How to stop browsers from opening vpnprotectplus.com

What is vpnprotectplus[.]com?

vpnprotectplus[.]com is a deceptive website that attempts to trick visitors into installing a potentially unwanted application (PUA). It notifies people that it has detected viruses on their device and encourages them to remove the threats with some dubious software.

We strongly advise against trusting websites such as vpnprotectplus[.]com or downloading/installing software advertised through them. Typically, these websites are opened via deceptive advertisements, dubious websites or PUAs installed on browsers and/or operating systems.

vpnprotectplus[.]com targets users of desktop and mobile Apple devices. When visited, it displays a fake system notification pop-up window encouraging visitors to read an "important notification" regarding their device. Note that vpnprotectplus[.]com is disguised as an official Apple website, however, Apple has nothing to do with this, or other similar, web pages.

According to the notification in the background, the device has been infected with three viruses. Furthermore, it is stated that the battery is also damaged.

To prevent the viruses from causing any further damage, visitors must apparently remove them with specific software, which can be downloaded by clicking the "Download and Install" button. As mentioned, software should never be downloaded from scam websites such as vpnprotectplus[.]com.

Browsers often open dubious websites due to installed PUAs. These apps are designed to force people to visit rogue web pages, and they also gather information and display intrusive advertisements.

In most cases, PUAs record IP addresses, geolocations, URLs of visited pages, entered search queries, and other browsing data, however, they might also be designed to collect private, sensitive data. Developers sell the data to third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) who misuse it to generate revenue.

Installed PUAs might also display ads in the form of coupons, banners, surveys, pop-ups, and so on. When clicked, they can lead to untrusted websites or execute scripts that cause download/installation of PUAs (or other malicious programs). If you believe that PUAs are installed on the browser or operating system, remove them immediately.

Threat Summary:

Name	vpnprotectplus.com pop-up
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Mac malware, Mac virus.
Fake Claim	This website claims that the device is infected with viruses and the battery is damaged.
Detection Names	Full List (VirusTotal)
Serving IP Address	104.27.159.27
Symptoms	Your Mac becomes slower than normal, you see unwanted pop-up ads, you are redirected to dubious websites.
Distribution methods	Deceptive pop-up ads, free software installers (bundling), fake Flash Player installers, torrent file downloads.
Damage	Internet browser tracking (potential privacy issues), display of unwanted ads, redirects to dubious websites, loss of private information.
Malware Removal (Mac)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your Mac with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner for Mac To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. Limited seven days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

vpnshieldplus2[.]com, safari-extension[.]com and bestantius[.]com are examples of other deceptive sites similar to vpnprotectplus[.]com.

These websites attempt to trick visitors into downloading and installing dubious applications. Note that the sites are commonly disguised as official Apple web pages. If a browser opens these websites automatically, it might be forced to so by a PUA installed on the browser or operating system.

How did potentially unwanted applications install on my computer?

Typically, people download and install apps such as adware and other potentially unwanted software inadvertently. They are often distributed through the set-ups of other software. I.e., developers include PUAs into setups and hope that users will fail to dismiss offers to download or install them.

In most cases, these offers are hidden in options such as "Custom", "Advanced", and so on.

People who leave these settings unchanged usually allow additional apps to be downloaded/installed together with their regular software. Unwanted downloads and installations can also be caused through deceptive ads - if clicked, these run scripts that start download/installation of unwanted applications.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

All software should be downloaded from official websites and via direct links. Peer-to-Peer networks (torrent clients, eMule), unofficial websites, third party downloaders, installers, and other tools of this kind should not be used to download or install programs.

Check "Advanced", "Custom" and other settings of any download or installation setup and dismiss offers to download/install additionally-included, unwanted apps. Do not click intrusive ads that appear on dubious web pages - they usually lead to untrusted websites or download and install unwanted, potentially malicious software.

Ensure that there are no unwanted, suspicious extensions, plug-ins or add-ons installed on the browser, or software of this kind installed on the operating system. Unwanted entries should be removed immediately. If your computer is already infected with PUAs, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS to automatically eliminate them.

Text in a fake system notification pop-up:

(1) SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
Please Read Important Notification Regarding Your iOS Device

Screenshot of the background page:

Text in this page:

Apple Security

Wednesday 22 January 2020

 

(3) Viruses has been detected on your iPad and battery has been infected and damaged.

 

If you do not remove this malware now, it may cause more damage to your device. How to fix this:

 

Step 1: Tap the button below & install the recommended virus protection tool for free from the AppStore.

 

Step 2: Run the app to remove all malware to repair your phone to 100%

 

0 minute and 47 seconds

 

Download and Install

Screenshot of a pop-up on desktop vpnprotectplus[.]com version:

Screenshot of a background page:

To enable pop-up blocking, bogus website warnings, and remove web browsing data in mobile Apple devices, follow these steps:

First, go to "Settings", and then scroll down to find and tap "Safari".

Check if the "Block Pop-ups" and "Fraudulent Website Warning" toggles are enabled. If not, enable them immediately. Then, scroll down and tap "Advanced".

Tap "Website Data" and then "Remove All Website Data".

Instant automatic Mac malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of Mac malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner for Mac By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. Limited seven days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Quick menu:

• What is vpnprotectplus[.]com?
• STEP 1. Remove PUA related files and folders from OSX.
• STEP 2. Remove rogue extensions from Safari.
• STEP 3. Remove rogue add-ons from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove potentially unwanted plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox.

Video showing how to remove adware and browser hijackers from a Mac computer:

Potentially unwanted applications removal:

Remove potentially unwanted applications from your "Applications" folder:

Click the Finder icon. In the Finder window, select "Applications". In the applications folder, look for "MPlayerX", "NicePlayer", or other suspicious applications and drag them to the Trash. After removing the potentially unwanted application(s) that cause online ads, scan your Mac for any remaining unwanted components.

Remove adware-related files and folders

Click the Finder icon, from the menu bar. Choose Go, and click Go to Folder...

Check for adware generated files in the /Library/LaunchAgents/ folder:

In the Go to Folder... bar, type: /Library/LaunchAgents/

In the "LaunchAgents" folder, look for any recently-added suspicious files and move them to the Trash. Examples of files generated by adware - "installmac.AppRemoval.plist", "myppes.download.plist", "mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist", "kuklorest.update.plist", etc. Adware commonly installs several files with the exact same string.

Check for adware generated files in the ~/Library/Application Support/ folder:

In the Go to Folder... bar, type: ~/Library/Application Support/

In the "Application Support" folder, look for any recently-added suspicious folders. For example, "MplayerX" or "NicePlayer", and move these folders to the Trash.

Check for adware generated files in the ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ folder:

In the Go to Folder... bar, type: ~/Library/LaunchAgents/

In the "LaunchAgents" folder, look for any recently-added suspicious files and move them to the Trash. Examples of files generated by adware - "installmac.AppRemoval.plist", "myppes.download.plist", "mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist", "kuklorest.update.plist", etc. Adware commonly installs several files with the exact same string.

Check for adware generated files in the /Library/LaunchDaemons/ folder:

In the "Go to Folder..." bar, type: /Library/LaunchDaemons/

In the "LaunchDaemons" folder, look for recently-added suspicious files. For example "com.aoudad.net-preferences.plist", "com.myppes.net-preferences.plist", "com.kuklorest.net-preferences.plist", "com.avickUpd.plist", etc., and move them to the Trash.

Scan your Mac with Combo Cleaner:

If you have followed all the steps correctly, your Mac should be clean of infections. To ensure your system is not infected, run a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus. Download it HERE. After downloading the file, double click combocleaner.dmg installer. In the opened window, drag and drop the Combo Cleaner icon on top of the Applications icon. Now open your launchpad and click on the Combo Cleaner icon. Wait until Combo Cleaner updates its virus definition database and click the "Start Combo Scan" button.

Combo Cleaner will scan your Mac for malware infections. If the antivirus scan displays "no threats found" - this means that you can continue with the removal guide; otherwise, it's recommended to remove any found infections before continuing.

After removing files and folders generated by the adware, continue to remove rogue extensions from your Internet browsers.

Remove malicious extensions from Internet browsers

Remove malicious Safari extensions:

Open the Safari browser, from the menu bar, select "Safari" and click "Preferences...".

In the preferences window, select "Extensions" and look for any recently-installed suspicious extensions. When located, click the "Uninstall" button next to it/them. Note that you can safely uninstall all extensions from your Safari browser - none are crucial for regular browser operation.

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Safari.

Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "More Tools" and click "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious extensions, select these entries and click "Remove".

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Google Chrome.

Remove malicious extensions from Mozilla Firefox:

Click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window) and select "Add-ons and themes". Click "Extensions", in the opened window locate all recently-installed suspicious extensions, click on the three dots and then click "Remove".

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Mozilla Firefox.

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