How to remove software injecting cncode.pw URL into visited websites

What is cncode[.]pw?

cncode[.]pw is a website URL that is injected alongside malicious code into visited websites by installed Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUAs). When the software responsible has infiltrated the system, it spontaneously force-opens various untrusted and dangerous sites.

The pages are opened via a redirection chain. I.e., before stopping at a particular website, the redirect goes through several other dubious ones in quick succession. The cncode[.]pw site has not been observed as part of the redirect chain, yet it is always present on the visited websites together with the malicious code.

Oclasrv[.]com and inappapiurl[.]com have been noted repeatedly featuring in the redirection chains. PUAs can have a variety of dangerous functionalities, such as causing redirects, running intrusive advertisement campaigns, hijacking browsers, and collecting private data.

Therefore, the presence of this unwanted software on systems poses a threat to device integrity and user privacy.

PUAs can force-open various misleading and malicious websites - visiting or trusting these can cause a range of serious problems. In the case of the software injecting cncode[.]pw into visited websites, users do not need to click anywhere or perform other actions to cause the redirects.

Unwanted apps often promote sale-oriented pages (of both legitimate and fraudulent products), rogue, deceptive/scam, compromised, and malicious sites. Rogue web pages (e.g., destinynewyorks[.]co, very-important[.]online, ourcoolspot[.]com, etc.) present visitors with dubious material and/or redirect them to other bogus sites.

The behavior of these websites is determined by visitors' geolocations (inferred through their IP addresses).

Deceptive sites run various scams (e.g., "TikTok Followers Hack", "$500 Amazon Gift Card!", "Suspicious movement distinguished on you IP", etc.), which endorse fake anti-viruses and PUAs, attempt to trick visitors into revealing vulnerable information and/or making bogus payments.

Compromised/Malicious websites are designed to infiltrate trojans, ransomware, cryptominers, and other malware into visitors' systems. As mentioned, these unwanted applications can have other dangerous capabilities as well as causing redirects.

Adware-type PUAs run intrusive advertisement campaigns. The delivered ads diminish the browsing experience and promote dubious/dangerous web pages. Some of these ad can be triggered (when clicked) to execute scripts designed to stealthily download/install software.

Browser hijackers are other PUAs, which operate by modifying browsers and restricting/denying access to browser settings in order to promote fake search engines. The promoted search engines seldom can provide search results, and so they redirect to Google, Bing, Yahoo, and other legitimate sites.

Furthermore, most PUAs (regardless of type) can track data. Targeted information includes: URLs visited, pages viewed, search queries typed, IP addresses, geolocations, and even personally identifiable details. PUA developers monetize the collected data by sharing it with and/or selling it to third-parties (potentially, cyber criminals).

To summarize, PUAs can cause system infections, severe privacy issues, financial losses, and lead to identity theft. Therefore, it is crucial to remove all suspicious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins immediately upon detection.

Threat Summary:

Name	Ads by cncode.pw
Threat Type	Push notifications ads, Unwanted ads, Pop-up ads
Detection Names (rogue installer)	Avast (Win32:Trojan-gen), BitDefender (Trojan.GenericKD.45829340), ESET-NOD32 (Multiple Detections), Kaspersky (HEUR:Trojan.MSIL.Crypt.gen), Microsoft (Trojan:Win32/Ymacco.AA86), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Detection Names (cncode[.]pw)	Comodo Valkyrie Verdict (Malware), CRDF (Malicious), CyRadar (Malicious), Dr.Web (Malicious), Fortinet (Malware), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Serving IP Address (cncode[.]pw)	144.202.76.47
Related Domains	oclasrv[.]com, inappapiurl[.]com
Symptoms	Seeing advertisements not originating from the sites you are browsing. Intrusive pop-up ads. Decreased Internet browsing speed.
Distribution Methods	Deceptive pop-up ads, potentially unwanted applications (adware)
Damage	Decreased computer performance, browser tracking - privacy issues, possible additional malware infections.
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

PUAs may seem legitimate and harmless, and users are enticed into download/installation with offers of various functionality, however, despite how useful the features promised may sound, they are rarely operational. The sole purpose of these unwanted apps is to generate revenue for the developers.

PUAs operate by force-opening websites, delivering intrusive ad campaigns, hijacking browsers, and gathering sensitive and personally identifiable information.

How did adware install on my computer?

PUAs are distributed via download/installation set-ups of other products. This deceptive marketing tactic of packing regular software with unwanted or malicious additions is called "bundling".

Rushing download/installation processes (e.g. ignoring terms, skipping steps and settings, etc.) increases the risk of inadvertently allowing bundled content into the system.

Some PUAs have "official" download sites. Intrusive advertisements proliferate these applications as well. Once clicked, they can execute scripts to download/install PUAs without users' consent.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

You are advised to research all software before download/installation. Use only official and verified download channels. Unofficial and free file-hosting websites, Peer-to-Peer sharing networks (BitTorrent, Gnutella, eMule), and other third party downloaders commonly offer harmful and bundled content, and are therefore untrusted and should be avoided.

When downloading/installing, read the terms, study all possible options, use the "Custom/Advanced" settings and opt-out of additional apps, tools, features, and so on.

Intrusive advertisements typically seem legitimate, however, they can redirect to dubious and malicious sites (e.g. gambling, pornography, adult-dating, and many others). If you encounter ads or redirects of this kind, inspect the system and remove all dubious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins immediately.

Installed programs must be activated and updated with tools or implemented functions that are provided by the official developers. No other third party, unofficial tools should be used.

Note that it is illegal to activate licensed software with ‘cracking’ tools. Files and programs should be downloaded from official websites and via direct download links. Avoid third party installers and the tools/sources mentioned above.

Do not open website links or files in irrelevant emails that are received from unknown, suspicious addresses. These bogus emails are often disguised as official and important. Regularly, scan your computer with reputable, up-to-date antivirus or anti-spyware software.

If your computer is already infected with rogue applications, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate them.

Appearance of a redirect caused by software that injects cncode[.]pw URL into visited websites (GIF):

Appearance of a variant of a redirect caused by software that injects cncode[.]pw URL into visited websites (GIF):

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Quick menu:

• What is cncode[.]pw?
• STEP 1. Uninstall adware applications using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove rogue plug-ins from Google Chrome.
• STEP 3. Remove adware-type extensions from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 4. Remove malicious extensions from Safari.
• STEP 5. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.
• STEP 6. Remove adware from Internet Explorer.

Adware removal:

Windows 11 users:

Right-click on the Start icon, select Apps and Features. In the opened window search for the application you want to uninstall, after locating it, click on the three vertical dots and select Uninstall.

Windows 10 users:

Right-click in the lower left corner of the screen, in the Quick Access Menu select Control Panel. In the opened window choose Programs and Features.

Windows 7 users:

Click Start (Windows Logo at the bottom left corner of your desktop), choose Control Panel. Locate Programs and click Uninstall a program.

macOS (OSX) users:

Click Finder, in the opened screen select Applications. Drag the app from the Applications folder to the Trash (located in your Dock), then right click the Trash icon and select Empty Trash.

In the uninstall programs window, look for any potentially unwanted applications, select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

After uninstalling the potentially unwanted application that causes cncode[.]pw redirects, scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components or possible malware infections. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.

Remove adware from Internet browsers:

Video showing how to remove potentially unwanted browser add-ons:

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 browser add-ons and remove them.

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the ads by cncode.pw, reset your Google Chrome browser settings. Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome) and select Settings. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen. Click the Advanced… link.

After scrolling to the bottom of the screen, click the Reset (Restore settings to their original defaults) button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Google Chrome settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Remove malicious plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox:

Click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), select "Add-ons". Click "Extensions", in the opened window, remove all recently-installed suspicious browser plug-ins.

Optional method:

Computer users who have problems with ads by cncode.pw removal can reset their Mozilla Firefox settings.

Open Mozilla Firefox, at the top right corner of the main window, click the Firefox menu, in the opened menu, click Help.

Select Troubleshooting Information.

In the opened window, click the Refresh Firefox button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Mozilla Firefox settings to default by clicking the Refresh Firefox button.

Remove malicious extensions from Safari:

Make sure your Safari browser is active, click Safari menu, and select Preferences....

In the opened window click Extensions, locate any recently installed suspicious extension, select it and click Uninstall.

Optional method:

Make sure your Safari browser is active and click on Safari menu. From the drop down menu select Clear History and Website Data...

In the opened window select all history and click the Clear History button.

Remove malicious extensions from Microsoft Edge:

Click the Edge menu icon  (at the upper-right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons and click "Remove" below their names.

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the ads by cncode.pw, reset your Microsoft Edge browser settings. Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge) and select Settings.

In the opened settings menu select Reset settings.

Select Restore settings to their default values. In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Microsoft Edge settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

• If this did not help, follow these alternative instructions explaining how to reset the Microsoft Edge browser.

Remove malicious add-ons from Internet Explorer:

Click the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Manage Add-ons". Look for any recently-installed suspicious browser extensions, select these entries and click "Remove".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the ads by cncode.pw, reset your Internet Explorer settings to default.

Windows XP users: Click Start, click Run, in the opened window type inetcpl.cpl In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 users: Click the Windows logo, in the start search box type inetcpl.cpl and click enter. In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows 8 users: Open Internet Explorer and click the gear icon. Select Internet Options.

In the opened window, select the Advanced tab.

Click the Reset button.

Confirm that you wish to reset Internet Explorer settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Summary:

Commonly, adware or potentially unwanted applications infiltrate Internet browsers through free software downloads. Note that the safest source for downloading free software is via developers' websites only. To avoid installation of adware, be very attentive when downloading and installing free software. When installing previously-downloaded free programs, choose the custom or advanced installation options – this step will reveal any potentially unwanted applications listed for installation together with your chosen free program.

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