Portalne.ws is a page that can hijack your browsers and redirect you at the same time. Settings that this hijacker modifies are your browsers’ homepage, search engine, and new tab window. When you make a search query, it will get filtered by the hijacker’s search engine. Any data acquired from your searches will be sent to servers that are connected to this hijacker. To remove the browser hijacker and all its files, you should read the whole article.
Threat Summary
| Name | Portalne.ws |
| Type | Browser Hijacker, PUP |
| Short Description | Browser applications on your computer can be affected. The hijacker will redirect you. |
| Symptoms | The homepage, search engine and new tab of all your browsers will be switched. You will be redirected from searches. |
| Distribution Method | Freeware Installations, Bundled Packages |
| Detection Tool |
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| User Experience | Join Our Forum to Discuss Portalne.ws. |
Portalne.ws – Ways of Delivery
The Portalne.ws hijacker could use a number of delivery ways. One is through third-party installations of bundled applications and freeware. Such programs are most of the time video converters and media players. Their installation setup could be implemented to set more components than the main one being offered. When you are unaware of that, a setup can install these components without notification on your PC. The hijacker will then change your browser settings. Preventing the installation of unwanted software on your computer can happen if you find Custom or Advanced options to deselect the extra content.
Other ways of delivery might involve some add-on, a plugin or an extension placed inside your browser programs. Banners, pop-unders, pop-ups as well as more advert types hosted on websites might be used like another delivery way. The hijacker can generate redirect links across similar websites. Those websites can be somehow affiliated or partnered up with Portalne.ws. The following browsers could be affected: Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari and Mozilla Firefox.
Portalne.ws – Technical Information
Portalne.ws will hijack your browser applications, but also has the ability to redirect you. Not the typical browser hijacker, as it has advertisements covering every page. The unwanted software changes the default search engine, homepage, and new tab window, plus other browser settings.
You can see its home page down here:
The Portalne.ws web page is comprised of a plain white background, a search bar and a multitude of advertisements, links, and redirects that cover the entire page. Most of the sponsored advertising content remains there even after you do a search. The search results take less space on a page if you compare that to all of the space, which adverts take.
From the below screenshot under this paragraph, you can see an example page with search results of the Portalne.ws website. Although the search bar states that you will use Google Custom Search for your search inquiries most of the advertisements on the page remain there. Usually, other hijackers offer more search results and a design close to that of Google’s, but this site shows a bulk of ads. You could be redirected to unknown sites. As seen in the picture, a lot of sponsored content is shown:
The hijacker platform will gather information from your searches. Every single search query which you make will be filtered by the Portalne.ws redirect. Also, data about your interactions with the advertisements, links, and other sponsored content will be acquired as well. That information is stored on servers related to the hijacker and might be disclosed or even sold to its third party partners.
Refrain from giving out any information, especially with the searches. Personal details, account credentials as well as banking data can be obtained from you. You can be redirected from the in-text advertisements, pop-ups or normal links pushed throughout the site and when you are browsing the Web, unsuspectingly. Browser cookies, alongside more tracking technologies, are used to collect most, if not all, of the information that this website stores. Read along to see what exactly can the Portalne.ws website gather from you and where that data can get sent.
The Privacy Policy of the Portalne.ws website cannot be found on its main page or any page for that matter. Whenever you end up from its redirects, you won’t see the site’s privacy policy. This is not surprising for an illegitimate browser hijacker filled to the brim with adverts. The policy might be published somewhere, but is definitely hidden from the public. Nevertheless, the website uses cookies to invade your privacy and collect information from you:
Looking closely in the above screenshot, it is clearly seen that the expiration date of some cookies is set to the year of 2036. That is a period of twenty years from the time of writing of this article. The website gathers information from you with the help of these cookies and might be using more tracking technologies, too. That information will also be sent to a number of other website owners.
Here you can see a list of sites pushing their own cookies via the browser hijacker:
- Portalne.ws
- Sadek-music.com
- In.getclicky.com
- Adnxs.com
- 2mdn.com
- Casalemedia.com
- Dmtry.com
Most of the gathered data might be technical, although there could be personally identifying information to be acquired, too. That could be details about your current physical location as well as an IP and E-mail addresses. Every single piece of data you voluntarily provide on the Portalne.ws page will be collected. That can include your names, phone number, banking details and other related information. Thus, you should be wary of this website and all others pushing their cookies on it.
Besides browser cookies, more technologies can be used for tracking purposes, such as clear GIFs, pixel tags or Web beacons. Beware search engines which are shady and does not provide you with any insight about how your privacy will be invaded and what data will be obtained from you. Plus, if you are redirected to more sites, know that they are most certainly tracking you, too.
Remove Portalne.ws Fully
To remove Portalne.ws manually from your computer, follow the step-by-step removal instructions provided below. In case the manual removal does not get rid of the hijacker redirect and its files completely, you should search for and remove any leftovers with an advanced anti-malware tool. Such a program can keep your computer safe in the future.
- Windows
- Mac OS X
- Google Chrome
- Mozilla Firefox
- Microsoft Edge
- Safari
- Internet Explorer
- Stop Push Pop-ups
How to Remove Portalne.ws from Windows.
Step 1: Scan for Portalne.ws with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool
Step 2: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode
Step 3: Uninstall Portalne.ws and related software from Windows
Uninstall Steps for Windows 11
Uninstall Steps for Windows 10 and Older Versions
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 4: Clean Any registries, Created by Portalne.ws on Your PC.
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 Portalne.ws 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.
Video Removal Guide for Portalne.ws (Windows).
Get rid of Portalne.ws from Mac OS X.
Step 1: Uninstall Portalne.ws and remove related files and objects
Your Mac will then show you a list of items that start automatically when you log in. Look for any suspicious apps identical or similar to Portalne.ws. Check the app you want to stop from running automatically and then select on the Minus (“-“) icon to hide it.
- 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 Portalne.ws 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 Portalne.ws files from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as Portalne.ws, the recommended way of eliminating the threat is by using an anti-malware program. SpyHunter for Mac offers advanced security features along with other modules that will improve your Mac’s security and protect it in the future.
Video Removal Guide for Portalne.ws (Mac)
Remove Portalne.ws 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.
Erase Portalne.ws 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.
Uninstall Portalne.ws 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.
Remove Portalne.ws 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 Portalne.ws will be removed.
Eliminate Portalne.ws 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.
Remove Push Notifications from Your Browsers
Turn Off Push Notifications from Google Chrome
To disable any Push Notices from Google Chrome browser, please follow the steps below:
Step 1: Go to Settings in Chrome.
Step 2: In Settings, select “Advanced Settings”:
Step 3: Click “Content Settings”:
Step 4: Open “Notifications”:
Step 5: Click the three dots and choose Block, Edit or Remove options:
Remove Push Notifications on Firefox
Step 1: Go to Firefox Options.
Step 2: Go to “Settings”, type “notifications” in the search bar and click "Settings":
Step 3: Click “Remove” on any site you wish notifications gone and click “Save Changes”
Stop Push Notifications on Opera
Step 1: In Opera, press ALT+P to go to Settings.
Step 2: In Setting search, type “Content” to go to Content Settings.
Step 3: Open Notifications:
Step 4: Do the same as you did with Google Chrome (explained below):
Eliminate Push Notifications on Safari
Step 1: Open Safari Preferences.
Step 2: Choose the domain from where you like push pop-ups gone and change to "Deny" from "Allow".
Portalne.ws-FAQ
What Is Portalne.ws?
The Portalne.ws threat is adware or browser redirect virus.
It may slow your computer down significantly and display advertisements. The main idea is for your information to likely get stolen or more ads to appear on your device.
The creators of such unwanted apps work with pay-per-click schemes to get your computer to visit risky or different types of websites that may generate them funds. This is why they do not even care what types of websites show up on the ads. This makes their unwanted software indirectly risky for your OS.
What Are the Symptoms of Portalne.ws?
There are several symptoms to look for when this particular threat and also unwanted apps in general are active:
Symptom #1: Your computer may become slow and have poor performance in general.
Symptom #2: You have toolbars, add-ons or extensions on your web browsers that you don't remember adding.
Symptom #3: You see all types of ads, like ad-supported search results, pop-ups and redirects to randomly appear.
Symptom #4: You see installed apps on your Mac running automatically and you do not remember installing them.
Symptom #5: You see suspicious processes running in your Task Manager.
If you see one or more of those symptoms, then security experts recommend that you check your computer for viruses.
What Types of Unwanted Programs Are There?
According to most malware researchers and cyber-security experts, the threats that can currently affect your device can be rogue antivirus software, adware, browser hijackers, clickers, fake optimizers and any forms of PUPs.
What to Do If I Have a "virus" like Portalne.ws?
With few simple actions. First and foremost, it is imperative that you follow these steps:
Step 1: Find a safe computer and connect it to another network, not the one that your Mac was infected in.
Step 2: Change all of your passwords, starting from your email passwords.
Step 3: Enable two-factor authentication for protection of your important accounts.
Step 4: Call your bank to change your credit card details (secret code, etc.) if you have saved your credit card for online shopping or have done online activities with your card.
Step 5: Make sure to call your ISP (Internet provider or carrier) and ask them to change your IP address.
Step 6: Change your Wi-Fi password.
Step 7: (Optional): Make sure to scan all of the devices connected to your network for viruses and repeat these steps for them if they are affected.
Step 8: Install anti-malware software with real-time protection on every device you have.
Step 9: Try not to download software from sites you know nothing about and stay away from low-reputation websites in general.
If you follow these recommendations, your network and all devices will become significantly more secure against any threats or information invasive software and be virus free and protected in the future too.
How Does Portalne.ws Work?
Once installed, Portalne.ws can collect data using trackers. This data is about your web browsing habits, such as the websites you visit and the search terms you use. It is then used to target you with ads or to sell your information to third parties.
Portalne.ws can also download other malicious software onto your computer, such as viruses and spyware, which can be used to steal your personal information and show risky ads, that may redirect to virus sites or scams.
Is Portalne.ws Malware?
The truth is that PUPs (adware, browser hijackers) are not viruses, but may be just as dangerous since they may show you and redirect you to malware websites and scam pages.
Many security experts classify potentially unwanted programs as malware. This is because of the unwanted effects that PUPs can cause, such as displaying intrusive ads and collecting user data without the user’s knowledge or consent.
About the Portalne.ws Research
The content we publish on SensorsTechForum.com, this Portalne.ws how-to removal guide included, is the outcome of extensive research, hard work and our team’s devotion to help you remove the specific, adware-related problem, and restore your browser and computer system.
How did we conduct the research on Portalne.ws?
Please note that our research is based on independent investigation. We are in contact with independent security researchers, thanks to which we receive daily updates on the latest malware, adware, and browser hijacker definitions.
Furthermore, the research behind the Portalne.ws threat is backed with VirusTotal.
To better understand this online threat, please refer to the following articles which provide knowledgeable details.