Browser highjacker Af.xdock.co

Bugle

I use the Brave browser and when doing a search, with Google set as the default and only search option in Brave, am redirected to a Bing search every 5th or so time. I notice the redirection seems to be using Af.xdock.co, which seems to be a recognised malware. I have run a full scan but Bitdefender isn't finding it, and doesn't seem to block it either. Is there some way I should be using Bitdefender to find and remove this malware?

Gjoksi

Hello.

Do the following:

1) Start your PC in Safe Mode, by following these steps:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/start-your-pc-in-safe-mode-in-windows-92c27cff-db89-8644-1ce4-b3e5e56fe234

2) Open the Run command:

https://www.makeuseof.com/windows-open-run-command-dialog-box/

and run the below commands one by one:

temp - delete all the folders/files in the folder

%temp% - delete all the folders/files in the folder

prefetch - delete all the folders/files in the folder

3) Restart your PC in General Mode, by following these steps:

https://www.techwalla.com/articles/how-to-restart-a-computer-in-normal-mode

4) Reset/Refresh your browsers:

Google Chrome - https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/3296214?hl=en

Mozilla Firefox - https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/refresh-firefox-reset-add-ons-and-settings

Microsoft Edge - https://malwaretips.com/blogs/reset-microsoft-edge/

Opera - https://browsersolution.com/reset-opera-browser

Vivaldi - https://help.vivaldi.com/desktop/install-update/full-reset-of-vivaldi/

Brave - https://support.brave.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017903152-How-do-I-reset-Brave-settings-to-default-

5) Run a System Scan with your Bitdefender program.

6) Restart your PC

7) If the steps provided above didn't help, do the following steps:

Take screenshot(s) of the issue,

create a log file on your Windows device using Bitdefender Support Tool, by following these steps:

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/1733/

and

create a log file on your Windows device using BDsysLog, by following these steps:

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/1922/

Next, contact Bitdefender Consumer Support by e-mail:

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/help/

with short description of the issue.

After that, you will get an automated reply by the Bitdefender Customer Care Team, with your ticket number.

Now, in reply to that automated reply, you can send the screenshot(s) you already took and the log files you already created in the first step.

Since you are all done, just wait for the support engineers to investigate your issue and find a solution to fix the issue.

Remember that the screenshot(s) and the log files will help a lot to the support engineers for better and faster investigation on your issue and finding a solution.

Regards.

Bugle

Success!!

Thanks Gjoksi, that worked perfectly. Ran through steps 1 - 6 and so far no more re-directs to Bing.

Appreciate your time and effort to provide such clear and easy to follow instructions.

Cheers