Runesmith.top Ads Removal. How to stop pop-up?

Written by Valdis Koks

Runesmith.top search hijacker is a type of malware that squeezes into your PC, and afterwards changes the search engine configurations in your browser to one which it desires. It also makes some unwanted modifications that might cause personal information leakages, in addition to other malware penetration. In this post, you will see the guide of Runesmith.top hijacker removal in various strategies, and also the method of making your web browser like new.

icon hijacker - Do I really need it?

Runesmith.top Info

Name Runesmith.top extension
Type Browser hijacker1
Short Description The unwanted software that amends important browser settings without the user’s permission.
Symptoms The Runesmith.top hijacker replaces the browser parameters set by the users and replaces these settings with its own values.
Distribution Method Bundling with Freeware or Shareware, misleading pop-up ads produced by adware.
Detection Tool Inspect If Your System Has Been Affected by the Runesmith.top hijacker.

The methods of injection of Runesmith.top search hijackers are diverse. Most of them come from the malware spreading with the malvertising or malevolent web links of different websites. Occasionally, your system can be contaminated with this virus via the trojan-downloader, which is utilized to distribute various other malware. There is a solitary form of this unwanted program – web browser plugin that may build right into any browser which supports the add-on setup2.

You will not likely install this plugin by yourself, since their names are highly dubious, and the functionality is very questionable. The “creators” of Runesmith.top hijacker normally state that it can save the .doc/.docx documents from the websites already to .pdf format, or to download the entire website on your disk. It is quite hard to picture if someone may be needed in such operations in 2023, when the Internet access is not time-limited and every PC is able to open the needed .docx documents at Google Docs.

Nevertheless, besides their uselessness, they can easily be discovered in the Chrome Web Store. Certainly, virus analysts sound the alarm regarding such spam right into the legit source of web browser extensions, demanding the Google response – getting rid of these extensions from their site. But they are still not hurrying to fix that security issue.

Icon - Your PC hijacker

Is the Runesmith.top virus?

At the first sight, you can assume that these redirects are just irritating, but not dangerous. As a result of this factor a great deal of users are simply playing for time rather than getting rid of this malware, getting increasingly more possibilities of being infected with numerous other infections, which are far more major than Runesmith.top is.

Besides the modified search engine or search engine result, you can likewise see various ads even on those internet sites that do not have any kind of promotions on it by default. And you can unintentionally misclick while turning off the promotion, and begin the downloading of an unknown file, which may be a malware, or a potentially unwanted application, or even ransomware – whatever the maintainers of this hijacker want.

If your browser is damaged because of the Azorult trojan task, the system may begin malfunctioning in the near future – this symptome is among the most usual in case of trojan infiltration.

Icon - remove Runesmith.top hijacker

How to remove Runesmith.top?

First, let me say several words about prevention the Runesmith.top malware infiltration. It is very easy to refer to the options of securing your computer from such frustrating things as browser hijackers, however, it is extremely easy to be caught on this bait even being a professional user. As it was specified above, this malware may hide after the eye-catching (at the first sight) ad, or in packs with various other adware you can get in dozens of manners. But no matter the common intricacy of the penetration methods, it is very easy to avoid the Runesmith.top hijacker presence in your system:

  • Do not follow the dubious links;
  • Restrict the usage of pseudo-free software (one which is offered as free, but has an additional unwanted programs in its pack);
  • Leave the habit of clicking advertisements on the web. If you need to buy something, it is better to google it;
  • Avoid downloading the files from dubious sources, like forums or file sharing websites.

Preparation before removing Runesmith.top.

Before starting the actual uninstall procedure, we recommend that you do the following introductory milestones.

  • Make certain you have this hand-operated tutorial always all set to utilize.
  • Do a back-up of all of your data, consisting of the saved logins, passwords as well as various other qualifications. You should support your information with a cloud backup option and ensure your documents are safeguarded from any type of type of loss, also from one of the most severe infections.
  • Wait until the lasting back-up process is over.

Step 1: Uninstall Runesmith.top and related software from Windows

Right here is a technique in couple of very easy steps that should have the ability to uninstall most applications. Either you use Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP, these milestones will work well. Moving the app or its folder to the Trash can be a very wrong idea. In case you do that, remnants of the app may remain, and that can cause the unstable performance of your system, malfunctions with the file type associations and other unpleasant behavior. The effective solution to get an app off your device is to remove it manually. To do that:

1. Keep holding the Windows Logo Button and “R” on your keyboard. A Pop-up window will soon arrive.

Windows keyboard R

2. In the field that appeared, type in “appwiz.cpl” -1  and choose OK – 2.

Run appwiz.cpl

 

3. This will open a window with all the apps available on the device. Choose the app that you want to get rid of, then choose “Uninstall

Follow the steps above and you will successfully get rid of most unwanted apps.

Step 2: Get rid of Runesmith.top from all your available browsers.

Mozilla FirefoxGoogle ChromeInternet ExplorerMicrosoft Edge

1. Launch Mozilla Firefox. Go to its menu window

2. Choose the “Add-ons” icon in the menu.

3. Find the unwanted extension and select “Remove

Mozilla Firefox Add-ons Remove

4. Upon deleting the extension, reload Mozilla Firefox, closing it with the help of a red “X” button in the upper right corner and start it again.

1. Launch Google Chrome and go to its drop menu

Google Chrome drop menu click

2. Click on “Tools” and then in the extended menu select “Extensions

Google Chrome Tools select Extensions

3. In the “Extensions” menu find the unwanted extension and apply the “Remove” button related to it.

Google Chrome Extensions Remove

4. As soon as the extension is deleted, reload Google Chrome by closing it by means of the red “X” button at the top right corner and launch it again.

1. Launch Internet Explorer

2. Click on the gear icon marked ‘Tools’ to open the drop menu and choose ‘Manage Add-ons’

Manage-add-ons

3. In the “Manage Add-ons” window, locate the extension you want to delete and then click “Remove”. A pop-up window will come up to inform you that you are about to delete the selected extension, and some more add-ons might be disabled as well. Leave all the boxes checked, and choose “Remove”.

Internet Explorer extension removal

4. Once the unwanted extension is deleted, reload Internet Explorer by shutting it down from the red “X” button located at the top right corner and launch it again.

1. Launch Edge

2. Access the drop menu by clicking on the icon at the top right corner.

3. From the drop menu choose “Extensions”.

Microsoft Edge menu Extensions

4. Locate the suspected dangerous extension you want to delete and then click on the Remove button.

Microsoft Edge Extensions Remove

Step 3: Clean any registries that could be added by Runesmith.top on your device.

The usually attacked registries of Windows machines are the following:

  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
  • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
  • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce

You can access them by going to the Windows registry editor and getting rid of any values added by Runesmith.top. Follow the steps below:

  1. Start the Run Window command once again, type “regedit” and click OK.Window command regedit
  2. As soon as you open it, you can freely go to the Run and RunOnce keys, whose locations are displayed above.Window command Run and RunOnce keys
  3. You can delete the value of the virus by right-clicking on it and deleting it.Window command regedit delete the value virus

Tip: To locate a virus-created value, you can right-click on it and select “Modify” to find which file it is set to run. If this is the malware file location, delete the value.

Step 4: Scan for Runesmith.top with Loaris Trojan Remover

1. Click on the “Download” button to proceed to Loaris Trojan Remover download.

It is recommended to run a scan before purchasing the full version of the software to make sure that the current version of the malware can be detected by Trojan Remover. Click on the corresponding links to check License AgreementPrivacy Policy.

2. Click “Install” to start.

Loaris Trojan Remover Install

There were 4 scan types suggested:

  • Standard Scan.
  • Full Scan.
  • Custom Scan.
  • Removable Scan.

 

3. After the installed has finished, click on the ‘Scan’ tab. Click on ‘Full Scan’.

Loaris Trojan Remover Full Scan

4. Once the scanning is started, Loaris will initiate the thorough analysis of your device and may soon identify specific threats currently slowing down the performance of your system. Make sure to wait until the scanning is completed to let the software fully evaluate the safety of your workstation.

Loaris Trojan Remover - scan in process

5. After Loaris Trojan Remover has finished scanning your PC for any files of the associated threat and found them, you can try to get them removed automatically and permanently by clicking on the ‘Apply’ button. There were options to move the files to quarantine, ignore or delete them.

Loaris Trojan Remover - show viruses

If any threats have been removed, it is highly recommended to restart your PC.

 

  1. About browser hijackers on Wikipedia
  2. Possible danger of free browser extensions

About the author

Valdis Koks

Security engineer, reverse engineering and memory forensics

Leave a Comment