it gone, which is why you’re on this page. Good. We have designed the below guide to help you do just that, but before skipping on to it, we’d like to give you a little more insight on the cyber phenomenon that is Browser Hijacker and just how much nastier things are than they seem. Naturally we have also provided the removal guide necessary for removing this nasty customer from your machine.

What Gpfree0097 “Virus” actually does

Gpfree0097 and others like it are designed for the sole purpose of earning their developers money. This is possible thanks to the Pay per click scheme, which enables them to make a profit off of every time you click on one of the many ads. In order for this to be more effective however, the developers try to make the ads more appealing to the specific user and lure him or her into clicking on whatever link or banner. This is achieved with the help of a little spying that’s done by the program. It collects your browsing details, like search queries, favorite pages, most visited pages and even personal information you may have entered on any of these pages. This data is then analyzed, the ads are now a bit more personalized and then all of this info can be sold to someone else. The danger here is that this someone else could be anyone and might not have the cleanest intentions, so there’s no telling what purposes your data might be used for. Fortunately this is much different from ransomware, which will encrypt your data and extort you for payment. Actually it could rightfully be argued that Gpfree0097 is not a “Virus” at all.
Aside from that, there’s the gateway factor. A Browser Hijacker could act as a means of getting infected by much more harmful software, known as malware (malicious + software)and this can happen if one of the ads you clicked on happened to lead to a malicious website. You might also have the bad luck of clicking on a malvertisement, which will directly download something exceptionally bad to your device. For this reason we highly recommend you avoid clicking on any of the featured banners or links and immediately close any popups or windows you’ve been redirected to. More often than not, they hold nothing of interest for you anyway, despite what the ad may have initially said.

How it travels

Gpfree0097 is usually distributed through program bundles. So, if you were ever searching for some freeware or downloaded a program from some suspicious website, you may have had Browser Hijacker bundled into that program. It’s possible that you even had no idea of this if you used the default setup, when installing the program. That way developers can throw in any additional software without asking for your permission, because technically – you already gave it to them. In cases like this you should always choose the custom / advanced setup, because then all these additional ‘features’ will be made known to you and you will be able to choose whether or not they can be installed on your mobile device.

However, it’s always best to avoid reaching the point where you’ve already downloaded the unwanted software onto your device. Especially since program bundles can be used to distribute viruses as well, and those might not be as kind as to ask you for permission to be installed. The surest way to avoid such problems is to stay away from their most obvious sources – murky, virus laded websites, such as open-source download platforms, torrent sites and so on. If you haven’t already, now would also be a good time to install a good antivirus program to help protect your system from any harm, and it’s best if you can also get a browser extension for it. Run virus scans frequently to ensure your mobile device is clean and all should be well. This strategy will not only protect you against Browser Hijacker, but also against its more dangerous brethren – such as ransomware.

Gpfree0097 Android “Virus” Removal

It might be enough to navigate to Settings -> Application Manager -> Downloaded -> Locate Gpfree0097 -> Uninstall

If this option is not active then try this: Settings -> More -> Security -> Device Administrators

Make sure that only the Android Device Manger has permissions to alter your device. Also make sure that under the Security settings you don’t have Unknown Sources marked out.

Remove Gpfree0097 from Chrome

Go to Settings -> More -> Application Manager

Now Go to Application Manager -> Downloaded -> Chrome

Now Force Stop -> Clear Data

Remove Gpfree0097 from Firefox

Again, Go to Settings -> More -> Application Manager

Now Go to Application Manager -> Downloaded -> Firefox

Now Force Stop -> Clear Data

Remove Gpfree0097 From “Internet”

Settings -> More -> Application Manager

Application Manager -> All -> Internet

Force Stop -> Clear Data

Reboot your Android Device. Your problem should now be fixed.

If you run into any trouble – ask us for help in the comments section!