What is Thecooking.club? How to remove The Cooking Club extension from your Chrome browser? How to stop redirects from Thecooking.club?
Thecooking.club is a browser extension, that aims to present shopping deals and cooking related content. It’s real goal however could as well be to display annoying advertisements on your Google Chrome browser. The Cooking Club as it is known, may not be the useful extension you have hoped, since some researchers outline it as an ad-supported extension. Such unwanted software aims to slither all sorts of pesky ads on your browser, many of which may lead you to dangerous sites. Read this article if you have seen redirects to Thecooking.club on your computer.
Threat Summary
| Name | Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus” |
| Type | Browser Hijacker / PUA |
| Short Description | Aims to modify the settings on your web browser in order to get it to cause browser redirects and display different advertisements. |
| Symptoms | Your web browser begins to display various types of online advertisements, which results in slowing down of your PC. |
| Distribution Method | Bundled downloads. Web pages which may advertise it. |
| Detection Tool |
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User Experience | Join Our Forum to Discuss Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus”. |
Thecooking.club – How Did I Get It and What Does It Do?
The main way via which The Cooking Club may have landed on your computer is likely done via adding it from it’s site:
However, it may also automatically ad itself if you have installed software that may have included thecooking.club redirect as a bundled install to your main one. Such unwanted programs can come as a “free extra” or “optional offer” to other install wizards.
When The Cooking Club as it’s called, is added to your web browser, you may immediately start to notice it. The main reason for this is that the extension may perform several changes to your browser’s settings. Those changes may include that it may alter your web browser’s New Tab and Home Pages to a custom one that shows ads and may also enable Push Notifications and other ads. The end goal of thecooking.club is to show various different forms of advertisements on your computer, from the likes of:
- Pop-ups.
- Redirects.
- Banners.
- Ad-supported search results.
- Online banners.
- Various different types of highlighted text ads.
When we checked the main page of thecooking.club redirect, it was quickly established that it is not even HTTPS secure, which is highly untypical if you claim that your product is legitimate:
Not only this, but we have also detected several different tracking technologies in relation to thecooking.club:
These cookies could be used to track your searches, what you type and other information from your online browsing activity.
If you see ads, related to thecooking.club, do not trust them and make sure to remove it as an extension and the software causing thecooking.club redirects as well. The main reason for that is because thecooking.club could eventually lead to dangerous sites, such as scam or virus URLs that may bring nothing but harm.
How to Remove Thecooking.club
If you want to remove Thecooking.club effectively from your computer, we strongly recommend that you read the instructions in this article. They have been created with the main idea to help delete this redirect “virus” step-by-step, without causing additional harm to your computer. If you want to remove Thecooking.club faster and automatically, then we suggest that you download and run a scan, using an advanced anti-malware software. Such professional removal tool guarantees that all unwanted and adware and malware-related objects are completely gone from your computer.
Ventsislav Krastev
Ventsislav is a cybersecurity expert at SensorsTechForum since 2015. He has been researching, covering, helping victims with the latest malware infections plus testing and reviewing software and the newest tech developments. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for learning new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management, Network Administration and Computer Administration of System Applications, he found his true calling within the cybersecrurity industry and is a strong believer in the education of every user towards online safety and security.
Follow Me:
- Windows
- Mac OS X
- Google Chrome
- Mozilla Firefox
- Microsoft Edge
- Safari
- Internet Explorer
- Stop Push Pop-ups
How to Remove Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus” from Windows.
Step 1: Scan for Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus” with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool
Step 2: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode
Step 3: Uninstall Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus” 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 4: Clean Any registries, Created by Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus” 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 Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus” 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 Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus” (Windows).
Get rid of Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus” from Mac OS X.
Step 1: Uninstall Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus” 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 Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus”. 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 Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus” 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 Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus” files from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus”, 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 Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus” (Mac)
Remove Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus” 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 Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus” 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 Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus” 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 Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus” 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 Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus” will be removed.
Eliminate Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus” 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".
Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus”-FAQ
What Is Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus”?
The Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus” 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 Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus”?
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 Mac can be the following types:
- Rogue Antivirus programs.
- Adware.
- Browser hijackers.
- Clickers.
- Fake optimizers.
What to Do If I Have a "virus" like Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus”?
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 Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus” Work?
Once installed, Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus” can collect data about your web browsing habits, such as the websites you visit and the search terms you use. This data is then used to target you with ads or to sell your information to third parties.
Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus” 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 Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus” 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 Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus” Research
The content we publish on SensorsTechForum.com, this Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus” 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 Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus”?
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 Thecooking.club Redirect “Virus” threat is backed with VirusTotal.
To better understand this online threat, please refer to the following articles which provide knowledgeable details.