No one likes surprises on their computer. If we see something, like a program or app that we don’t remember installing, we instantly assume that it’s some kind of malware or virus and start looking for a way to get rid of it.
If you’ve seen an icon that looks very much like the one you normally use for the Chrome browser, only blue and called “Chromium”, should you be concerned? Is this a virus?
We’ll explain this in the following article and teach you how to deal with a Chromium browser malware.
What is Chromium Browser?
So what is the Chromium browser? Is it a virus or not?
A program called Chromium itself is not a virus. It’s a perfectly legitimate open-source web browser Google created to provide the source code for its proprietary Chrome browser.
Since Chromium is open-source, that means anyone can download the source code, modify it and create a web browser of their own (if they have the know-how to do it).
Normally, of course, you would download and install programs yourself on your computer so if you haven’t installed Chromium, who did?
How Did the Chromium Browser Get on My Computer?
You can install Chromium from Chromium Projects “on purpose”.
If you can’t remember installing Chromium on your computer it could have gotten there in a number of ways.
- You installed another free program
Most likely you were a bit careless while installing another, free software and Chromium was “bundled” along with it. Possibly with a bunch of other programs you also didn’t ask for.
When downloading a free program from the Internet, always make sure that the installation screen includes a “custom” installation option and not just an “auto” one. This gives you the chance to see how much space the program will take on your hard disc, choose where you want to install it (partition), what it includes and what you want to install.
- Visiting a malicious website or downloading a malicious email
Another way to install a rogue Chromium is to visit a malicious website or clicking on malicious email attachments and downloading it that way.
You need to be mindful of what websites you visit on the Internet and what emails you open at all times. A small lack of judgment can have serious ramifications on your computer. Because of this, it’s important to know how to identify a malicious email.
- Clicking on a fake alert
Sometimes you’ll see alerts popping up on your screen, warning you to update your browser or other software. Or, you might get a “virus detected” fake alert.
If you are foolish enough to click on it don’t expect the alert to do what it says. Instead, it will install some unwanted software on your device like Chromium.
How to Remove Chromium Browser Malware From Your Computer?
The following is a guide to remove the Chromium browser malware on Windows 10, but will work on Windows 7 and 8 versions as well
Step 1: Go to the Control Panel by clicking on the Start button.
Step 2: Once in the Control Panel, find the Uninstall Program option and double-click on it.
Step 3: In the Uninstall Program find Chromium (you might have to scroll down to find it) and double-click on it.
Step 4: Click “Uninstall” and follow the prompts to uninstall Chromium and remove its files.
Step 5: Go to the AppData folder and uninstall the Chromium folder completely from here.
Step 6: Close Control Panel. Success you’ve uninstalled Chromium, you just need to empty your Recycle Bin and restart the computer.
That was easy! Why did you even worry?
Well, Chromium might be a little stubborn and not give up that easily.
What if you can’t uninstall Chromium like this? This could be the case if Chromium is set as your default browser. In this case what you first need to do is go to:
Settings > System > Default apps > Web browsers > Choose a web browser (that’s not Chromium).
Once you do this, you should be able to uninstall Chromium as explained above.
Also, just to be sure, run a malware detection program to be double-sure that no nasty surprises are left on your computer.
How to Remove the Chromium Malware from Your Internet Browser
Okay, if you did all the above steps, you should be able to successfully remove rogue Chromium from your computer. However, malware can still be present in your browser.
Depending on the browser you are using the steps will be a bit different, but I’ll show you how to do this on Safari.
Step 1: Open the Safari browser.
Step 2: From the menu, select “Preferences”.
Step 3: Click on the “Extensions” icon.
On the left will be a list of extensions you have installed on your Safari browser. If you don’t recognize an extension or if you no longer need it, untick its box and in on the right click “Uninstall”.
Now you have completely removed rogue Chromium from your computer and browser.