What is Itotolink Virus?
The presence of Itotolink on your PC or browser indicates malicious activities occurring in the background. If you see signs of it on your PC, you need to remove it immediately.
Itotolink virus is a malware and browser hijacker classified as a potentially unwanted program (PUP). It runs as a browser extension and targets popular browsers such as Edge, Chrome, Firefox, Safari Explorer, and others. Itotolink is designed to redirect users to ads, commercials, or promoted websites that are mostly dubious and promote dangerous content.
If Itotolink is present in your PC and browser, you will notice questionable and unwanted changes in your browser homepage, search engine, and toolbar.
Sometimes, you may not notice the Itolink virus domain with its common name because it has different variants. Some other similar domains include:
- Fastredirects.com
- Clickies.net
- Dotsearcher.biz
- Cvazirouse.com
- Check-you-robot.site
What Does the Itotolink Virus Do?
Itotolink is a browser hijacker and a PUP. Upon stealthily entering a system, the Itotolink virus initiates changes in the browser(s) settings. It changes the home page and the default search engine, and affects the browser’s interface and functions.
Here are some of the things that Itolink can do:
- Changes browser settings and makes wpad.itotolink.com the default search engine.
- Redirects search results to wpad.itotolink.com and other compromised sites that may drop serious threats, such as ransomware, or Trojans, on your PC.
- Deliver dangerous and intrusive content on the browser.
- Bombards your PC and searches with dubious ads, banners, coupons, and pop-ups.
- Opens backdoors for remote criminal attackers.
- Use your PC for click fraud.
- Initiate high usage of your device’s resources such as RAM and CPU.
- Install other potentially malicious programs on your PC.
- Record keystrokes or exfiltrate your data.
How Is Itotolink Detected?
Itotolink is stealthy, and users cannot easily identify its presence until it starts redirecting search results and initiating pop-up ads and fake downloads. Most antivirus tools can detect suspicious activities of Itotolink. So, users will notice the alert. However, you cannot identify the specific malware entity, unless it starts to trigger suspicious activities on your PC.
Upon detection of the malware, anti-malware tools quarantine it and the files that it has infected. If you have an antivirus tool in your PC, you may see pop-up messages out of nowhere. These messages can scare you into thinking that a serious malware has infected your PC.
How to Remove Itotolink Virus
You should immediately remove the Itotolink virus when you see the pop-up message or alert.
You can use two methods to remove the Itotolink virus:
- Use a quality, reliable antivirus software program to remove the Itotolink virus automatically, using a quality, reliable antivirus software.
- Perform a manual deletion of the Itotolink virus from your system and browser.
Note:
We recommend using a quality antivirus tool to remove the Itotolink virus because the steps are simple and straightforward. A quality antivirus program can identify and remove other hidden, dangerous malware programs and malicious browsers on your PC in just a few clicks. Use the antivirus to conduct a full system scan for better results.
Itotolink Virus Removal Instructions
Here are the steps to help you remove the Itotolink virus browser extension:
How to Remove Itotolink Virus from Google Chrome
To completely remove Itotolink Virus from your computer, you need to reverse all of the changes on Google Chrome, uninstall suspicious extensions, plug-ins, and add-ons that were added without your permission.
Follow the instructions below to remove Itotolink Virus from Google Chrome:
1. Delete malicious plugins.
Launch the Google Chrome app, then click on the menu icon at the upper-right corner. Choose More Tools > Extensions. Look for Itotolink Virus and other malicious extensions. Highlight these extensions you want to uninstall, then click Remove to delete them.
2. Revert changes to your homepage and default search engine.
Click on Chrome's menu icon and select Settings. Click On Startup, then tick off Open a specific page or set of pages. You can either set up a new page or use existing pages as your homepage.
Go back to Google Chrome's menu icon and choose Settings > Search engine, then click Manage search engines. You'll see a list of default search engines that are available for Chrome. Delete any search engine that you think is suspicious. Click the three-dot menu beside the search engine and click Remove from list.
3. Reset Google Chrome.
Click on the menu icon located at the top right of your browser, and choose Settings. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, then click on Restore settings to their original defaults under Reset and clean up. Click on the Reset Settings button to confirm the action.
This step will reset your startup page, new tab, search engines, pinned tabs, and extensions. However, your bookmarks, browser history, and saved passwords will be saved.
How to Delete Itotolink Virus from Mozilla Firefox
Just like other browsers, malware tries to change the settings of Mozilla Firefox. You need to undo these changes to remove all traces of Itotolink Virus. Follow the steps below to completely delete Itotolink Virus from Firefox:
1. Uninstall dangerous or unfamiliar extensions.
Check Firefox for any unfamiliar extensions that you don't remember installing. There is a huge chance that these extensions were installed by the malware. To do this, launch Mozilla Firefox, click on the menu icon at the top-right corner, then select Add-ons > Extensions.
In the Extensions window, choose Itotolink Virus and other suspicious plugins. Click the three-dot menu beside the extension, then choose Remove to delete these extensions.
2. Change your homepage back to default if it was affected by malware.
Click on the Firefox menu at the upper-right corner of the browser, then choose Options > General. Delete the malicious homepage and type in your preferred URL. Or you can click Restore to change to the default homepage. Click OK to save the new settings.
3. Reset Mozilla Firefox.
Go to the Firefox menu, then click on the question mark (Help). Choose Troubleshooting Information. Hit the Refresh Firefox button to give your browser a fresh start.
Once you’ve completed the steps above, Itotolink Virus will be completely gone from your Mozilla Firefox browser.
How to Get Rid of Itotolink Virus from Internet Explorer
To ensure that the malware that hacked your browser is completely gone and that all unauthorized changes are reversed on Internet Explorer, follow the steps provided below:
1. Get rid of dangerous add-ons.
When malware hijacks your browser, one of the obvious signs is when you see add-ons or toolbars that suddenly appear on Internet Explorer without your knowledge. To uninstall these add-ons, launch Internet Explorer, click on the gear icon at the top-right corner of the browser to open the menu, then choose Manage Add-ons.
When you see the Manage Add-ons window, look for (name of malware) and other suspicious plugins/add-ons. You can disable these plugins/add-ons by clicking Disable.
2. Reverse any changes to your homepage caused by the malware.
If you suddenly have a different start page or your default search engine has been changed, you can change it back through the Internet Explorer's settings. To do this, click on the gear icon at the upper-right corner of the browser, then choose Internet Options.
Under the General tab, delete the homepage URL and enter your preferred homepage. Click Apply to save the new settings.
3. Reset Internet Explorer.
From the Internet Explorer menu (gear icon at the top), choose Internet Options. Click on the Advanced tab, then select Reset.
In the Reset window, tick off Delete personal settings and click the Reset button once again to confirm the action.
How to Uninstall Itotolink Virus on Microsoft Edge
If you suspect your computer to have been infected by malware and you think that your Microsoft Edge browser has been affected, the best thing to do is to reset your browser.
There are two ways to reset your Microsoft Edge settings to completely remove all the traces of malware on your computer. Refer to the instructions below for more information.
Method 1: Resetting via Edge Settings
- Open the Microsoft Edge app and click More or the three-dot menu located at the upper-right corner of the screen.
- Click Settings to reveal more options.
- In the Settings window, click Restore settings to their default values under Reset settings. Click the Reset button to confirm. This action will reset your browser’s startup page, the new tab page, default search engine, and pinned tabs. Your extensions will also be disabled and all temporary data like cookies will be deleted.
- Afterwards, right-click on the Start menu or the Windows logo, then select Task Manager.
- Click on the Processes tab and search for Microsoft Edge.
- Right-click on the Microsoft Edge process and select Go to details. If you don't see the Go to details option, click More details instead.
- Under the Details tab, look for all the entries with Microsoft Edge in their name. Right-click on each of these entries and choose End Task to quit those processes.
- Once you have quit all those processes, open Microsoft Edge once again and you'll notice that all the previous settings have been reset.
Method 2: Resetting via Command
Another way to reset Microsoft Edge is by using commands. This is an advanced method that is extremely useful if your Microsoft Edge app keeps crashing or won't open at all. Make sure to back up your important data before using this method.
Here are the steps to do this:
- Navigate to this folder on your computer: C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe.
- Select everything inside the folder, right-click on the highlighted files, then click Delete from the options.
- Search for Windows PowerShell using the search box beside the Start menu.
- Right-click on the Windows PowerShell entry, then choose Run as administrator.
- In the Windows PowerShell window, type in this command:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml -Verbose}
- Press Enter to execute the command.
- Once the reset process has been completed, Itotolink Virus should be completely deleted from your Microsoft Edge browser.
How to Get Rid of Itotolink Virus from Safari
The computer’s browser is one of the major targets of malware — changing settings, adding new extensions, and changing the default search engine. So if you suspect your Safari to be infected with Itotolink Virus, these are the steps you can take:
1. Delete suspicious extensions
Launch the Safari web browser and click on Safari from the top menu. Click Preferences from the drop-down menu.
Click on the Extensions tab at the top, then view the list of currently installed extensions on the left menu. Look for Itotolink Virus or other extensions you don’t remember installing. Click the Uninstall button to remove the extension. Do this for all your suspected malicious extensions.
2. Revert changes to your homepage
Open Safari, then click Safari > Preferences. Click on General. Check out the Homepage field and see if this has been edited. If your homepage was changed by Itotolink Virus, delete the URL and type in the homepage you want to use. Make sure to include the http:// before the address of the webpage.
3. Reset Safari
Open the Safari app and click on Safari from the menu at the upper-left of the screen. Click on Reset Safari. A dialog window will open where you can choose which elements you want to reset. Next, click the Reset button to complete the action.
Important Note:
After completing all these processes, refresh your browser(s), then restart your PC. This will ensure that the changes you have made take effect.
Wrapping Up
Itotolink is a threat to your computer and should be removed as soon as you spot it. Always remember, though, that, removing it from your machine isn’t enough. It would help if you take precautionary measures to protect your system from malware entities and other threats.
Ensure that you have an antivirus program in your PC and keep it activated and updated to block the installation of malware and other PUPs. Avoid freeware as well. If you have to install freeware, choose the advanced or custom installation option over the recommended installation to avoid installing bundled malware programs.