DNS Unlocker Ads 2016 Removal Update

Berta Bilbao

Berta is a dedicated malware researcher, dreaming for a more secure cyber space. Her fascination with IT security began a few years ago when a malware locked her out of her own computer.

More Posts

DNS Unlocker is a very intrusive and aggressive adware program. It continues to spread and generate advertisements to this day. One of the main distribution methods is with bundled applications. The unwanted program claims to unlock geographically restricted websites while providing a faster and better experience for you. That is not true.

Your computer may experience slow-downs. Your DNS settings will be changed among others. When surfing the Internet, you will see lots of advertising content, which may be targeted. To remove DNS Unlocker and all advertising from your browsers, you should read the article to its end.

Threat Summary

Name	DNS Unlocker
Type	Adware, PUP
Short Description	DNS Unlocker states to help users unlock geo-restricted sites and provide a better and faster experience. However, it is filled with advertisements and considered an adware and unwanted application.
Symptoms	Your DNS settings get mixed up. You might see your search engine changed or in a different language. Lots of advertisements associated with DNS Unlocker can show up when browsing.
Distribution Method	Freeware Installations, Bundle Packages
Detection Tool	See If Your System Has Been Affected by DNS Unlocker Download Malware Removal Tool
User Experience	Join Our Forum to Discuss DNS Unlocker.

DNS Unlocker – Chronological Background

In the autumn of 2014, the DNS Unlocker software made its first appearance. When it emerged and gained some popularity, people were questioning if the aggressive adverts spammed by the program are dangerous. They called it “Netflix DNS Unlocker”. Maybe they thought it was associated with Netflix or they just saw the logo on the dnsunlocker(.)com website. As Netflix and other services had their websites region locked, the DNS Unlocker tool seemed tempting for many people.

Soon afterward the realization of how bad the program was, arrived. Advertisements and spam were being generated like crazy, and people could not remove the software with a simple uninstallation. Forums were filled with discussions on how to remove the unwanted app and restore a computer’s settings back to normal. In 2015, the direct download button on the dnsunlocker(.)com site was removed, and later in the year, its Privacy Policy was amended. Geographically restricted sites opened up and became available in more countries.

DNS Unlocker – Distribution Methods

DNS Unlocker can be distributed alongside third-party installational setups. This adware is very intrusive and can penetrate your computer’s defenses in different ways. A bundled package or some freeware installer might be the cause for the presence of the adware on your computer system. Installations like that can add extra components for installation, by default, and you to be unaware of it. Preventing that from occurring can be done if you find some Advanced or Custom settings inside the setup, to be able to deselect components.

DNS Unlocker can be distributed with the help of websites websites of unknown origin, especially if they host redirect links. Clicking on various advertisements like banners, pop-ups or in-text ads is another way for the unwanted application to enter your computer. Other methods for the distribution of the adware may exist as well. The most common browsers that could be affected are: Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Edge, Internet Explorer and Safari.

DNS Unlocker – Detailed Description

DNS Unlocker is an old, but still active platform. The software is no longer offered directly through its official domain. However, it keeps finding new users to compromise their computer devices. Being as intrusive and aggressive as before this adware program continues to thrive. In the picture below you can see one of the associated executable processes, which can hog system resources:

DNS Unlocker had many iterations as the last DNS Unlocker version was 1.4.

Process executables related to DNS Unlocker have versions and the names of American towns and municipalities associated with them:

• DNSridgewood.exe
• DNSpallenville.exe
• DNSlockington.exe
• DNSnewville.exe (a.k.a. DNS Unlocker 1.4)

On the picture below you see the the DNS Unlocker services page on its site:

The services displayed on the above page are now accessible from most countries, where CBS and the BBC iPlayer are ones which are definitely region restricted. So, even when the appeal of the unwanted software is diminishing, its files continue to spread in the Web space. Be wary about what you click on and download, because you might get yourself a nightmare of adware.

Ads from the unwanted program can be recognized immediately if they have one of these texts:

• Ads by DNS Unlocker
• Advert from DNS Unlocker
• Powered by DNS Unlocker
• Advertisement by DNS Unlocker
• Ad by DNS Unlocker
• Brought to you by DNS Unlocker

You can land on many different web pages from redirects connected to the notorious DNS Unlocker. The advertising content related to DNS Unlocker can be viewed anywhere on the Internet in the form of pop-ups, in-text links, pop-unders, banners, interstitial, transitional ads or others.

DNS Unlocker – Privacy Policy

The Privacy Policy of DNS Unlocker has not been updated since May, 2015. A little ambiguous in the way it is written, the policy makes it clear that the website, services, and applications tied to DNS Unlocker collect information. Furthermore, the information is shared with third parties in some circumstances.

A screenshot of the Privacy Policy can be seen right here:

Advertisements can show up in your browsers at any time.

Read the excerpt from the Policy where it explicitly says that adverts will be delivered to you:

Anonymous information may be shared with other third parties (including retailers, ad networks, advertising companies, service providers, media and other interested parties) in any of the above circumstances, as well as for the purpose of developing or delivering advertising (whether via our Services, or services of other third parties).

Information which is gathered by DNS Unlocker, according to its Privacy Policy:

• Your geographical location
• Your software and hardware specifications
• Your browser type
• Your browser version
• Your operating system
• Version of the operating system
• Your language preferences

In the Policy, it is written, that any information is kept indefinitely unless a user contacts the DNS support team at their email and requests for that information to be removed.

DNS Unlocker claims that only anonymous information is collected, but that is not true, due to it has access to DNS settings. From there, your IP address can be sent to its servers and identify you. Not to mention that your physical address is also collected and knowing your location might be enough to track you. All of that information is provided to various third parties, which are not stated in the Policy and remain unknown. If you do not want your privacy being intruded and used in such a way, you should consider removing DNS Unlocker.

Remove DNS Unlocker Completely from Your PC

DNS Unlocker is very aggressive and simply deleting some of its files may not work to remove it for good. If you want to try, you can remove it from your computer manually by following the step-by-step removal guide provided below. In case the manual removal method does not get rid of DNS Unlocker and all of its files completely, then you should search for and remove any leftovers with an advanced anti-malware tool. A tool like that can also keep your computer more secure in the future.

Note! Your computer system may be affected by DNS Unlocker or other threats.
Scan Your PC with SpyHunter
SpyHunter is a powerful malware removal tool designed to help users with in-depth system security analysis, detection and removal of threats such as DNS Unlocker.
Keep in mind, that SpyHunter’s scanner is only for malware detection. If SpyHunter detects malware on your PC, you will need to purchase SpyHunter’s malware removal tool to remove the malware threats. Read our SpyHunter 5 review. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter’s EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria.

To remove DNS Unlocker follow these steps:

1. Uninstall malicious programs from Windows

OFFER

Manual Removal Usually Takes Time and You Risk Damaging Your Files If Not Careful!

We Recommend To Scan Your PC with SpyHunter

Keep in mind, that SpyHunter’s scanner is only for malware detection. If SpyHunter detects malware on your PC, you will need to purchase SpyHunter’s malware removal tool to remove the malware threats. Read our SpyHunter 5 review. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter’s EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria

How to Uninstall malicious programs from Windows:

Here is a method in few easy steps that should be able to uninstall most programs. No matter if you are using Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP, those steps will get the job done. Dragging the program or its folder to the recycle bin can be a very bad decision. If you do that, bits and pieces of the program are left behind, and that can lead to unstable work of your PC, errors with the file type associations and other unpleasant activities. The proper way to get a program off your computer is to Uninstall it. To do that:

Hold the Windows Logo Button and “R” on your keyboard. A Pop-up window will appear (fig.1).

In the field type in “appwiz.cpl” and press ENTER (fig.2).

This will open a window with all the programs installed on the PC.
Select the program that you want to remove, and press “Uninstall” (fig.3).

Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall most programs.

2. Clean your Browser and Registry from DNS Unlocker

Remove DNS Unlocker by cleaning your Browser and Registry.

Remove an extension from Mozilla FirefoxRemove an extension from Google Chrome Remove an extension from Internet Explorer Remove an extension from Microsoft Edge Fix registry entries created by DNS Unlocker on your PC.

Start Mozilla Firefox. Open the menu window

Select the “Add-ons” icon from the menu.

Select the unwanted extension and click “Remove“

After the extension is removed, restart Mozilla Firefox by closing it from the red “X” button at the top right corner and start it again.

Start Google Chrome and open the drop menu

Move the cursor over “Tools” and then from the extended menu choose “Extensions“

From the opened “Extensions” menu locate the unwanted extension and click on its “Remove” button.

After the extension is removed, restart Google Chrome by closing it from the red “X” button at the top right corner and start it again.

Start Internet Explorer:

Click on the gear icon labeled ‘Tools’ to open the drop menu and select ‘Manage Add-ons’

In the ‘Manage Add-ons’ window.

Select the extension you want to remove and then click ‘Disable’. A pop-up window will appear to inform you that you are about to disable the selected extension, and some more add-ons might be disabled as well. Leave all the boxes checked, and click ‘Disable’.

After the unwanted extension has been removed, restart Internet Explorer by closing it from the red ‘X’ button located at the top right corner and start it again.

Start Edge

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

From the drop menu select “Extensions”.

Choose the suspected malicious extension you want to remove and then click on the gear icon.

Remove the malicious extension by scrolling down and then clicking on Uninstall.

Some malicious scripts may modify the registry entries on your computer to change different settings. This is why cleaning your Windows Registry Database is recommended. Since the tutorial on how to do this is a bit long and tampering with registries could damage your computer if not done properly you should refer and follow our instructive article about fixing registry entries, especially if you are unexperienced in that area.

Use SpyHunter to scan for malware and unwanted programs

3. Scan for malware and unwanted programs with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

Scan your PC and Remove DNS Unlocker with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool and back up your data

1. Install SpyHunter to scan for DNS Unlocker and remove them.2. Scan with SpyHunter, Detect and Remove DNS Unlocker. Back up your data to secure it from malware in the future.

Step 1: Click on the “Download” button to proceed to SpyHunter’s download page.

Download

Malware Removal Tool

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 SpyHunter. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter’s EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria.

Step 2: Guide yourself by the download instructions provided for each browser.

Step 3: After you have installed SpyHunter, wait for it to update automatically.

Step 1: After the update process has finished, click on the ‘Malware/PC Scan’ tab. A new window will appear. Click on ‘Start Scan’.

Step 2: After SpyHunter 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 ‘Next’ button.

Step 3: If any threats have been removed, it is highly recommended to restart your PC.

Back up your data to secure it against attacks in the future

IMPORTANT! Before reading the Windows backup instructions, we highly recommend to back up your data with a cloud backup solution and insure your files against any type of loss, even from the most severe threats. We recommend you to read more about it and to download SOS Online Backup .

SOS Online Backup

Berta Bilbao

Berta is a dedicated malware researcher, dreaming for a more secure cyber space. Her fascination with IT security began a few years ago when a malware locked her out of her own computer.

More Posts

Berta Bilbao

Berta is a dedicated malware researcher, dreaming for a more secure cyber space. Her fascination with IT security began a few years ago when a malware locked her out of her own computer.

More Posts