How to remove Wait3sec.org redirect virus from the system?

What is Wait3sec.org redirect virus?

Wait3sec.org is a harmful software created by cyber crooks to silently infiltrate a user’s system and alter the web browser settings.  Wait3sec.org redirect virus is categorized as a potentially unwanted program and is classified as a browser hijacker.

Wait3sec.org is a redirect virus and causes multiple page redirects during the browsing session of the user. It redirects the user to suspicious websites that may contain other malware, spyware adware, ransomware etc. which can infiltrate and infect the user’s system.

Wait3.sec.org can be bundled with third party software or be attached with spam emails. If the users are not careful while installing these software then they might end up installing additional software into their system which they don’t need.

The users should always uncheck additional software using the Custom/Advanced settings when installing any third party software. Opening spam email attachments should be avoided as these attachments contain the virus payload to infect your system.

Wait3sec.org – Threat Behavior

Wait3sec.org redirect virus alters the web browser settings after successful infiltration into the system. It adds its own home page and new tab in the web browser. Opening a new page or a new browser window redirects the user to Wait3sec.org page.

The sole purpose of this software is to cause multiple redirects to its partnered services and associate sponsors to generate traffic. More traffic on these web pages means more money for page visits to the developers.

Wait3sec.org redirect virus collects user activity information and browsing history. This data can include IP addresses, search queries, pages visited, Keystrokes, website URLs visited often usernames and passwords, bank account details, credit and debit card details etc. This detail is used by the wait3.org redirect virus to generate customized pop-up ads. The customized pop-up ads are made to trap the user into clicking them.

The multiple page redirects caused by the wait3sec.org redirect virus can become a gateway for other malware, thus, leaving your system vulnerable to bigger threats.

Wait3sec.org works silently in the background hogging system resources for its malicious activities. The constant and continuous page redirects make the web browser unresponsive and sluggish. Other software on the system are unable to carry out their tasks properly.

The data stolen by Wait3sec.org can be used by the hackers to extort money from the user. It can be sold to third parties who can use this data to cause harm to the user. Users should be extremely careful about their data being stolen, as this data can be exploited in many ways, such as identity theft, banking fraud etc.

How Did Your System Get Infected?

The cybercriminals use various strategies for malware distribution which include –

1. Software Bundling: Software bundling is the process in which a malicious program is distributed with other free software, to get an unnoticed entry into your computer system. When a user installs a free application, the malicious programs gains a front door entry with the free application, the user has downloaded. Thus, it is a good idea to keep an eye on the installation screens while installing these free applications.
2. Infected Storage Devices: Your system can also get infected by using removable media such as USB hard drives and jump drives without scanning them with an anti-virus.
3. Spam Emails – Spamming is the most economic and common method used for the distribution of such malware. The targeted users get genuine looking emails which contain .doc, .txt, and other similar attachments. These attachments can be named as anything which can grab the user’s attention and triggers him/her to open the attachment. As soon as the user opens this attachment, the malware infects the user’s computer system.
4. Malicious Websites or Malevolent Advertisements: The malicious websites are the ones which are created just for promoting the malware infections. Such websites include but are not limited to porn sites, torrent sites and other free downloading platforms. By visiting such websites, the adware infects the user’s computer without permission. Fake advertisements and updates like Flash player and windows updates which ask the user to update to the latest version are a few examples. When the users click on such links, their computer system gets infected. That is why, it is highly recommended to resist clicking on such links. Also avoid clicking on advertisements offering free stuff such as Win an iPhones, cars or free overseas trips etc.

Threat Summary

Name – Wait3sec.org

Category – Malware, Browser Hijacker, Potentially unwanted program, browser redirector

Browsers affected – Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge

Targeted Operating Systems – Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8.0/8.1, Windows 10

Symptoms – Installs a home page and new tab in the web browser, redirects the user multiple times to suspicious and rogue websites, Collects user data to display customized pop-up ads in the web browser to generate ad revenue for the developers through user clicks.

How to remove Wait3sec.org redirect Browser Hijacker from the computer?

Delete Wait3sec.org Redirect Virus from your computer immediately to stop the unwanted and intrusive pop-up ads. It should be noted that the removal of Wait3sec.org redirect virus is complex and the users should not attempt it without reading these following steps.

Follow the Browser Hijacker removal steps to Remove Wait3sec.org Redirect Virus from your computer system. Be sure to follow these steps in the given order to avoid leaving any residual files left behind by the browser hijacker.

STEP A – Remove Wait3sec.org Redirect Virus from the Control Panel

Note: Before we begin, try to remember how the extension got downloaded  on your computer system. Generally, these programs come bundled with free applications that we download off the internet. It is a good practice to locate and uninstall such programs while removing the Browser Hijacker/ Extensions.

Windows XP

1. Click on the “Start” button on the bottom left corner of your screen. A Start menu will be displayed as shown below. From this menu select the option that reads “Control Panel”.
2. In the window that will be displayed, click the option “Switch to classic view”.
3. This will display all the options/icons available to you. From the displayed icons, click on the icon that reads “Add or Remove Programs”.
4. Select the “Uninstall a program” option from the “Programs” category. A list will populate on the screen displaying all the programs.
5. Select the programs related to Wait3sec.org Redirect Virus and click on the Uninstall button.

Windows 7/Vista

1. Right click on the “Start” button located at the lower left corner of the screen. From the Start menu, click on “Control Panel”.
2. The “Control Panel” Window will be displayed on the screen. Click on “Uninstall a Program” option from the “Programs” category.
3. The “Programs and Features” window will be displayed on the screen. A list will populate on the screen displaying all the programs.
4. Scroll though the list of programs and select the programs related to Wait3sec.org Redirect Virus and then click on the “Uninstall” button.

Windows 8/10

1. Right click on the “Windows logo” on the lower left side of the computer screen. From the drop down menu, select and click on “Control Panel”.
2. The “Control Panel” window will be displayed. From this window select “Uninstall a program” option form the “Programs” category.
3. A list will populate on the screen displaying all the programs.
4. Select the programs related to Wait3sec.org Redirect Virus and click on the “Uninstall” button.
5. In the confirmation box, click on the box that reads “OK” to save changes.

STEP B – Show Hidden Files and Folders

Windows 7

1. Left click on the Organize button on the Windows Explorer. A drop down menu will appear.
   
2. On this menu left click on the option that reads “Folder and search options” as shown above. A folder options dialogue box will appear.
3. On the View tab under the Advanced settings, Check the option that reads “Show hidden files, folders, and drives” and uncheck the option that reads “Hide protected operating system files“.
   
4. Click on the “OK” button to save your changes. This will make all the hidden files and folders visible to you.

Windows 8 and 10

1. On the file explorer toolbar, click on the View
   
2. In the Show/hide section, Click on the “Hidden items” checkbox.
3. Click on the options button.
4. Under folder options, click on the “View” tab.
   
5. Uncheck the “Hide protected operating system files” option.
6. Click the “OK” button to save your changes.

STEP C – Remove the Browser Extensions installed By Wait3sec.org Redirect Virus.

Remove Wait3sec.org Redirect Virus from your browser

Google Chrome

1. Open Google Chrome and click on the three vertical dots ( ) i.e.Menu option which are located at the upper right corner of the Chrome Window.
2. Find and click on More tools from the drop down menu that is displayed & select Extensions or you can open a Chrome window and type “chrome://extensions” in the address bar.
3. Check the developer mode option which is located opposite to extensions heading on the top of the Chrome window. By enabling the developer mode, additional details and option related to all the installed extensions will be displayed. One of the details that will be displayed is the ID. ID is the folder name created by the extension at the location “C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions”.
4. Locate the extension you want to uninstall or delete. Copy and paste the folder name opposite to the ID Tag of that extension into a notepad file. In this case the folder name is “Wait3sec.org Redirect Virus”
5. Now, uncheck the enabled option next to the extension in question. Make sure you also click the trash icon to delete the extension from the browser. It is important to note that even after uninstalling and deleting the extensions from the browser, the extension might not uninstall properly. Thus, it is a good practice to make sure that we have deleted the folder as mentioned in step 3.
6. Make sure that you have made the hidden files and folders visible.
7. Open My Computer and go to “C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions”. Now, look for folder with the name as specified in Step 4 i.e. “Wait3sec.org Redirect Virus”. Delete the folder if present.
8. Close and reopen the browser. It is also advisable to restart your computer once done.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Open Mozilla Firefox, click on three horizontal lines ( ) at the top right corner of the Firefox Window and select the Add-ons option. ) at the top right corner of the Firefox Window and select the Add-ons option.
2. On the Add-ons manger page, select and click on the Extensions tab as shown below.
3. Find the extensions related to Wait3sec.org Redirect Virus and click on the remove button.
4. In addition, try to remember how the extension got downloaded on your computer system. If this extension was bundled with some other software, then make sure to delete that as well.

Internet Explorer

1. Open Internet Explorer, Click on the Gear icon ( ) which is at the top right corner of the Internet Explorer Window.
2. From the newly appeared dropdown menu, click on the option that reads Manage Add-ons.
3. A new window will appear on the screen. On this window choose the option that reads Toolbar and Extensions. Under the Show option, select the option that reads “All add-ons”. This option will allow you to see all the browser extensions.
4. Select the Extension related to Wait3sec.org Redirect Virus and click on the Disable button which is at the bottom right of the computer screen.

Apple's Safari

1. On your Mac Desktop, click on the option that reads “Safari”.
2. A drop down menu will appear as shown below. From this menu chose the option that reads “Preferences”.
3. The Preferences window will appear on the screen, where the list of all your safari extensions will be shown.
4. On the list displayed at the left side of the screen, select the Extension you want to uninstall.
5. Click on the Uninstall button to get rid of the extension.

STEP D – Restore the Web Browser settings changed by Wait3sec.org Redirect Virus.

Google Chrome

1. Open Google chrome and click on the three vertical dots () located on the top right corner of the Chrome Window.) located on the top right corner of the Chrome Window.
2. From the Drop down menu that appears, click on the “Settings”. A new browser tab will open up, displaying all the settings.
3. Now, we will make changes to the appearance section. Under the “Appearances” section, we will enable the “Show Home Button” option. You can select New Tab page or can add Google or any of your preferred browsers under the “Show Home Button” option.
4. After this, we will go to the “Search Engine “section.
5. Here, make Google or any of your preferred browsers as your default browser in the drop-down menu under the option “Search engine used in the address bar”.
6. After this click on Manage Search Engines. Now you can remove Other Search Engines that were added by the browser hijacker. Simply click the three vertical dots () and select the option “Remove from list”. ) and select the option “Remove from list”. 
7. You can make Google or any other preferred browser as your Default Search Engine by clicking the three vertical dots () and clicking on the “Make default” option.
   
8. At the end, we will go to the section “On Startup”. You can select the “Open the New Tab page” or can “Continue where you left off”.  If you want to open a specific page or set of pages, select the option “Open a specific page or set of pages”  and remove any pages added by the browser hijacker by clicking on the three vertical dots () and selecting “Remove”.) and selecting “Remove”.
9. Then, add Google or any of your desired URL in “Add a new page” option under the “Open a specific page or set of pages”.
10. This is a very important step and we would like you to pay very close attention here. This step has to be repeated with all the shortcuts to the browser that you can locate; like your desktop, start menu and the shortcut pinned to your taskbar. Right click on the shortcut and a context menu will appear. On this menu select the last option that reads Properties.
    
11. A Google Chrome Properties Dialogue box will appear as below. Replace whatever is there in the text box next to the label Target with the following: Make sure that inverted commas are included.“C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe”
    
12. Click OK at the end to save the changes.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Open Mozilla Firefox and click on the three horizontal lines () i.e. Open Menu located on the top right corner of the Firefox Window.
2. From the drop down menu that is displayed, we have to right click on the () Options to open the window.) Options to open the window.
3. Now, we will click Search, under the given options that are displayed in the left corner of the screen.
4. You can choose Google or any of your preferred browsers as your default search engine to use in the address bar and search bar.
5. Then, you have to go to the () General and under “startup” section to make sure that Firefox is your default browser.
6. At the end, we have to add Google or your preferred URL in the box given under Home Page.
7. After this, you have to right click on the browser shortcuts that you can locate like your desktop, start menu and taskbar to which the application is pinned. A context menu will appear. On this menu select the last option that reads Properties.
   
8. A Firefox Properties Dialogue box will appear as below. Replace whatever is there in the text box next to the label Target with the following: Make sure that inverted commas are included.“C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe”
   
9. Click OK at the end to save the changes.

Internet Explorer

1. Open Internet Explorer and click on the gear icon ()which is at the top right corner of the Internet Explorer Window.)which is at the top right corner of the Internet Explorer Window.
2. From the Drop down menu that appears, click on the “Manage add-ons” A new browser tab will open up, displaying all the add-on types.
3. Now, we will click on the “Search Providers” option from the list of options displayed on the left hand side of the screen. Then we will click “Find more search providers” option given at the lower left corner of the Manage add-ons
4. This will open an Internet Explorer Gallery; from here you can add Google search or any of your preferred add-ons as your default browser.
5. Next, you are required to go to the “Manage add-ons” window and click on the “Search Providers” option under the Add-on Types.
6. Here, you can enable Google Search or any of your preferred browsers as your default browser in the list of search providers.
7. At the end, we will click on the gear icon ()which is at the top right corner of the screen and select “Internet Options” from the drop-down menu.)which is at the top right corner of the screen and select “Internet Options” from the drop-down menu.
8. A new window will open displaying the Internet options. In the “Internet Options” window, add Google or any of your desired URL under the Create Home Page option and click OK.
9. After this, you have to right click on the browser shortcuts that you can locate like your desktop, start menu and taskbar to which the application is pinned.  A context menu will appear. On this menu select the last option that reads Properties.
   
10. An Internet Explorer Properties Dialogue box will appear as below. Replace whatever is there in the text box next to the label Target with the following: Make sure that inverted commas are included.“C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe”
11. Click OK at the end to save the changes.

Tips to prevent your computer system from getting infected

1. Keeping the Operating System Updated- In order to remain protected and avoid such infections, it is recommended to keep your Operating System updated by enabling the automatic update on your system. The systems with outdated or older versions of Operating System become an easy target for the attackers.
2. Resist clicking on spam emails – One of the major techniques used for malware distribution is forwarding spam emails to the user. The system gets infected as soon as the user clicks on the attachment. These mails appear to be genuine, so be aware and resist falling for these tricks.
3. Keep an eye on third party installations- It is quite important that you take due care while installing any third party applications for they are major source of such infections. Such malware programs come bundled with the free applications thereby requiring the user to remain cautious.
4. Regular periodical backup- In order to keep your data and files safe, it is recommended to take regular back up of all your data and files either on an external drive or cloud.
5. Use Anti-Virus Protection- We strongly recommend the use of antivirus protection/internet security in your PC like Hitman Pro and Avira so that it remains safe.
6. Enable the Ad Blocker/Popup Blocker in your browser- Enabling the popup blocker/ ad blocker in your chosen browser will help you to stay protected from annoying adware.