Read this article to learn how to remove the Movie-quest.co browser redirects from your computer and how to make sure such type of threats do not bring harm to it in the future.
A new browser hijacking software associated with the suspicious search engine Movie-quest.co only pretends to be legitimate while it begins to spread multiple different types of advertisements and causes slowdowns to the computers affected by it. The suspicious software enters via unregulated websites and bundled setups, so it is very difficult to detect. When installed it begins to significantly modify the web browser settings of the computer it’s on and collect different information from victims plus cause system slow-downs, freezes and even crashes. If you have been affected by the Movie-quest.co hijacker, we reccommend that you read this article.
| Threat Name | Movie-quest.co |
| Category | Adware/PUP/Browser Hijacker. |
| Main Activity | Slithers onto your computer and heavily modifies your web browser settings to cause advertisements and collect data. |
| Signs of Presence | Multiple third-party advertisements as well as a slow computer. |
| Spread | Via malicious e-mail spam and set of infection tools. |
| Detection+Removal | DOWNLOAD REMOVAL TOOL FOR Movie-quest.co |
What Types of Adware are There?
Usually most hackers who are behind suspicious adware programs, like Movie-quest.co Adware aim to make it as difficult as possible to remove their program. But they often give away it’s name by stating it in the pop-ups displayed, for example “Ads by Movie-quest.co” on one of the sides of the pop-up or banner or if you drag your mouse over the advertisement.
Another way by which you may detect if you are about to have adware on your computer is to catch it while being installed. Adware programs like _ are usually being spread via third-party programs. The third-party software’s installers can be with included programs that are advertised as free bonus software or other seemingly useful code. However, the Movie-quest.co Adware can present a potential harm to your computer and this is why experts often recommend to remove programs like it immediately.
How Does Movie-quest.co Work
Movie-quest.co was created by developers who also are a brand of the some of the most famous PUA(Potentially Unwanted Application) maker groups. The ad-supported character of this software makes it to often be categorized by users as adware, which is not far from the truth. However, because the application is not malicious and is also classified as a low-level type of threat many antivirus programs tend to skip it.If it is active on your computer, some of the signs to notice it are:
- Seeing “Ads by Movie-quest.co” or “A Movie-quest.co Ad” or any similarly caption advertisements showing as pop-ups, banners, etc.
- Noticing phishing web pages or browser redirects to third-party search engines, besides the original one used by default on your web browser.
- Sluggish performance of your computer.
In addition to this general activity of Movie-quest.co, the add-supported program may also perform multiple different types of advertisements that link to various third-party websites. And this is not good, because those programs may collect certain specific information from your computer using:
- Pixels.
- Flash cookies.
- Tags.
- Web cookies.
- Others.
Such technology can be used to obtain your:
- IP address.
- Search history.
- Mouse clicking history.
- Tracking of your search history.
- Browser history.
This data may then be used to display targeted advertisements or for other purposes that have nothing to do with your interest. Some third-party websites which may be linked either via Movie-quest.co or it’s advertised entities, may redirect you to a malicious web link that may prompt you to download a fake installer or a malicious web link. Such malicious objects can even infect your computer with different malware:
- Ransomware.
- Worms.
- Trojans.
- DDoS software./span>
- BitCoin miners.
- Banking malware.
- Keyloggers.
What Does Movie-quest.co Adware Do on My Computer?
Adware or ad-supported software is a category of programs which are created to show different types of advertised content on your computer system. This content includes displaying pop-ups, redirecting tabs from your web browser to web pages that are unfamiliar and may cause your PC harm.
Other side effects of having adware programs such as Movie-quest.co on your computer is that the software begins to collect your data without your approval. Usually most adware programs do not notify that they collect data and these software are often deemed to be malicious.
How Bad Does Movie-quest.co Adware Affect You?
Besides it’s primary goal – do show you various types of adverts and collect your information, _ adware does not aim to show you that it’s there. There may usually be several signs that the program is installed on your computer and these signs may be the:
- Name of the program on the displayed advertisements.
- Movie-quest.co installed as a suspicious browser extension, that pretends to be legitimate.
- If it is situated on your Windows Programs and Features.
Since detection of the Movie-quest.co Adware program can be a tricky process, because most of the files it creates are concealed in different Windows locations, removal of it may be a tricky process. You can try to locate it’s suspicious web browser extensions on your Chrome, Firefox, Explorer or other browser and you can try to uninstall it from the Programs and Features menu in Windows. However, this does not guarantee that the program won’t be back after this, like it usually happens with such software. This is the main reason why an adware-specific removal program should be used to scan for and delete all of the objects related to Movie-quest.co Adware from your computer system.
Eliminate Movie-quest.co‘s Harmful Registries
For most Windows variants:
1) Hold Windows Button and R.
2) In the “Run” box type “Regedit” and hit “Enter”.
3) Hold CTRL+F keys and type Movie-quest.co or the file name of the malicious executable of the virus which is usually located in %AppData%, %Temp%, %Local%, %Roaming% or %SystemDrive%.
4) After having located malicious registry objects, some of which are usually in the Run and RunOnce subkeys delete them ermanently and restart your computer. Here is how to find and delete keys for different versions.
For Windows 7: Open the Start Menu and in the search type and type regedit –> Open it. –> Hold CTRL + F buttons –> Type Movie-quest.co Virus in the search field.
Win 8/10 users: Start Button –> Choose Run –> type regedit –> Hit Enter -> Press CTRL + F buttons. Type Movie-quest.co in the search field.