This article presents information about an online scam dubbed “Dear user, congratulations!” scam as well as help for its complete removal from the affected system.
“Dear user, congratulations!” is an online scam that interrupts browsing sessions in the form of a sudden redirect. Once it loads in the browser it could attempt to trick you into providing sensitive details such as banking credentials, personal data and account logins. In order to obtain data, this scam presents a misleading message about a gift you could receive.
Threat Summary
| Name | "Dear user, congratulations!" |
| Type | Scam, Redirect |
| Short Description | A deceptive web page that congratilates you for the chance to participate in a game with rewards. |
| Symptoms | Regular browsing is interrupted by annoying redirects. You see misleading messages that attempt to convince you into participating in fake reward games. |
| Distribution Method | Corrupted Websites, Freeware Installations, Bundled Packages |
| Detection Tool |
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| User Experience | Join Our Forum to Discuss "Dear user, congratulations!". |
“Dear user, congratulations!” Scam – Spread Techniques
Browser redirects appear to be the main technique used for the spread of “Dear user, congratulations!” scam message. So this scam is likely to be able to affect all commonly used web browsers (Chrome, Mozilla, Explorer, Safari, Opera, Edge, etc.).
Another reason for its unexpected appearance may be an unattended installation of any potentially unwanted program. How such a program could have landed on your device is as a part of software bundles.
The installation of PUPs usually occurs during the installation of desired free third-party applications. Unfortunately, this process often happens without your knowledge. This is due to the fact that freeware installers do not disclose properly the presence of any extras. Since there is also an option that enables the default installation of these extras you could easily end up with a running undesired app on your device once you click the Finish button presented by the installer.
A way to prevent installing undesired apps while installing desired apps is the choice of the Advanced/Custom configuration option as sometimes it reveals the presence of PUPs and enables you to opt out their installation.
“Dear user, congratulations!” Scam – More About Its Impact
“Dear user, congratulations!” is an online scam that affects commonly used web browsers in the form of a browser redirect. It could be generated by a large number of bogus domain addresses. One of these addresses was detected to be canadasweeps.club.
Here is the text you are likely to see when the scam loads in your browser:
Dear Chrome user, congratulations!
We want to thank you for being loyal Chrome Australia user! Your IP address – has been randomly selected to receive a Apple iPhone X.
From time to time we select a handful of Chrome users to give them the opportunity to receive valuable gifts from our partners and sponsors. This is our way of thanking you for choosing Chrome as your preferred service.
Today is your lucky day! You are one of the 10 randomly selected users who will receive a new Apple iPhone X.
To receive your gift, you simply have to complete our short and anonymous survey. But hurry! There are only a few gifts available today!
How satisfied are you with Chrome?
[Very Satisfied] [Satisfied] [Unsatisfied]
It is likely to be spread across all commonly used web browsers including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Safari, Opera, etc. As of the presented message, it could provide different information based on your location, current browser type, characteristics and visited websites.
One of the purposes of this misleading message is to convince you into participating in some kind of a game or a survey as this will give you the chance to win in this case an iPhone X. However, if you grab the chance you could become a target of fraudsters and malware actors.
The primary purpose of “Dear user, congratulations!” scam is definitely data theft. By offering you tempting gifts it aims to make you more prone to share sensitive details. For example, it could redirect you to a page that asks for banking credentials, device login, social media logins and other personal details.
Furthermore, this scam is also likely to utilize different tracking technologies to obtain some additional details automatically. Gathered could be:
- Browsing history
- Browser’s home page
- Search queries
- Search queries on the visited web pages
- Type of used browser
- Operating system type
- Internet protocol (IP) address
- Geographic location
- The domain name of current Internet service provider (ISP)
In order to prevent this scam from accessing your browser, you should consider its immediate removal.
How to Remove “Dear user, congratulations!” Scam
In order to remove “Dear user, congratulations!” scam and all associated files that enable its appearance in the browser, you need to pass through several removal steps. They are all presented in the removal guide below. The guide enables you to choose between manual and automatic removal approach. Our advice is to combine the steps as this way you will be able not only to get rid of this particular undesired program but also strengthen the security of your device. Have in mind that files associated with this redirect may have different names than “Dear user, congratulations!”.
In case that you have further questions or need additional help with the removal process, don’t hesitate to leave a comment or contact us at our email.
Gergana Ivanova
Gergana has a bachelor's degree in Marketing. She has been with the STF team for five years, researching malware, reporting on the latest computer infections, and following digital marketing trends.
Follow Me:
- Guide 1: How to Remove "Dear user, congratulations!" from Windows.
- Guide 2: Get rid of "Dear user, congratulations!" from Mac OS X.
- Guide 3: Remove "Dear user, congratulations!" from Google Chrome.
- Guide 4: Erase "Dear user, congratulations!" from Mozilla Firefox.
- Guide 5: Uninstall "Dear user, congratulations!" from Microsoft Edge.
- Guide 6: Remove "Dear user, congratulations!" from Safari.
- Guide 7: Eliminate "Dear user, congratulations!" from Internet Explorer.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
How to Remove "Dear user, congratulations!" from Windows.
Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove "Dear user, congratulations!"
Step 2: Uninstall "Dear user, congratulations!" and related software 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:
Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall most programs.
Step 3: Clean any registries, created by "Dear user, congratulations!" on your computer.
The usually targeted registries of Windows machines are the following:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
You can access them by opening the Windows registry editor and deleting any values, created by "Dear user, congratulations!" there. This can happen by following the steps underneath:
Tip: To find a virus-created value, you can right-click on it and click "Modify" to see which file it is set to run. If this is the virus file location, remove the value.
Before starting "Step 4", please boot back into Normal mode, in case you are currently in Safe Mode.
This will enable you to install and use SpyHunter 5 successfully.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Get rid of "Dear user, congratulations!" from Mac OS X.
Step 1: Uninstall "Dear user, congratulations!" and remove related files and objects
1. Hit the ⇧+⌘+U keys to open Utilities. Another way is to click on “Go” and then click “Utilities”, like the image below shows:
- Go to Finder.
- In the search bar type the name of the app that you want to remove.
- Above the search bar change the two drop down menus to “System Files” and “Are Included” so that you can see all of the files associated with the application you want to remove. Bear in mind that some of the files may not be related to the app so be very careful which files you delete.
- If all of the files are related, hold the ⌘+A buttons to select them and then drive them to “Trash”.
In case you cannot remove "Dear user, congratulations!" via Step 1 above:
In case you cannot find the virus files and objects in your Applications or other places we have shown above, you can manually look for them in the Libraries of your Mac. But before doing this, please read the disclaimer below:
You can repeat the same procedure with the following other Library directories:
→ ~/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons
Tip: ~ is there on purpose, because it leads to more LaunchAgents.
Step 2: Scan for and remove malware from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts, programs and malware, the recommended way of eliminating the threat is by using an anti-malware program. Combo Cleaner offers advanced security features along with other modules that will improve your Mac’s security and protect it in the future.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Remove "Dear user, congratulations!" from Google Chrome.
Step 1: Start Google Chrome and open the drop menu
Step 2: Move the cursor over "Tools" and then from the extended menu choose "Extensions"
Step 3: From the opened "Extensions" menu locate the unwanted extension and click on its "Remove" button.
Step 4: 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.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Erase "Dear user, congratulations!" from Mozilla Firefox.
Step 1: Start Mozilla Firefox. Open the menu window
Step 2: Select the "Add-ons" icon from the menu.
Step 3: Select the unwanted extension and click "Remove"
Step 4: 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.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Uninstall "Dear user, congratulations!" from Microsoft Edge.
Step 1: Start Edge browser.
Step 2: Open the drop menu by clicking on the icon at the top right corner.
Step 3: From the drop menu select "Extensions".
Step 4: Choose the suspected malicious extension you want to remove and then click on the gear icon.
Step 5: Remove the malicious extension by scrolling down and then clicking on Uninstall.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Remove "Dear user, congratulations!" from Safari.
Step 1: Start the Safari app.
Step 2: After hovering your mouse cursor to the top of the screen, click on the Safari text to open its drop down menu.
Step 3: From the menu, click on "Preferences".
Step 4: After that, select the 'Extensions' Tab.
Step 5: Click once on the extension you want to remove.
Step 6: Click 'Uninstall'.
A pop-up window will appear asking for confirmation to uninstall the extension. Select 'Uninstall' again, and the "Dear user, congratulations!" will be removed.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Eliminate "Dear user, congratulations!" from Internet Explorer.
Step 1: Start Internet Explorer.
Step 2: Click on the gear icon labeled 'Tools' to open the drop menu and select 'Manage Add-ons'
Step 3: In the 'Manage Add-ons' window.
Step 4: 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'.
Step 5: 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.
