Do you know what Loadblanks.ru is?
Loadblanks.ru is a browser hijacker that might create suspicious files on the system commanding the affected browser to load this search engine instead of the usual user’s homepage or new tab page. If you notice this application on your system, we would advise you to replace it with a more trustworthy search tool as fast as possible. This is why we are providing not only a report about this threat but also a removal guide located at the end of the article to help you erase Loadblanks.ru manually. Our researchers who tested the application in our internal lab confirm that it may automatically redirect the user to unreliable web pages or show questionable advertisements. Such actions could endanger the system; consequently, we advise users not to wait for too long and delete the browser hijacker before anything goes wrong. However, if you want to find out more information about it, you continue reading the article.
Loadblanks.ru might enter the system together with other untrustworthy software, so if you received this browser hijacker, you might want to check the other recently installed applications just in case. Usually, users download such suspicious programs from web pages distributing files illegally, e.g., Torrent websites. You may receive such suspicious software while visiting various file-sharing sites that offer freeware too. Thus, we strongly recommend downloading applications from more trustworthy sources. Of course, before installing any program users should make sure it is legitimate and safe to use first. Plus, it could be much easier to protect the system against any threat if the user would have a reputable antimalware tool.
Moving to the application’s working manner, we should say it could hijack Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome. What's more, all of these browsers should be hijacked by replacing their Target Line; you can find it if you right-click the browser’s shortcut, select Properties, and click the Shortcut tab. The replacement line should point to a specific file (e.g. exe.xoferif.bat) located in the %Homedrive%:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\Browsers directory. Same as the suspicious file the folder called Browsers should be created by Loadblanks.ru too. According to our researchers, the BAT file may contain obfuscated commands that are making the browser load the search engine every time the browser is launched and so on.
Even though the redirection to Loadblanks.ru could be quite annoying, there is even a bigger problem. As we mentioned in the beginning, the browser hijacker might redirect the user to unreliable web pages automatically or show advertisements leading to such sites. Apparently, these third-party web pages might ask users to register, participate in fake surveys, lotteries, etc. Therefore, if you are not cautious enough, you could reveal personal or sensitive information unknowingly. Moreover, the advertisements might encourage users to install other unreliable search tools, adware, potentially unwanted programs, or even malicious applications, so we would advise you to avoid such content as much as possible.
Since Loadblanks.ru is an unreliable search engine and it could redirect you to harmful websites, we believe it might be wiser to stop it before it is too late. If you wish to get rid of it manually, we can offer you our removal guide placed below this text. It will guide the user through the deletion process step by step, so all there is to do is pick the right instructions for the particular browser. You could also eliminate the hijacker with a reputable antimalware tool, provided you are willing to acquire it. In that case, launch the security tool and start the full system scan. Wait for the results and click the provided deletion button to remove the detected threats all at the same time.
Erase Loadblanks.ru
- Press Windows Key+E.
- Insert %APPDATA% into the Explorer’s address bar and click Enter.
- Find a folder called Browsers, right-click it and choose Delete.
- Navigate to the listed directories and find the hijacked browser’s shortcuts:
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs
%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
%USERPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
%USERPROFILE%\Desktop - Right-click the located shortcuts separately and select Delete.
- Then create new shortcuts either in all the directories listed above or only where it is needed.
- Find an empty space on a chosen directory (e.g. Desktop).
- Press the right mouse button and select New.
- Click Shortcut and press Browse.
- Use the wizard to pick the directory where the browser’s launcher is.
- Tap Next and click Finish to create a new shortcut.
In non-techie terms:
Loadblanks.ru hijacks the user’s browser by modifying its Target Line. As a consequence, it might be rather difficult to get rid of the application, unless you know which files it creates and what changes it does once it enters the system. Fortunately for you, our researchers found a way to erase it, so if you need any help with the hijacker’s manual removal just take a look at the steps located above this text. Of course, if the instructions seem too complicated you can choose a reliable antimalware tool instead. Acquiring it might be beneficial to the computer since it could eliminate other possible threats and also help you keep the system clean in the future.